Open to any and all effective ideas you have discovered as you solicited potential clients when first going solo... I have tried a few things, but I need your help.
Thanks!
Michael Geiger, post: 392221, member: 10884 wrote: Open to any and all effective ideas you have discovered as you solicited potential clients when first going solo... I have tried a few things, but I need your help.
Thanks!
Starting out, it was what ever I could get. Mostly cheap contractors and the price shoppers. This was 2012 and pretty bad here. When things started picking up a little, my last employer (an engineering and surveying firm) was understaffed to cover the new projects coming in. That helped me a bushel, and I still do some work for them. Another surveyor/engineer that had worked with me there, was let go about the same time I went on my own. He didn't have the equipment to do the surveying efficiently, so I took on every job he threw my way. I never ever tried to steal clients from either, that's important. Google adwords is good because you can pause the ad's and not pay a dime. I have been lucky and after a few years, I have unpaused adwords maybe twice for a couple weeks. Good luck to you.
Oh, and don't do like I did and list your name in every dang place the web would let you. I have had a fit with telemarketers for years. That reminds me, I need to try and delete a bunch of accounts.
Starting out takes excellent planning of your time spent on all the aspects of your project and minimizing your time for efficient production.
Basically, get r done better and faster and spend less doing it.
good luck
Go have lunch with some real estate attorneys, auctioneers and realtors. Let them know you are in town. It has worked for me.
Back in the cave man days I was one of three freshly-unemployed surveyors that bonded with one another and created a workload from nothing. We all had families and bills and "desperation" was the uniform of the day. By chance I seemed to be the one that had the best 'gift of gab'...and that's not saying much. So it was apparent that I was the one that would be required to handle client contact...all I needed was some clients to contact!
Availability and confidence seemed to be my best friend in those days. Surveys can be performed adequately by a number of people and firms, so you have to make yourself pliable to a specific situation. And don't be afraid to let them know how hungry you are.
The biggest bitch clients seemed to have with surveyors back then (and I don't think it's changed much) was time and communication. Make yourself available...hell, even make yourself a friendly nuisance. Keep dropping by or calling until the prospective client gets use to seeing you. At the time most surveyors were addicted to engineers and architects. Find a few that are sick and tired of their surveyor being late with delivery or being unavailable. Let them know you can do better. Talk with their production department and find out if there is anything they would like different with the deliverables (files, etc.) they are currently getting from other surveyors. Don't be afraid to cut someone's throat...it's just business. You can't afford to be a nice guy when you're starving. You really have to keep after folks to make them realize you're serious and in it for the long haul. If they don't have any work today; check with them tomorrow. After you've forced yourself into conversations with a few clients try and get an idea of what sort of projects they have coming up in the near future. Impress upon them the projects you have been a part of in the past that were similar to their upcoming work.
Nowadays I prefer long term clients almost exclusively. That really wasn't the case back then. I found builders, developers and contractors that were tired of waiting for "their" surveyor to show up. We scooped a lot of work by just being "Johnny on the spot". We had to kiss a lot of frogs to find those "prince" clients. Hustle was what we did...go the extra mile. People really do notice things like that.
I became friendly with an older engineer that had a large operation with no "in-house" surveying department. They made a habit of not sticking with any one surveying outfit for their many projects. Any given day at their office you might see three or four different surveyors dropping off or picking up work. Over a period of six months I seem to be getting my share although the other surveyors they used were the "big boys" with lots of crews. I had to ask the older engineer why he seemed to give me a little more work than the "other guys"..and his answer surprised me.
He told me in his eyes we were all pretty much the same. We all did good work and delivered it on time and our prices were all within a reasonable range...but he gave me a lot of work simply because "he just liked me". There is a lot to be said for the 'personal relationship' factor. My best advice is to be as honest, friendly and open as you can with people. It's a great thing for them to see a title block and think of a friendly face. 😉
Thanks for the good info guys!