<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" = xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" = xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" = xmlns:st1="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" = xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=ProgId content=Word.Document> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <meta name=Originator content="Microsoft Word 10"> <link rel=File-List href="cid:filelist.xml@01C610C1.31FE26B0"> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="time"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PostalCode"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="State"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"/> <o:SmartTagType = namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"/>  <style>  </style>  </head> <body bgcolor=white lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=blue = style='tab-interval:.5in; WORD-WRAP: break-word;khtml-nbsp-mode: space;khtml-line-break: = after-white-space'> <div class=Section1> Hi = Marshall,<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I started in the business by taking = over a client card file from a tuner moving out of state. He had built his = business up by running a classified ad. He was a little unscrupulous, offering a $20 = piano tuning (back in 1980) that usually turned into a pitch raise for 3 times = that amount plus a call back. And he always tried to upsell with repairs/regulation that may or may not have been needed. I think I = ended up with about 30 clients from a card file of several hundred. = <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Most of my client build up happened after I hooked up with one of the local music stores. They = had a regular tuner who was very good (way better than me), but he was not = real reliable. Plus, usually those kind of good tuners don’t like to = mess with the floor tunings and prepping the used trade-ins. Music stores pay a discounted rate for that work and a good tuner may not want to = “lose” money doing discounted work. So I took over doing the floor tunings and prepping used pianos while the other guy did the expensive new pianos = and all the in home work. It was great experience for me. I learned to tune in a = noisy environment, learned how to tune quickly and on a variety of pianos with = a huge variety of problems. Every time I ran across a new problem I learned how = to resolve it by studying Reblitz and calling a = local mentor. I rarely saw the other guy as he hardly came in the store.  <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> After a couple of years the store = started giving me the home tunings the other guy didn’t show up for = (believe it or not, some tuners will actually make appointments and then not show. = Bad, bad, bad. But good for = me). Every complaint the store got was passed to me and I quickly resolved = every one. They loved me. They were so impressed that pretty soon I was = getting all of their work. Understand it is not that they were impressed with my = tuning skills, they were impressed by how I took care of = people. You see, a store like that mainly wants no complaints. You don’t have = to have the tuning skills of David Love, David Anderson or Dale Erwin (some of = the greats on this list). You just have to know how to comb your hair, show = up on time, take care of people and do a reasonably good job of caring for the = piano. The other guy had long scraggly hair and was a flaky musician. And we = all know how those guys are. ;-)<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Every new client I got I took care = of. I used a simple database program, starting with SuperBase on a Commodore 64. Every month I printed out a list of people due for a = tuning and made phone calls to schedule. When you get a new customer, take care = of him. You are seeing how difficult it is to get a new customer. Don’t = leave it to chance that he will remember when his piano needs tuned and be able = to find your number when it does. Take care of him. Give him a reminder. Since = then I now lean more heavily on post cards and email reminders. = <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I have not found Yellow Page ads to = be a good investment. In fact, if you haven’t set up a business = telephone, don’t do it. Just use your home phone and your name for your business. A = Yellow Page listing requires a business phone line which will cost you about twice = as much per month. I have done the enormously expensive display ads in the = Yellow Pages. They didn’t generate any more new customers than the simple listing, and the simple listing generates very few. I’ve finally convinced the other area tuners of this and none of them do display ads = anymore. Most of my new clients now come from referral. I no longer work for any = music store. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Old customers that I haven’t = heard from frequently look me up in the White Pages. How do I know? They call = me at home, not the office. Yellow Pages are not a good value. Even though = every piece of mail I send my customers and every email they get contains the office number and my cell number, often when they are ready to = schedule they look me up in the White Pages and call my house. Don’t waste = money on Yellow Pages. