Buying Customer List or Existing Business

[paul bruesch]

Speaking from a less-than-stellar experience...
Have the retiring gent "introduce" you to his (living) clientele. This may
be a mailing that you do in his name (with his blessing, of course) or him
phoning everyone, or something else. A mailing with his signature on a
letter would probably be easiest and most effective.

Definitely you need to acquire his phone number.

Possibly, pay a fixed amount for his active clients that agree to your
services, plus a percentage of any inactive ones that contact you in the
next two years, or some other finite timeframe.

My experience was a tech who retired due to health issues, and who told very
few clients that someone else would be answering the phone. Thankfully, at
least, I did get the phone number!

My 2c,
Paul Bruesch
Stillwater, MN

On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 7:49 AM, Paul McCloud <pmc033 at earthlink.net> wrote:

>  List:
>     I have been offered first dibs on a piano business that has been
> gradually downsized over the past several years.  The owner, retiring at the
> end of the year, has been a technician for 60 years, most of which were
> spent here in San Diego.  He used to have a store location with various new
> and used pianos, but has given up piano sales, and does part time tuning.
> What he's offering is his customer list, a few rental pianos (returned),
> tools and supplies, and a few odd piano benches and other accessories.  I
> know there has been some discussion in the past about purchasing an existing
> business or customer list, but I can't seem to find much in the archives.
> Maybe I need a better search keyword.
>     I'm leaning towards some kind of arrangement where I would pay for any
> customer on the list that actually becomes my client.  Paying for  a couple
> thousand names where most of them are dead, moved, or otherwise useless to
> me doesn't make sense.  I've got plenty of those anyway.  I'm thinking that
> I would pay a certain amount for any client I got from his list that
> actually became a customer.  I could put out a mailer that would introduce
> me to his clients, asking them to call me for their next service.  Someone
> suggested to ask if he has a list of his most recent customers, and how much
> business he has done in the last year with them.  That figure would tell me
> what I could expect to make if I did purchase his list.  I'm also keen to
> acqure his telephone number.  He has moved into the shop where I work, and
> has a corner of the room.  When I'm there, I hear his phone ring and I
> listen to the p! hone calls that come in as his answering machine takes
> messages.
>     If any of you could offer advice, I'd be very glad to have it.
>     Respectfully,
>     Paul McCloud, RPT
>     San Diego, CA
>
>
>
> Paul McCloud
> Service Technician for PianoSD.com
> www.pianoservsd.com
> Created with free BlueVoda software:
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>
>
>
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