Ryan, that's a very good point. Still, I think we should consider what messages we are sending when we phone or mail reminder cards. I believe we *think* we're saying, "See how professional and organized I am! See what importance I give to the condition of your piano!" But, sadly, the message which arrives may be more like, "Nobody has called me for so long I have to go out and drum up work." At best, it might be something like, "I'm a tight-ass who has to micro-manage my business, or else I have an anxiety attack." Some people might respond well to that, being somewhat of that persuasion themselves. (Retirees from the Upper Midwest, in my experience, though of course there's no hard and fast rule.) So, we might make ourselves a rule: know your customers, and choose your tactics by what suits them, not by what you might imagine will be good for you. Notice how the whole psychological landscape changes if they've _asked you_ to remind them regularly! You are providing a requested service! So, if you really feel your business requires building a good large herd of regular repeat customers, the trick may be to figure out how to get them to ask you, instead of your asking them. Perhaps you might just casually mention (during a tuning) that for a certain number of *really special* customers, you call them punctually every [however many] months, only it's VERY HARD for you to find the time, but you try hard to do it on time, because they attach so much importance to regular service, and you don't want them to feel you're neglecting them, however busy you are. I think it has to be casual, because as soon as you come across as giving a sales pitch, you have lost. And, in my opinion, we shouldn't be giving sales pitches anyway. If you take this approach, and succeed too well at it, you might find that you have made it come true -- that it IS a nuisance doing all those reminder calls, that you ARE too busy with tunings already, and that even with your best attempts to prune the reminders to a small number, it's easier said than done. Reverse psychology can take on a life of its own. Doing one good tuning after another, while getting older all the time, often will lead to more work arriving than one wishes to do, the exception being extremely depressed areas, or ones with too many piano techs (not a problem these days, most places), or places with very low population density. (Lotsa miles ...) The reputation of being hard to get and way too busy spreads just like any other kind of reputation (like being prone to nag about repeat tunings, or not returning calls, or being slipshod, or always coming late, or charging a lot more than others.) Then, if in desperation (REST, I need REST!) one raises rates, it has a perverse effect. People then decide that of all the piano techs in the area, YOU are the best, because you charge the most and are the most booked ahead! And they will settle for nothing but the best. <grin> Still, compared to people used to big salaries who find themselves standing in lines at job fairs, we are lucky, very lucky. Susan Kline ------------ Ryan wrote: >I think it is important to have a secretary to make reminder calls. >Its more professional than making them yourself. Having a friendly >female voice on phone is the way to go. Also its easier for your >phone person to talk you up. You can't do that nearly as effectively yourself.
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