[nathankaye]

So I'm doing my first gala in an area I've broken into, but wish to expand further and especially with pressure washing / render cleaning.

The sun is out and hopefully there will be good turn out of people and jobs/quotes booked.

Let's see if this can be more cost effective than flyers...... Here goes...

[Stoots]

Good luck

I was out Doncaster way on my motorbike this morning.

If I knew where you was I would have had a sly look 

[nathankaye]

Its probably gonna be a long day, but I've booked a quote for a conservatory valet, inside n out so far.

[robbo333]

Good luck.
I hope you get something good out of it.

[Mike Halliday]

Too late to say but a bowl of sweets attracts people to your stand. I used to man a stand at country fairs selling double glazing. We always had a bowl of sweets

[nathankaye]

Too late to say but a bowl of sweets attracts people to your stand. I used to man a stand at country fairs selling double glazing. We always had a bowl of sweets

Yep, I did wonder that when I saw some of the stands but then I thought it might be too creepy that the window cleaning man is handing sweets out to kiddies 😂🤔

[nathankaye]

So, it was certainly interesting and I've learnt from it and what things to change if I should do this again.

I have gained a full conservatory valet inside and out and two regular window clients from it.  In addition to a few taking some flyers.

Was it worth it?
The stall cost £20 and so I have made a huge profit on that alone.  It has helped advertise me in the area and that has to be a plus.
Yet, I have also learnt about location of stall and some additional aspects that would have made it more beneficial.  So for me, I've enjoyed it and I would do this again

[Stoots]

a few posts to facebook would have probably got you the same return for a lot less work though nathan

in fact ive just picked up 3 tonight from 5 minutes work posting lol

fair play for trying it but was it really worth it or are you kidding yourself ?

[Mike Halliday]

So, it was certainly interesting and I've learnt from it and what things to change if I should do this again.

I have gained a full conservatory valet inside and out and two regular window clients from it.  In addition to a few taking some flyers.

Was it worth it?
The stall cost £20 and so I have made a huge profit on that alone.  It has helped advertise me in the area and that has to be a plus.
Yet, I have also learnt about location of stall and some additional aspects that would have made it more beneficial.  So for me, I've enjoyed it and I would do this again

If you had spent the same mount of time doing a Different (or your usual method of) marketing would you have got a better return on your time &investment?

You spent a full day and got one guaranteed job, I use leaflets to get most of my new work if I had spent a day putting out leaflets I would have got more than one job. This is the yardstick I use when ever i’m Considering a new marketing idea..... will it be more productive than my existing marketing

[Smudger]

Thankyou for pointing that out Mike - it's not just the £20 - you brought a banner and then there's your time ( if you say thats free your a fool )

I know if I posted the above it would be taken the wrong way

Darran

[nathankaye]

Nope, I appreciate all comments.
True I spent money on the banner, which I  an use more than the once and originally bought for advertising when/if we eventually move away.

Sure on Facebook, advertising can be beneficial as it has over the years and still does.  However Facebook is not for everybody and that proved true today when I was speaking with people.  Then you also have the face to face benefit of this approach.
Door knocking can be of benefit, as you can target specific streets and depending on time of day, you also benefit of the face to face dealing.

The event was from 12 - 4 and hosted a local charity run. The learning curve would be the location of the stall.  As this was the first one, I was allocated the adult tent which alarmed me at first      but this was labelled as such as it wasn't for kids games etc so aimed at adults and had a range of business advertising and selling.   The learning curve would be to have a separate stand outside, in the flow of heavy traffic where I could have more interaction and hand out flyers etc. Which would be more beneficial and yield a better return.

I also had great conversations with business owners and swapped details which can also prove to be advantageous.  So, yes I agree it wasn't as great as I was hoping, but it was the first and mistakes made.

[Smudger]

By the burger van is always a good spot.!

You have to try these things sometimes you get good results sometimes less so, nothing is never worth trying, as I said before you really need to try BNI or another networking group the help and advice is invaluable


Darran

[Phil J]

Nathan,
I admire you for giving it a go. I personally would have folded under pressure. Everybody seems to be a little negative with their responses, and I can't understand the negativity really? Well done for you Nathan!

[Bungle]

Nathan,
I admire you for giving it a go. I personally would have folded under pressure. Everybody seems to be a little negative with their responses, and I can't understand the negativity really? Well done for you Nathan!

Agree and fair play to him. At least he gets off his arse unlike a lot of people in this country.

[James Styles]

Fair play for giving it a go nath, you would of learned a lot aswell as you said.

[Dave Willis]

Just a thought ...... how did you price the conservatory valet without seeing it?

[nathankaye]

Just a thought ...... how did you price the conservatory valet without seeing it?

The chap showed me roughly the size of the conservatory, based on my promotional information I had and I gave him a rough estimate. From that, we've booked in a quotation as I stated a d provided I'm not too far off with the price, it will get cleaned at the same time.

[Klean07]

Good on you to try something different. I'm always looking at new ways to market especially now that I've got a new employee onboard.
I've recently joined a couple of business networking clubs, advertise on FB every week my latest idea though is to park one of my vans outside local supermarkets at weekends and in prime traffic locations just to get my brand recognised! So far after a couple of weeks trialling it I've averaged around ten new jobs a week!

[Dry Clean]

Nathan,
I admire you for giving it a go. I personally would have folded under pressure. Everybody seems to be a little negative with their responses, and I can't understand the negativity really? Well done for you Nathan!

Agree and fair play to him. At least he gets off his arse unlike a lot of people in this country.

If he was a newbie I think everybody would be behind him but as a 15 year seasoned shiner with no intention of employing maybe he should be focusing on why he's still trying to build a round after all this time, that said the thread may be helpful to the newer shiners looking for help on here so worth starting.

[nathankaye]

Good on you to try something different. I'm always looking at new ways to market especially now that I've got a new employee onboard.
I've recently joined a couple of business networking clubs, advertise on FB every week my latest idea though is to park one of my vans outside local supermarkets at weekends and in prime traffic locations just to get my brand recognised! So far after a couple of weeks trialling it I've averaged around ten new jobs a week!

Apparently the larger Tesco's allow you to stand outside and advertise on a small stall, which I've been informed about since doing my stall.   This might be beneficial.

I also have an arrangement with a garden centre which has huge foot traffic on wknds which I can set up outside. However this will be area limited (clients that is)