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  #1  
Old September 29, 2003, 12:00 PM
Gary
 
Posts: n/a
Default Flyer Critique

I am starting a "Gutter Guard" installation business for keeping leaves and debris out of gutters, and will be passing out flyer's and need some help with my first Flyer.

I couldn't believe the prices they are charging for these
from $6 to $14 per liner ft.

Here is the first Flyer.

Gutter Guards Installed {Caps}

Stop Cleaning Your Gutters {Caps}

Gutter Guards will keep leaves from clogging your gutters, allowing the free flow of water off your roof.

Avoiding the need for annual gutter cleaning. Our gutter guards snaps on to your existing gutter.

Prices are $3.00 per liner foot, which includes material and labor cost.

Here is a picture of our gutter guard

PIC

CALL ME FOR A NO OBLIGATION ESTIMATE!

555-1212

We always clean existing leaves FREE of charge

Any ideas.

All the best,

Gary Creed
[email protected]
  #2  
Old September 29, 2003, 02:07 PM
Michael S. Winicki
 
Posts: n/a
Default Gary, the first thing you should do is...

> I am starting a "Gutter Guard"
> installation business for keeping leaves and
> debris out of gutters, and will be passing
> out flyer's and need some help with my first
> Flyer.

> I couldn't believe the prices they are
> charging for these
> from $6 to $14 per liner ft.

> Here is the first Flyer.

> Gutter Guards Installed {Caps}

> Stop Cleaning Your Gutters {Caps}

> Gutter Guards will keep leaves from clogging
> your gutters, allowing the free flow of
> water off your roof.

> Avoiding the need for annual gutter
> cleaning. Our gutter guards snaps on to your
> existing gutter.

> Prices are $3.00 per liner foot, which
> includes material and labor cost.

> Here is a picture of our gutter guard

> PIC

> CALL ME FOR A NO OBLIGATION ESTIMATE!

> 555-1212

> We always clean existing leaves FREE of
> charge

> Any ideas.

> All the best,

> Gary Creed
> [email protected]

develop a unique selling proposition for your business. You hit upon a couple key points but I think they could be emphasized even more strongly and they need to be a the top of the ad. Please do not start the flyer with "Gutter Guards Installed". That is one weak headline. Remember what you are trying to do is get the reader to read the headline and then read the second line. That's the whole purpose of the headline, nothing more, nothing less. There are far more powerful headlines available that could get your prospect to read your second line than "Gutter Guards Installed." The fact is there are probably quite a few headlines that could work--but they would each have to be tested for effectiveness.

You could/should consider creating a free report... something like "The Easy Way to Eliminate Gutter Problems--Forever" or "7 Good Reasons to Invest in Gutter Guards" or "Why Smart Homeowners Invest in Gutter Guards" or whatever. Then you give them the free report. The whole flyer could be built around the giving of the free report rather than the selling of your services. This is an example of two-step advertising.

The other thing you could do is provide the prospect with a voice-recorded message so that if they desire your services but are leery of getting "sold" they could call a phone number that gives a 1-5 minute discussion on the benefits of using gutter guards.

Do not underestimate how much people hate the thought of dealing with a salesperson. Your flyer may have a much larger chance of success if you use methods of prospecting where the prospect doesn't have to interact with you directly--at least at the beginning. Selling is relationship building and problem solving.

Not knowing how you are going to distribute these flyers you may want to consider doing a series of flyers that go to the same prospect list. Each flyer should be sent every couple of weeks. Why do this? Because it builds confidence in the prospect that you're no "fly-by-night".

Name me one homeowner that hasn't had a problem (or two) with some kind of contractor be it painting, landscaping, gutters, siding, roofing or what not. Customers will thank god that a contractor will even show up on time or clean up their mess or return a phone call. I've dealt with a lot of different businesses over the years and I think home improvement contractors are the most unprofessional group of business owners on the planet. And while I like the idea of a flyer I think it is going to have to be a good one that exudes reliability and professionalism. The other thing to think about is the pricing issue... you say that you can install your guards for a lot less than the competition. Make sure you justify in the prospects mind WHY you can do that. If you don't the prospect may definitely see you as a "fly-by-night" that installs substandard product. Dealing with prospects using a low price oriented USP can be very tricky.

Good luck,

Mike Winicki


The best reference book available for creating space ads and flyers...
  #3  
Old September 30, 2003, 12:36 PM
Boyd Stone
 
Posts: n/a
Default Why we painted our house instead of hiring someone ...

Hi,

My first advice is:

* Read and heed every word Gordon wrote--as you know, he's a pro-level salesman.

Something Gordon wrote made me think of something. Our house needed painting, and our first thought was to hire someone to do it, so we got a recommendation from a friend and had the guy drop by to do an estimate, which turned out to be $915 including the paint.

Instead of hiring the guy, we decided to paint our house ourselves (in fact, as I type this my 60 year old wife is on top of a ladder painting the trim--she can do things that would stonker someone 40 years her junior--so far, all I've done has been to set up ladders and scaffolds, put on masking tape where needed and cut some bushes).

So, you may be wondering, why did we decide to spend our very valuable time doing the painting instead of hiring someone? There were two reasons.

The first reason was that the estimate was suspiciously low. Our mobile home is 48 feet by 28 feet, and about 40 feet of the house is blocked by thick bushes (including one of the highest parts, which is 16 feet off the ground); other painting problems we enjoy are a ten foot shed that's really close to one side of the house and the fact that the trim around the windows is hard to mask off from the side of the house. $915 for that, including the paint? Something seemed suspicious. Does the guy undervalue his time?--we wondered. Was he planning to add on to the estimate later because of problems that cropped up?

The second reason we decided to do the job ourselves had to do with insurance. We asked to painter what would happen if he fell of a ladder and got injured. Did he carry his own liability? He said that if that happened it would be covered by our homeowner's policy. To check whether that was true I called our agent and was told "no way, Jose"--if the guy fell and broke something, and sued us, and we lost, we'd have to pay for his injuries.

All this has something in common with your situation, and that's why I'm taking your time and my time to communicate it with you.

- As Gordon said, don't be suspiciously low in price and let your prospect know that that your price is a reasonable one.

- If your prospect has a suspicious, paranoid mindset like my wife and I have, you might want to say something to alleviate their fears. Like "I'm self insured, so if I fall off your roof and land on my head you won't be liable for a dime, and by the way, if you fall off the roof while cleaning out your own guttering will you be able to pay your costs and keep your job, or if you hire the kid down the street to do it and he falls on his head will you be able to pay the millions of dollars in fees that will result?"

Gordon said, look at the job from your customer's perspective, and I guess I'm basically saying the same thing.

Hope this was helpful in some way ....

Best,

- Boyd
  #4  
Old September 30, 2003, 05:27 PM
Rick Smith
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Flyer Critique

Gary -

> I am starting a "Gutter Guard"
> installation business for keeping leaves and
> debris out of gutters, and will be passing
> out flyer's and need some help with my first
> Flyer.

I hope you realize that your flyer copy was just evaluated by two top copywriters. For free. Heed every word they said.

There's nothing more I can add except to say - take action on what they said. Period.

Rick Smith, "The Net Guerrilla"
  #5  
Old October 2, 2003, 12:26 PM
Boyd Stone
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Flyer Critique

Hi,

From the way he phrased his single response it doesn't seem that he realizes the worth of the expert advice he got for free.

Best,

- Boyd
 


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