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I do know a couple of tuners that = lived on well traveled roads who generated a fair amount of new contacts by = having a small yard sign out front with a simple message: Name, “Piano = Tuning” followed by a phone number. I haven’t tried such an approach but = have been intrigued by it. I do know someone with frontage on US 41 and have = thought of putting up a small billboard on the corner of their property. I am = convinced it would do well for me or someone in our business, but I haven’t = done it (I guess I’m not hungry enough). Perhaps if you know of someone = with property frontage on a busy highway you should explore such an = arrangement. Get an easy to remember web site (mine is <a = href="http://www.pianorebuilders.com/">www.pianorebuilders.com</a>. Go to <a href="http://www.godaddy.com/">www.godaddy.com</a> to find a = domain name and register it cheap) or a vanity phone number so that when people = drive by they don’t have to write anything down, they will remember it. = For a vanity phone number check out <a = href="http://www.tollfreenumbers.com/">www.tollfreenumbers.com</a> ( (888)Dalerwin = and (877)Dalerwin are both available. Dale are you out = there? ;-) I am in the process of securing (888)DeanMay! I’m so happy.) As an aside, I also found <a href="http://www.globalfiber.net/">www.globalfiber.net</a> which has = the lowest long distance rates I’ve ever seen. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> Direct mail to my customer base is = working very well for me as a tool to remind people their piano needs tuned. I = have not tried direct mail to targeted prospects. But I have thought that such a = piece might work well. One of these days I am going to try hitting all the = churches with a post card. You might also try mailing the schools even though I = don’t much like tuning for schools. Teachers tend to be snobbish, it is = difficult to work around classroom schedules and it takes forever to get paid. = However there are a few schools I take care of that don’t have those problems. = Another possibility for a mail piece is to piano teachers, but they can be = pretty snobbish, too, especially to an inexperienced tech. Just don’t = tell them your level of experience. ;-) <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> For mailing addresses you can use = direct mail companies that specialize in giving you targeted addresses. They = aren’t too expensive. Or you can use internet Yellow Pages which I have done = for a brother in the carpet cleaning business. I got him a mailing database of = nearly 600 apartment complexes in Indy. A mailing a month to these complexes = has generated a huge increase in his business. Direct mail works and it is = cheap. BTW, we got a color laser printer (pretty cheap now) and noticed a = dramatic difference with a color mailing over black and white. Be sure to include = a good color picture of yourself. We buy card stock from Sam’s (cheap) = that is 8.5x11. You can do 4 post card size on a = sheet or 2 5.5x8.5 cards which take a letter rate stamp. We have found the bigger = size to be worth the difference in cost. Just run them through the laser printer = doing 2 to a page (use mail merge to put the addresses on at the same time) = and then take them to a print shop to have them cut. This is also, btw, a great = way to do a small run of color business cards (mine is attached). If anyone = wants a sample of what we do for the postcard mailers, email me privately and = I’ll send you the files. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> I suspect your most rewarding = efforts will be to try to find a couple of music stores that will let you prep their incoming low end trade ins. Their regular = tuner hates working on them, I guarantee it, but will probably be happy to give you = advice on repairing the different problems they have. This will give you great experience working on lots of different kinds of pianos with lots of = different kinds of problems and should pay you around $20-$30/hour. After awhile = you may find the store giving you some in home referrals the other guy = doesn’t want to mess with. Niiice. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <st1:City><st1:place>Terre = Haute</st1:place></st1:City> (tare-a hoe-t) is a population of around 120,000. Lots smaller than = <st1:City><st1:place>South = Bend</st1:place></st1:City>.<o:p></o:p></span= > <o:p> </o:p> Blessings,<o:p></o:p><= /p> <o:p> </o:p> <div> Dean<o:p></o:p></fon= t> Dean May       &nbs= p;     cell 812.239.3359<o:p></o:p> PianoRebuilders.co= m   = 812.235.5272<o:p></o:p> <st1:place><st1:City>Terre Haute</st1:City> <st1:State>IN</st1:State>  = <st1:PostalCode>47802</st1:PostalCode= ></st1:place><o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> -----Original = Message----- From: pianotune05 [mailto:pianotune05@comcast.net] Sent: = <st1:date Month="1" Day="3" Year="2006">Tuesday, January 03, = 2006</st1:date> <st1:time Hour="22" Minute="21">10:21 PM</st1:time> To: = deanmay@pianorebuilders.com; Pianotech Subject: Re: Separate business/personal accounts? <o:p> </o:p> <div> Hi = Dean,<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> Thanks for the tip.  = The account is a personal one that I use exclusivly for tuning, and I agree = the bank charges for the business types of accounts. My wife has a DBA for = her cleaning business. <o:p></o:p> </div> <div>  <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> You're in = <st1:State><st1:place>Indiana</st1:place></st1:State>= too I see.  Is = <st1:City><st1:place>Terre = Haute</st1:place></st1:City> any larger than = <st1:City><st1:place>South = Bend</st1:place></st1:City>?  What is a good = way to market this business if <st1:City><st1:place>South = Bend</st1:place></st1:City> has at least 8 other = tuners, only one music store?  I'm just getting in to this, and I'm having = trouble breaking in through the"we already have a tuner nonsense.  = <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> <st1:City><st1:place>Marshall</st1:= place></st1:City><o:p></o:p> </div> <blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black = 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'= > <div> ----- Original Message = ----- <o:p></o:p> </div> <div style='font-color:black'> From:</span= > <a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com" = title="deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">Dean May</a> <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> To:<= /font> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" = title="pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech'</a> = <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> Sent:</span= > <st1:date Month="1" Day="3" Year="2006">Tuesday, January 03, = 2006</st1:date> <st1:time Hour="21" Minute="52">9:52 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></p= > </div> <div> Subject:</s= pan> RE: Separate business/personal accounts?<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> <o:p> </o:p> </div> <st1:City><st1:place>Marshall</st1:place></st1:City>,<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= It does not have = to be a business account. In fact, this is usually not desirable as banks tend = to tack on all kinds of extra charges to business accounts. Just make sure all = checks are made out to you personally and there will be no problem depositing = them into a “personal” account. If the checks are made out to a = business name, like <st1:City><st1:place>Marshall</= font></st1:place></st1:City>’s Piano Service, the bank can balk at depositing them = into an account that does not have that as a DBA. = <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= But as far as = the IRS is concerned the main thing is that it be a separate account, not that it = be called business account, just that it be an account used exclusively for business. <o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p>= <div> Dean<o:p></o:p>= Dean May       &nbs= p;     cell 812.239.3359<o:p></o:p> PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272<o:p></o:p> <st1:place><st1:City>Terre Haute</st1:City> <st1:State>IN</st1:State>  = <st1:PostalCode>47802</st1:PostalCode= ></st1:place><o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p>= -----Original = Message----- From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of pianotune05 Sent: = <st1:date Month="1" Day="3" Year="2006">Tuesday, January 03, = 2006</st1:date> <st1:time Hour="21" Minute="39">9:39 PM</st1:time> To: Pianotech Subject: Re: Separate business/personal accounts?<o:p></o:p> <o:p> </o:p> <div> Hi = everyone.<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> I have a seperate account, = but it's not a business account.  Would a DBA account work as I get = busier?  Speaking of busy, any ideas on advertising?  I'm not in the = financial place to advertise plus we have at least 8 tuners in = <st1:City><st1:place>South = Bend</st1:place></st1:City> that I've either met or = heard of.  We may have more = in <st1:City><st1:place>South = Bend</st1:place></st1:City>  and the surounding area.  <o:p></o:p> </div> <div>  <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> I like the word = mingling.  That's how I met my wife.  :)<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> <st1:City><st1:place>Marshall</st1:= place></st1:City><o:p></o:p> </div> <blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid black = 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt; margin-left:3.75pt;margin-top:5.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:5.0pt'= > <div> ----- Original Message = ----- <o:p></o:p> </div> <div style='font-color:black'> From: <a href="mailto:yardbird@vermontel.net" title="yardbird@vermontel.net">william ballard</a> = <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> To:<= /font> <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org" = title="pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</a> <o:p></o:p> </div> <div> Sent:</span= > <st1:date Month="1" Day="3" Year="2006">Tuesday, January 03, = 2006</st1:date> <st1:time Hour="20" Minute="49">8:49 PM</st1:time><o:p></o:p></p= > </div> <div> Subject:</s= pan> Re: Separate business/personal accounts?<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> <o:p> </o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <div> <div> On <st1:date Month="1" = Day="3" Year="2006">Jan 3, 2006</st1:date>, at <st1:time Hour="14" = Minute="14">2:14 PM</st1:time>, Andrew and Rebeca Anderson wrote:<o:p></o:p> </div> <blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' type=cite> Co-mingling is what the tax-"services" call it.  Opening a second account in the same bank usually works well.  Sometimes they allow you to = make electronic draws to your personal account but using a cheque is better = for record-keeping.<o:p></o:p> </blockquote> <o:p> </o:p> </div> <div> Let's not overlook having separate business = checking and savings accounts, so that when you get a deposit on labor yet to be performed or invoices for materials yet to arrive, that deposit can sit = in the savings account and not get dissolved in the daily ebb&flow flow in = the checking account.<o:p></o:p> </div> <o:p> </o:p> <div> Bill Ballard RPT<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> NH Chapter, = P.T.G.<o:p></o:p> </div> <div style='MIN-HEIGHT: 14px'> <o:p> </o:p> </div> <div> "I go, two plus like, three is pretty = much totally five. Whatever"<o:p></o:p> </div> <div>     ...........The new = math<o:p></o:p> </div> <div> +++++++++++++++++++++<o:p></o:p>= </div> </blockquote> </blockquote> </div> </body> </html>