Need help with a marketing challenge

Don

This sounds great, but if you had this trouble...

"The guys i hired had "Licenses"...were "Bonded" and "had referemces"....yet...I had nothing but problems and wound up replacing them. And even the replacements weren't much better."

...with tradesmen who had all these qualifications then how would one define the good ones. You said to interview them and check their references, but if you had this experience yourself and I know of many too including myself, then surely these qualifications aren't worth the paper they're written on.

So how can you be sure you list tradesmen that aren't going to hurt your business reputation?

Regards,
Sue.

Here's a way to put together a
> "Directory" that's much needed in
> ANY community....and make some SERIOUS MONEY
> doing it.

> You folks who put together
> "directories" and offer FREE
> membership to those in the Directory (so you
> have a product to offer viewers)....then try
> to get traffic so you can sell Ads....are
> missing something.

> EVERY Community has homeowners who want to
> hire Tradespeople to do work on their homes.
> Hoemowners are skeptical about the
> tradespeople they hire; Will they do a good
> job?....will they finish the job to my
> satisfaction?....will they overcharge me?

> Why not set up a "Trades Guild"?

> You, as the "Director" would
> interview and check references of
> Tradespeople and CHARGE THE TRADESPEOPLE A
> MONTHLY FEE to be Listed in your
> "Trades Guild Directory".

> LIMIT each Category of Tradespeople so your
> "Guild" is an EXCLUSIVE club type
> thing.

> You would then advertise your
> "Guild" in the local
> area....touting the main theme, which is
> "TRUST IN YOUR GROUP OF
> TRADESPEOPLE"!

> I know of one woman who started this in a
> city of 100,000 and is making over $10,000
> Monthly with this program. I think she
> charges $100/mo to Tradespeople.
> Tradespeople pay to belong to her
> "Guild" because the
> "Guild" gets them JOBS.

> Another "Guild" near San Francisco
> (also operated by a woman) charges a monthly
> fee PLUS 15% of the jobs that result.

> So...think about charging
> "members" of your exclusive
> "club" as your means of earning
> income from a project like this.

> On 2 remodeling jobs in the last 10 yrs, I
> wish I had a "Guild" where I could
> be assured the contractors I was about to
> hire were trustworthy AND could do a
> satisfactory job.

> The guys i hired had
> "Licenses"...were
> "Bonded" and "had
> referemces"....yet...I had nothing but
> problems and wound up replacing them. And
> even the replacements weren't much better.

> THAT was when I thought about starting my
> own "Tradesmen Guild".

> Don Alm