SSS Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 I recently incorporated my first business after a period of self employment. does anyone have any tips on pushing to get more work, is it a case of approaching companies and straight up asking them? Current customers have all come off the back of referrals from friends and contacts. Most are generally long term repeat customers but only have little amounts of work and I’m pretty keen on taking someone on to earn a bit more! I deal with Waste and Recycling equipment, mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineering and welding and fabrication. SSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnphilip Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 I think your best advert is having feedback fro your present customers , and them passing on your good name . Word of mouth counts for a lot . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benthejockey Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Advertise everywhere and anywhere, sponsor fences at your local point to point, your local paper. It's not hugely expensive and it gets your name in people's minds. A Facebook page. I still get random calls from people who have seen my adverts somewhere in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Finding new business is always a challenge and the best route to success is through contacts you already have, much easier than a cold call out the blue. As Ben suggests advertise as best you can, promote your business hard on LinkedIn, if you don't use that then start to. Don't be shy to pick up the phone, it can be a soul destroying exercise, but set yourself one day a week/fortnight to do exactly that. Research businesses that are likely to have a need for your services, try to find out as much about them as you can so when you make the phone call or contact that you are talking with a bit more confidence of how you can help them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Heron Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 1 hour ago, johnphilip said: I think your best advert is having feedback fro your present customers , and them passing on your good name . Word of mouth counts for a lot . +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Advertise in publications that people buy with money! Advertising in free publications rarely attracts leads as what you haven't paid for you oftentimes don't read. I get free local "newspapers" through my door and they usually go straight in the recycle bin unread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Without doubt a good website will bring in inquiries. PS not that keen on the logo BYRKLEY took me a couple of seconds for my eyes to pick it out, might just be me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedge Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Do you have a web-site? Just a simple few pages to show people who you are and maybe have some recommendations and examples of what work you do. Once set up, this can be maintained for c.£50 a year. A business Facebook page is also quite easy to set up. Look to adverstise in either local free ads or the local village magazines that target the sort of demograhphic (customer) that you want to attrract. The cost can be minimal. I'm not sure what your products or target audience are but you can get some decent exposure with minimal outlay. We live in a world of social media and technology. People like to look you up and check you out. Referrals and recommendations are lovely, but rarely enough to keep you going. Good product, good service, good pricing (that doesn't mean cheap). Reputation is everything as a small business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSS Posted February 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) Appreciate the replies. I have started to set up a website, bought a .com domain and set up a Facebook page, never used LinkedIn but have set up a page yesterday. Time is my biggest constraint currently. My business is generally B2B so I didn’t know if it would be worth advertising in local rags and mags. I have ZERO experience when it comes to marketing and it’s a huge flaw! edit: I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post links to my site etc on here, not been in the Forums for a while - Byrkley ltd will generate results on Facebook Edited February 29, 2020 by SSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB1 Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 23 minutes ago, old'un said: Without doubt a good website will bring in inquiries. PS not that keen on the logo BYRKLEY took me a couple of seconds for my eyes to pick it out, might just be me. Sorry SSS, but I have to agree with old'un here……… The logo is a bit OTT. Your target customer base is a bit nondescript, however, if you are interested in M&E contracts you can find many lead suppliers online (for a small price) and go from there👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSS Posted February 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) 31 minutes ago, old'un said: PS not that keen on the logo BYRKLEY took me a couple of seconds for my eyes to pick it out, might just be me. 2 minutes ago, KB1 said: Sorry SSS, but I have to agree with old'un here……… The logo is a bit OTT. Appreciate the feedback guys thanks Edited February 29, 2020 by SSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol p Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Website. Business cards and flyers. Online social media presence. A clean van with well presented decals incorporating name and contact numbers. Clean and tidy work uniform/clothing (NO tracksuit rubbish). Footfall to other businesses with a smile and can do attitude, no job too small. Get out there and whore yourself. Be positive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 A cheeky tip to keep small business in people's minds. Do facetweet and advertise those keys/purse/wallet etc etc, apparently small cute dogs work as well, that you recently found for collection by the owner. Your page gets 100s if not 1000s of likes, follows, re tweets, shares etc. Ethical🙄 in business isn't it about getting your name talked about? A local buisness near me often finds things when hes walking his dogs due to no work about. Then hes suddenly busy😏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderbird Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 If you're B2B then social media will be less effective than with B2C in my experience, unless your customers are massively into social media marketing themselves. I am a little sceptical about people who tell you they can get you to the top of google searches but I 100% agree that a decent website that's easy to navigate and tells customers what you exactly do in as few a number of seconds as possible is a good idea. The best marketing / selling is actually free, as grrcark says above, use your contacts and gain referrals, there's nothing like it. Never be afraid to ask. I have the following on my work email signature, and whilst it's a bit cheesy it actually works: PLEASE, DON'T KEEP ME A SECRET! I build my business on reputation and referrals. If you're happy with the service I provide, tell your friends, business contacts and colleagues. Best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Your business seems to covers a wide area which of these is your main field? Waste and Recycling equipment. mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineering. welding and fabrication. