Yellow Pages

Dick Toombs writes:


Sorry about the late response but, as everyone, I have been busy 
with all the end of year stuff.  

I spend almost $800.00 per month on my yellow pages ads.
(yes Eight Hundred!).  

Maybe I am crazy but the first year I was in business I did not have any 
presence in the phone book and the business reflected this. My competors 
in this market (Syracuse, Central New York) have ads that are larger than 
mine (cost more per month!). So using them as a guide the yellow pages 
work. I find that most of my customers are one time buyers. So if I don't get 
a shot at them once I won't see them at all.  

Of course word of mouth is the best, but you have to do work 
for someone to get word of monuth.  


I have tried almost of the available headings and I find the anitque heading 
is a waste for me. I have tried mail and coupons (even in the phone book) 
and in this market they don't work. The other Furniture Medic here uses the 
"shopper/pennysaver" type papers and I guess he has found that OK for him.

One of the "fixed" location shops that I take work into and he gives me his
on-site little jobs, tells me he spends nothing on advertising, but his yellow 
page ad is bigger than mine. The repair and refinishing of furniture is not 
something the average person buys often.  Let me illustrate by telling one 
quick story.  

Sitting at my desk one Saturday afternoon the phone rings and the elderly 
lady on the line is looking for reapir/refinsihing of a wood shelf she had.  
After listening for what seemed like 10 minutes to the most complete 
description of this piece you could belive, I was finally able to interupt her 
to state that we have a $52.00 minum to journey to her house. Her reply 
"But I only paid $3.00 for it at the garage sale".


Happy New Year Everyone --- and boy am I looking forward 
to the start of the new century in a year!!!!!!

Dick Toombs
 ...in the heart of New York




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