yellow pages

[cjm2783]

this is my 1st year in the yellow pages. i really didn't want to do it, but i also need to have a open mind about advertising so i did it.

it seems like all these people want is an estimate. it's getting old driving the miles and not getting the jobs. so then i have to look at my bid... am i really too high or the people too cheap. not sure.
for instance, last call came in, the home owner wanted 20yds of dirts move to the back of house and spread also wanted 4" drain pipe put in.. maybe 85' and a few other odd things.
1000.00 was my price. and i thinks that was too low.. didnt call back.

not sure if the pages are worth it..

what do some of you think who are in the YP?

cjm

[CCLS]

I get quite a few jobs from the yellow pages. Matter of fact, I just landed a 10K seasonal contract today. The bigger the ad, the better the response. If you are not in the top 25% of the ads, don't waste your money.

[PTLlandscapingIL]

I feel alot of time people serching for landscapers looking yellw pages and adds are jsut looking for price they dotn knwo about anything else until they start getting more bids in and realize its gonna cost alot more then they wanted happens to me alot i bet u will get some return calls after they start calling around word of mouth and good rep keep u in business

[DearbornLawnCare]

I Got a quote from the yellow pages the other day they want for 1/8 of a page full collur $260 a month and you have to sign a contract for a year. That a lot of money almost $3200 for one year

[jmcclurelandscape]

The yellow pages is hit or miss, it's like fishing. You spend big$$$ and come home empty handed, but on some days the 'Big one" comes through and it's worht every penny.

[Ric]

The yellow pages is hit or miss, it's like fishing. You spend big$$$ and come home empty handed, but on some days the 'Big one" comes through and it's worht every penny.

Jim

Agreed, I think even to promote word of mouth advertisement a Yellow page Listing is a must. People hear your name but still need your number or way of contacting you. The first place they look is in the Yellow pages. It also tells that customer you are a real business.

[steve-o]

Jim

Agreed, I think even to promote word of mouth advertisement a Yellow page Listing is a must. People hear your name but still need your number or way of contacting you. The first place they look is in the Yellow pages. It also tells that customer you are a real business.

i agree ric , plus if somebody calls information they will get your #. if you don't have that business line then you can forget it.

steve

[Scraper]

i agree ric , plus if somebody calls information they will get your #. if you don't have that business line then you can forget it.

steve

It doesn't need to be a "business" line to be in the Yellow Pages. I have mine listed with a wireless number.

As for the original post...I've been in the Yellow Pages for 3 years with a display ad and have paid for it 10 fold easily each year with jobs I get. The thing to think is that when most people go to the Yellow Pages they are ready to buy!

[Stephen M.]

I've been in the yellow pages for at least 15 of my 20 years in business. I've said it many times in other threads:

A few months isn't enough time to make a judgement. YOU HAVE TO RUN ADS FOR MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS TO GET NAME RECOGNITION and branding of your product.

What is branding? Del Monty, Chiquita (bananas), Reebok, etc. Your product is you and your work. Dare to stand out from the crowd of "lawn and yard maintenance" in the yellow pages with a classy ad and color in the ad in order to distinguish yourself and your product. It also creates "name recognition".

You have to be willing to change your view of the cost of doing business and growth: it's an INVESTMENT in your business. The best place to spend your income is on your business.

[MGO]

Before you go to look at a job try to qualify it by at least telling customer what your minimum price is.

For example, if a person calls for residential mowing pricing and your minimum to drop the gate is $35...tell them it is your minimum. It will save you the tiome of going out and biudding on jobs that a customer is expecting to be the same price that the kid down the street charges. You can weed out the jobs you don't have a chance to get that way band save time.

[Ric]

I've been in the yellow pages for at least 15 of my 20 years in business. I've said it many times in other threads:

A few months isn't enough time to make a judgement. YOU HAVE TO RUN ADS FOR MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS TO GET NAME RECOGNITION and branding of your product.

What is branding? Del Monty, Chiquita (bananas), Reebok, etc. Your product is you and your work. Dare to stand out from the crowd of "lawn and yard maintenance" in the yellow pages with a classy ad and color in the ad in order to distinguish yourself and your product. It also creates "name recognition".

You have to be willing to change your view of the cost of doing business and growth: it's an INVESTMENT in your business. The best place to spend your income is on your business.

Stephen

100% agreement. some years Telephone books don't get distributed as they should and many people end up using a 2 or 3 year old book. Occasionally I get calls for Horse and Carriage service and I have been out of that business for 10 years.

Branding your name is a biggie. I really don't want to re-discuss my law suit with Lawn Doctor over my company name of Yard Doctor Landscaping. But I made a big mistake by setting with them instead of fighting it all the way. As a result I elected to retire. But since I am of retirement age I did settle instead of fight. The reason for the law suit was because I had the Brand name in my area and they sold a franchisee in my area. In the mean time do a search on Google. There are 13 other Yard Doctor's in the country and They didn't sue them. But the court system is about money not honor or who is right. But Try fighting the 7th largest green industry corporation with the largest national white shoe law firm who specializes in Trademark law.

[crzymoe]

Another place you may want to think about is joining your chamber of comerce if you have one. Doenst cost alot and i get plenty of refferrals, but then again, I'm not in the phone book at all.

[jgc8fan]

What a lot of LCOs in my area do is to put in the ad what areas of town they work in. Might lose some jobs in other areas, but it might cut down on driving time to who knows where for estimates... Might also help you get even more calls in your areas just because I know when I look for things like that going through YP I usually call the numbers that are closest to my home. If I get a YP ad in the future it's going to be like that because I'm in the process of dumping most of my outlying customers... I'm pretty much down to working 3 areas of town, and may add one more if I get an ad.

[dbltee]

What time of year do they take new ads for new books?

[Ric]

What time of year do they take new ads for new books?

DBLTEE

You are asking a question that opens up an entire other subject about yellow pages in my mind.

WHICH BOOK TO USE THERE ARE SO MANY YELLOW PAGE BOOKS

I stay only with the local phone service's Yellow pages. I feel deregulation has really messed up when it comes to adding expense to Yellow Page advertisement. I have seen several Knock off Yellow Page Books come and go.

PS. Check with your Local Phone service as to when their cut off date is for next years book. The Knock off phone book company won't stop calling you once you have a business listing.