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave at kelton Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 My slight concern is that you spend a lot of energy chucking the muck against the wall and hoping some sticks. I think you need to decide what your core business is in profit terms and try and focus on potential targets. Linked in was very successful for me but I was in professional services. One piece of advice is that when you meet people who may be leads don’t wait for them to contact you. If you get business cards follow up the next day with an email, and linked in invitation if you find them on there, good to meet you etc hope we can do some business together, and follow it up every few months unless you are told to get stuffed. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyefor Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 4 hours ago, SSS said: I recently incorporated my first business after a period of self employment.......and I’m pretty keen on taking someone on to earn a bit more! My advice is don't do this because you'll spend more time on people problems than actually working. Can you trust someone else to do the job - and the customer facing bit - as well as you do? Work out what is a comfortable living for you, aim at getting 1 years cash in the Bank, then work to suit your needs. That is the best things about self employment - time off with the family or fishing / shooting etc. Customers are a pita whose loyalty generally only extends for as long as your price is right so be prepared to lose a few as you gain a few at the other end. Deciding who you work for and who you want to drop is key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSS Posted February 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 2 hours ago, old'un said: Your business seems to covers a wide area which of these is your main field? Waste and Recycling equipment. mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineering. welding and fabrication. My main area of business is the repair of waste and recycling equipment which involves all of the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, SSS said: Appreciate the replies. I have started to set up a website, bought a .com domain and set up a Facebook page, never used LinkedIn but have set up a page yesterday. Time is my biggest constraint currently. My business is generally B2B so I didn’t know if it would be worth advertising in local rags and mags. I have ZERO experience when it comes to marketing and it’s a huge flaw! edit: I’m not sure if I’m allowed to post links to my site etc on here, not been in the Forums for a while - Byrkley ltd will generate results on Facebook what is it? Just done Google search for each of the following. waste and recycling equipment. mechanical, hydraulic and electrical engineering. welding and fabrication. All give very high hits so you may struggle with rankings/competition, one way to improve this is key words/phrases on the home page. Lets say your main area of business is “waste and recycling equipment repair” try to include these words as much has possible on your home page blurb, also add words that are relevant to other services your business offers, that will help give possible search engine returns for anyone searching for services you offer, Google loves text. do a Google search for “waste and recycling equipment repair” then look at the home page of the top 5 or 6 websites. Domain name can also help but don’t go with the obvious like the three above, I tried a search for “waste and recycling equipment repair” I then looked at the domains and the top results included ‘recycling’ in the domain name, you could go with something like www.bewrecycling.co.uk. Recycling being the key word/phrase for search engine bots. Edited February 29, 2020 by old'un Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lloyd90 Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Your business name is easy to mis-spell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) hello, my son has a small business and has the company name beginning with A so when you google web site it come s up on first/ page, you could try a different approach to your Heading Title Edited February 29, 2020 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 8 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said: hello, my son has a small business and has the company name beginning with A so when you google web site it come s up on first/ page, you could try a different approach to your Heading Title That does not work anymore, they got wise to people having domains like, www.aaa111boilerrepairs.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wb123 Posted February 29, 2020 Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 The name is not easy to remember correctly. So far as I can tell it’s a dyslexic version of Berkerly, which would be the spelling I would google if I remembered the name. You can get around this with very aggressive search optimisation as I understand it. I do apologise profusely if the name chosen is your family name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSS Posted February 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2020 Thanks for the input. My domain name is www.byrkley.com. I built the website using squarespace because I am currently very time poor (could be worse things to complain about than being busy!) and it’s especially easy to do on there I have already incorporated and chosen the name so changing the spelling is not an option. I appreciate what you’re saying and I thought the same thing when I came up with it. When spoke to my accountant he offered me some business advice and said not to worry about the business name, the ‘tag line’ and branding is more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grrclark Posted March 1, 2020 Report Share Posted March 1, 2020 15 hours ago, SSS said: Thanks for the input. My domain name is www.byrkley.com. I built the website using squarespace because I am currently very time poor (could be worse things to complain about than being busy!) and it’s especially easy to do on there I have already incorporated and chosen the name so changing the spelling is not an option. I appreciate what you’re saying and I thought the same thing when I came up with it. When spoke to my accountant he offered me some business advice and said not to worry about the business name, the ‘tag line’ and branding is more important. I agree with your accountant, the spelling of your name and the logo are things that it's easy to stress over and spend way more time fretting about than is actually worthwhile. Nobody is not going to buy from you because they think your logo is dodgy, you're not Shell or Apple. On the Website and social media front, especially LinkedIn, do some searches yourself and find a college/uni student who will keep things up to date for you a half day per week. They can schedule updates to come out on certain days so it is not just a random update now and again when you find time. They can also do some research for you on the likes on LinkedIn, finding people and businesses who are likely your target market and coming up with a a strategy to get you visible to them. The bigger your network the greater the exposure. As Thunderbird suggests, don't be shy in asking other to spread the good word, that would include asking contacts on LinkedIn to share posts on your behalf, etc. You will find that people are more willing to help then you might imagine. Paying someone £50-£70 for a half day of solid work is cheap in the grand scheme of things and your time is more valuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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