ok guys and girls!! help a guy out here...... i wanna here how you guys go about getting jobs and the word out about what you do and how you do it. i have a web site im on thumbtack i have a large base network of average through uber wealthy customers that seem to realy help by getting me out there word of mouth. most have a hard time with visualizing what vert rock carvin is and i use pics and describe for them all the possibilities and ideas but usually its just wow thats pretty cool stuff and not much more. so if your willing i would love to here a few strategies you guys have used or use to get some carvin jobs. i love doin this and wanna make money doing it so many ideas..... now i need canvas!!!!

Hey Scott, I am changing the way we are marketing  our company Concrete Evolution. I was doing mostly what you are doing and was having the same results, a lot of wows and then nothing comes of it. Residentially it's hard to market, unless they are renovating or building you don't have much of a chance. I am trying to build relationships with other businesses that already have their foot in the door, I can piggy back off of them and they already have the client. These businesses include Architects, landscapers, property management, higher end home builders, land developers, renovation companies, commercial contractors etc.

THANKS A BUNCH CHRISTIAN!! i have thought of putting together a small binded multipage photo intenvse ad that i can take to buissness like you have stated and go hand deliver to the owner or owners of these buiss and maybe takem to lunch or sumthing and kinda get to know them and build that relationship. thanks again!

anybody else gott a anything to help a starving to carve stone carver out!?!?! how bout you dion?? you seem to have sumthin figd out!! lol!

Hello Scott,

For starters, when I got into concrete countertops, I called up about a dozen of my old customers/contacts and just told them I was getting into something new and wanted to know if I could stop by some time and show them some pictures and get their opinions on it. During the discussions over the pics, I told them that I decided not to advertise to do a launch, but instead, was thinking about applying the advertising budget to discounts for the first 3 people to commit, and I had the first 3 right away. I'll probably do things a bit different with the vert, but I also don't have quite the high-end contacts you have right now, either. Hope this gives you somethin to ponder. Talk to you soon.

 Well, I am pretty happy with the way my marketing has worked out so far. Like most everyone it comes and goes, up and down, you know...... That is the construction industry in a whole.

 I have not had much luck in marketing the home builders, entry level builders don't spend this kind of $ and higher end builders are not building very much, at least in my area. I never seem to get a call back from them when I cold call them. I follow up with each one of them twice. But it doesn't seem to matter. The one or two builders that I get a hold of seem to just listen, say cool and then that is it. I know for my business, it is only because they have not seen first hand my work and what it brings to the home. Once I can get them to see a project and be able to touch it, I am golden! They are an easy sell at that point.

 I believe the Veterans Memorial I just donated to the High School I graduated from will be a great marketing tool for me. I figure that project is my "marketing" project for this year. The water feature was my "marketing" project for last year. By marketing I mean, the funds that it takes for materials to complete the project, I contribute those to marketing budget. You gotta have one!

 What I did do in the beginning, I built a water feature around the sign of a company that sits on one of the busiest roads in my town. I presented it to the owner and we traded out some work for me on one of my hot rods. It worked out perfect! That project is where I got the clients that hired me to design and build out the exterior hand carved commercial project that we did. That commercial building was an easy sell because the owners wanted to own a building that was a landmark on the main blvd. It turned out awesome and they are very happy. It gets a lot of traffic driving by and a ton of walk in traffic and it has just paid off for me! I just got confirmation on a bid that I presented last night to a home owner for a great project!

 I believe in spending as much time as needed with a potential client. I usually meet with a client 2-3 times before I get a yes to start the project. If I get a second meeting, I can close the deal! I am a relationship type of person, I build a friendship with them before it is time for them to trust me as a contractor. I know that process works well for me, plus that is where I am the most comfortable. I don't work well if I have to quick sale it or used car kind of sale. I believe that kind of sales tactic is what it takes to make a new business work in this economy.

 Also, get as many people to see and touch your work as possible. I always build a good enough relationship with my clients that they insist that I bring people over to look at the project. And I utilize that all the time! That is the key to building this type of business, as you guys said earlier, there seems to be a sense of WOW when you first talk about it and then it goes away. People need to be able to see it when they are excited about it, then it makes them want it. With that being said, make sure you present your "marketing" projects to owners that are in locations where people can stop by and see your work whenever they want or need to. You can schedule to meet a potential client at one of these projects and then can see and touch the artwork while you are selling it. That is key! You will always have those locations that you can tell someone to stop by and check it out at their convenience, trust me, they will stop by.

 I have committed to designing and printing a couple very high well done tri-fold flyers that I leave all over town. I try and keep them stocked up at all times (although I have found that the more places you put them, the harder it is to keep they full), some examples of where I have mine are, Grizzly Motorsports (Polaris and Kawasaki dealership where guys with $ are always shopping), Radiator and Muffler Shop (where loads of people are sitting in the waiting area while their cars are getting worked on), Jiffy Lube (this is where I go through the most flyers, and I love it!), just to name a few. Another great thing I did was do a wrap on my truck and it has paid for itself time and time again. You can definitely see it and I hear it from people ALL the time. $ well spent! I do have to say though, if you are going to do a wrap on a vehicle, make it stand out! The wraps that are subtle or flow very smoothly, don't catch peoples eye. You gotta be bold and different when doing a wrap.

 Well I am sure I have bored enough of you by now, so I will quit jabbering on. Hit me up if anyone wants to bs, I am always up for a good session!

THANKS A BUNCH FOR YOUR INPUT!! thanks for the in depth info! many great ideas and pointers all of wich i will try and implement!! thanks again dion and i will def hit you up for a bs session soon!!

thanks again!!

Holy crap Dion, I need a puff on an inhaler after all of  that.  Dion is right about building the relationships, people love to buy from friends. Also you might want to look at things from a little different perspective, remember that your not just selling decorative concrete or stone facing or counter tops. Your selling an experience, That includes every step you go through from the moment you introduce yourself to the moment you collect the cheque. You want to create a system of handling things so you can replicate that experience over and over for every client. You'll build a reputation over time and your results will be predictable. This is the basis for getting referrals which for me has always been the best way to get business, referrals almost always buy. This at least has been my experience with our 1st business over the past 12 years. I hope to translate this concept into the Concrete.

Haha. I hope none of you are planning on moving to my neck of the woods! I don't want to be training my competitors! I definitely agree with Christian. Spot on mate!!!!!!!!

Heck no, no one's moving up there by you, Dion. You're about to be buried under snow and ice for the next 5 months! I'm moving down by Dobert, especially since all your tips are going to have him so busy he can hire all of us and keep us busy through winter!!!

LOL I hear you there. It is a mad push for me to find and schedule indoor work right now. I am thinking once both my kids are graduated (which will be pretty soon) i want to try and do a little within this industry. We will see how that goes..........................................

believe it or not about 55% of my work is from repeat customers and about 30% are referrals from those repeat customers and the remaining 15% from advertising and cards posted throughout the county. i have great relationships with most of my costumers and very good more shld i say buiss relationships with the others. what im hearin from you guys is that i need to utilize those relationships get my to them or them close to it and really talk and listen and let the job build itself till i can close the deal. plus all the other great ideas that you guys are giving me here im feelin good about this and have really enjoyed hearing from each one of you!

dion do not frett i am not moving anywhere close to you any time soon i actually like my sweat box semi tropical paradise that i live in! lol! david the beer is ice cold and the tiki hut is warmed up you come on down anytime and as for all that work im gunna generate usin all your guys advise im gearin up for a big push here and hopefully theres more work than we know what to do with!!!

thanks again guys!!