<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16735" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Wem and all,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>thanks for your words of wisdom.  We sometimes are looking for magic in the business world while in the backs of our minds we know that no such magic exists.  As a musician and later an audio engineer I dealt with the same questions that I'm dealing with now.  How does one continue to grow his or her business.  The answer is somewhat simple but solving the equation is where we all differ.  That is why I seek such advice, I wonder what others might be doing that I'm not doing.  My business has increased steadily and I want to keep it that way.  Making a decent living is all fine and well but I want more than decent!  I want damn good!  I'm to the point in my business where I would not think of abandoning it for some $35000 university gig.  Its funny to think that a college job was all I ever wanted but now I am seeing the down side to that life.  I have yet to try a yellow page add and I probably never will in Cincinnati.   We have lots of tuner listings and all of those guys charge a lot less than I do.  I could never compete with the non PTG/non RPT fellows who charge $65.  I'm still a believer that you get what you pay for, but everyone is not like that...  So I guess I'll just keep doing what I'm doing if for no other reason than its working out pretty well.  Hopefully things will just continue to grow like they have thus far.  Never the less, I don't think I will be sending out any cards until after the election, like someone had said junk mail is in abundance these days.  Just last week I got more than 30 postcards from different campaigns, so my card would probably just blend in with all of those. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shawn Brock, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>513-316-0563</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.shawnbrock.com">www.shawnbrock.com</A></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=wimblees@aol.com href="mailto:wimblees@aol.com">wimblees@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, October 20, 2008 3:38 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Best approach for acquiring new business.</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><WBR>Shawn<BR><BR>A basic rule of thumb in the advertising world is the 7 hit rule. Customers need to be hot over the head at least 7 times before they respond to any kind of promotion. Sending a post card to churches will generate some new business, but it has to be done numerous times over a period of a year. The first mailing might produce one or two calls, but if you keep sending them, more will respond later on. <BR><BR>Going door knocking might get you a few customers, but it also takes time. Last year I visited about 2 dozen churches and school. I didn't seen one music director. The church/school secretary took my card, and only one church choir director called me, but even that hasn't resulted in a tuning. <BR><BR>Building a business takes time. Word of mouth is always the best way, but even that takes time. People have to get to know you. Of course, doing good work, dressing appropriately and smelling nice are forgone conclusions. <BR><BR> <DIV style="CLEAR: both">Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT<BR>Piano Tuner/Technician<BR>Mililani, Oahu, HI<BR>808-349-2943<BR>Author of: <BR>The Business of Piano Tuning<BR>available from Potter Press<BR>www.pianotuning.com</DIV><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: Shawn Brock <shawnbrock@fuse.net><BR>To: Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org><BR>Sent: Mon, 20 Oct 2008 4:53 am<BR>Subject: Best approach for acquiring new business.<BR><BR> <DIV id=AOLMsgPart_2_250903dc-3d15-40be-a1f3-e9ed3035b587> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm hoping some of you will way in on what you think the best method for soliciting new business is based on your personal experience.  I am considering a few options for getting new church customers.  1: Sending out postcards to most or all of the churches in my area.  2: Good old fashion cold calls.  I have not tried the cold calls method for a few years, but I recall that it didn't work vary well for me previously.  On the other hand I don't want to waste money on sending out maybe 1000 postcards to get one tuning on a old Baldwin 243.  Why we all know nothing is a sure bet when trying to get new business we know some things work better than others.  So what do you think the best and most profitable approach has been for you?  I appreciate your input as always.  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Shawn Brock, RPT</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>513-316-0563</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.shawnbrock.com/" target=_blank>www.shawnbrock.com</A></FONT></DIV></DIV> <DIV class=aol_ad_footer id=MAILCIAMA018-5bbf48fcde3b2fa><BR><FONT style="FONT: 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF; COLOR: black"> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> </HR>McCain or Obama? 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