There are definite steps to take when getting started. After you have all the licensing and tax issues worked out and have organized your shop in preparation for woodworking jobs, it's time to get people interested in your woodworking business so you can convert them into paying customers.
Look Professional
The first critical step in finding customers is to look like a real business. You
may be a one-
Simpler yet, you can contact the VistaPrint company and they will make all your business cards, stationary, postcards, small signs, etc. at good prices. They even have quite a few products that are free except for shipping costs. As long as you don’t try to have them shipped quickly those costs are reasonable. They have excellent templates so you can quickly create a good business card or other related stationery. You can get to their web site at: http://vistaprint.com.
You also need to have all the necessary contract documents printed and ready for your first customer. It is unprofessional to scribble out agreements on the spot when you are dealing with a job for which you expect payment. Contracts should be neat and serious documents that make it clear that you will do the described work but also expect prompt and full payment for your efforts. A contract and related forms appears in chapter ten.
Photo Album and Web Site
Create a photo album with pictures of all the projects you have built for yourself,
family members, or friends. This album shows your prospects the quality of work that
you are capable of doing for them. The photographs used for this album can serve
a dual purpose if you use them to create a web site that will be available twenty-
bill@positive-
Contact Everyone!
Now that you have everything in place for contacting everyone you know, start with your family and friends. Contact them by phone, email, mail, text message, whatever method you believe is best for the person you are contacting. It may be best to contact some people with more than one method. You may get the best results from some people by contacting them in person. Tell them exactly what you are doing and ask them to tell everyone they know about your new business. Give them extra business cards and make certain it lists your web site.
You might also consider telling everyone that you are starting out with bargain pricing to generate interest and introduce yourself to more customers who can then refer you to others. This may work especially well because word of mouth advertising is always the best way to find customers.
Advertise Carefully To Avoid Waste
Advertise your business carefully. It is easy to over spend on advertising and get little, if any, benefit. Try to identify your best prospects and how to reach them. A good place to start is with local weekly newspapers. The ads cost much less than the daily papers and they are kept around for a whole week instead of just a day.
Don’t hesitate to use your vehicle for advertising your services. I had a hand-
On more than one occasion someone followed me for a while and then approached me about a job once I stopped. A picture of that wooden sign appears below.
Chapter 8
Getting Started
Use The Internet
Don't overlook the Internet for advertising. Get your web site noticed by mentioning it in every ad. Place it as a signature on every email, blog, facebook, twitter, or any other Internet connection you make. Let people see the link so they will visit the site and see what you can do for them. Your web site address is one long word that can put prospects in touch with your photo album and information about your business.
Remember that the emphasis of any advertising you do for your woodworking business should be on the prospect, not on you. Potential customers want to know what is in it for them. Tell them why it is in their best interest to deal with you.
Give Everyone A Business Card
Remember to have your business cards with you at all times because you never know when you will be sharing information about your business with someone. Even though this has been covered before,
it bears repeating. With your business card you should have some brief information about the work you do so you can share it with anyone in just a few seconds. Be ready when you get the chance to make an impression. You never know when someone will be interested in the kind of work you do.
Keeping Customers
Getting customers is critical but keeping customers after you acquire them is even more important. It can cost eight to ten times as much to get a new customer as to hold on to one you already have. How do you go about making certain that you keep every customer for whom you do a job?
Step one is to always let your customers know that you value their business. Treat
them as if they were the most important part of your business because they are. Without
them, there is no business. This has two-
Step two is handling mistakes promptly and properly. While it is certainly important to establish and maintain a firm reputation for quality work and reliability, you will make mistakes. The customer service you provide when these mistakes occur will determine whether you keep or lose a customer.
Admit Your Mistakes
Many people seem to find it difficult to admit mistakes but this is where you must start and follow up immediately taking steps to correct the mistakes without being pressured by the customer. With the present lack of good customer service in many industries, you have a unique opportunity to impress your customers and keep them coming back.
If you believe, as some people do, that being right is the most important thing, your business is certain to suffer financially. When things go wrong in any business transaction, the most important thing is how your customer feels when the incident is over. That will determine whether they return and if they will recommend you to others.
Good customer service is the key. It is more important now than ever because it is becoming very difficult to get good service. Think about the last time you got really good customer service at any business. It was memorable because of the poor service you normally get. That level of service is what you must give your customers every day. Make it impossible to forget the great experience of doing business with you.
Here are a couple of examples from my personal experience. One is about how to lose a good customer and the other is how to keep a customer even when a problem arises. The first happened to a competitor of mine. He had contracted to build a custom desk for a customer. He completed the desk and the customer told him that the desk should have had a lock on one of the drawers. My competitor insisted that it was not part of the price. He finally installed the lock and billed the customer for an extra $16.00. The customer paid it but was disturbed by being billed. My competitor refused to give the customer any satisfaction on the issue.
About a month later I received a call from this same company to quote them for some office furniture. They were opening a second office and wanted several pieces of custom furniture including custom desks and a file cabinet. I submitted a quote and got the job. I later found out that my price was higher than my competitor’s price for the same pieces but I got the job because the manager was still upset about the $16.00. So, for this small amount my competitor gave up a contract of several thousand dollars. Of course, I was glad that he had to be right since it got me a very good contract. More importantly, it got me a good customer who ordered products from me many more times after that first experience.
On another job, I built a conference table for a law office and they didn’t like the appearance of the top. I told the customer to use the existing top for a couple of weeks and I would build a new one for them just the way they wanted it. Two weeks later I arrived with a new top and switched it out. They were well satisfied with the new top and gave me a contract to install crown molding throughout their entire office. The original top was acceptable but it just wasn’t the way they pictured it and it was obvious that I didn’t understand exactly what they wanted. In addition to the new work, I got recommended to other law offices. As to the top that I took back, it served me for many years as an assembly table. I just placed it on a couple of specially built, low profile, saw horses in my shop.
Good customer service pays off and it’s the right thing to do. I suggest that you put yourself in your customer’s shoes before making a decision on any customer service issue. Determine how you would like to be treated if you were facing the same situation and treat your customer at least as well.
Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you found it informative. You can get my book Woodworking Business: Start Quickly And Operate Successfully now by clicking on the order now button below. Thank You.
Copyright 2010 Positive Imaging, LLC