Advertising Requests! Do You Get Hounded By This?

[Mrs.Clooney]

I've had 2 calls in the the last 24 hours regarding advertising.

The first one said that I was the only person in my area recommended/chosen (yeah right ) to advertize my business in 'Customer Straight'. They have a website and I couldn't find it?? Only £299 as a one off payment, (then the stinger) plus £59.90 per month thereafter ! I said 'no thank you' and she said, 'okay we will find somebody else'.

The second one I found a bit more interesting. Hertfordshire police are raising awareness for the PCSO's by sending out a quarterly journal to the public, businesses, doctor's surgeries etc.... For £145 for a year, you get a bordered advert about the size of 2 business cards in the journal. A reasonable price but it is only a quarterly journal. Do you think this is a good advertizing opportunity?

Do you get frequent calls like this? IMO the first call was ludicrous.

 

[Rach]

There was an old post about this police journal - best thing is to phone your police station back to confirm it is genuine, it might be a scam.

 

[Sals]

I get this sort of thing all the time. I always say no in case it's dodgy.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

There was an old post about this police journal - best thing is to phone your police station back to confirm it is genuine, it might be a scam.

Ooooh thanks Rach. I wasn't aware of this. If anybody else knows then please give your comments.

 

[EllaX]

i get loads!! 'we guarantee you will be the only nail technician in this time'

yeah right.... if they can sell an advert they will! xx

 

[*JOANNE*]

i get this all the time,
firebrigade, do i want to advertise in a magazine thing
plasma in post office
plasma in supermarket
plasma in dentist...does my head in.

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Well oddly enough I asked the most recent caller (for the police) to send me details by post so I could look at it more closely and he said that wasn't his job? I was a bit taken aback by this but thought nothing more at the time. Now I'm a bit suspicious. I do have a contact mobile number though because he said he was 'on the road today'. (Yeah right).

 

[TraceyJoJo]

I've had loads. Thank god the yellow pages has closed is all I can say, they were calling me nearly every week. Had the plasma in the post office too, thats so expensive!

 

[bombini]

I used to get this a lot when I first went self employed but now it seems to have stopped.

If I do get them I treat them like an agony aunt ! I tell them all my financial problems and they can't wait to get off the phone.

 

[jo-from-moorspa]

I am going to give you a bit of a vague answer here, not knowing what type of establishment you have. But I am going to guess you go to wedding venues for the bridal make up and have people coming to you for nail treatments.

I feel you have to ask yourself what you would like to achieve with your advertising. Do you want people in your area to know that you exist (awareness) or do you want it to be a call to action (people come to you based on that advert). Either way you need a strong message which stands out form others offering similar services.

You also need to spend a bit of time to work out what budget you have. And if it doesn't work do you mind writing the money off?

Also think about how your potential customers find you and what their motivation is. I would guess that nail treatments are quite price sensitive, is there anyone undercutting you in the local area and if they are why is this, do you offer a better service? With the bridal make-up I would guess this is less price sensitive but the bride needs utmost confidence that she will not look like coco the clown on her big day.

If you would like to tell me a bit more about what you do then I may be able to come up with an idea you haven't been offered or considered.

As for that website offer, I agree with you completely, I think you would be better off looking at something like trading standards approved.

And yes at Moor Spa we receive about 4-10 calls a day.

Jo
Beauty products | Beauty Therapy | Professional Treatments | Beauty Supplies- Moorspa.co.uk

 

[Sals]

Well oddly enough I asked the most recent caller (for the police) to send me details by post so I could look at it more closely and he said that wasn't his job? I was a bit taken aback by this but thought nothing more at the time. Now I'm a bit suspicious. I do have a contact mobile number though because he said he was 'on the road today'. (Yeah right).

Ooh, it does sound a bit iffy hun. Let us know how you get on.

 

[Rach]

It does sound iffy, if it is a scam perhaps you should pass on the details to someone like Trading Standards? As surely these people should not be imitating the police.

 

[rouge]

I get loads of calls like that from different people. They usually go rambling on about all the 'benefits' I'd get, at which point I cut in and say ' yes but how much will it cost me?' and it's usually some completely ridiculous sum. The best (!) one was from ufindus.com, it would have cost about £600 a year to get an enhanced listing, plus they allegedly set up a website for you. Well I've seen some of the websites they do and they're completely rubbish.

I usually tell people that a) it's a very small business and can't support costs like that, b) I get loads of new clients from my website and c) I put my details on as many free directories as I can find and that keeps me going very well thank you. In other words, go away and leave me alone!!:lol:

 

[Chameleon]

I used to get this a lot when I first went self employed but now it seems to have stopped.

If I do get them I treat them like an agony aunt ! I tell them all my financial problems and they can't wait to get off the phone.

pmsl:lol::lol::lol:

Oh woe is you Juliette!!:green:

I have caller id on my phone and if its 0845 or 0800 i give it a miss...if its important they will leave a message.

 

[ValencianNails]

Being on the other side of this I'd like to share with you what it's like being in advertising telesales.

Remember that the person who phones you needs to pay their mortgage the same as you do.
If you're not interested in the advertising they have to offer you then ask yourself why?
Is it because you don't know of the company? If so then ask them to send you some information so you can be fully informed for when they ring back (because they will ring back).
If it's due to your advertising budget has been used up then explain to them that you have no money left for more advertising and you're more than happy with what you have at the moment.

Most importantly try not to be rude, they haven't deserved rudeness (most of the time).

 

[Sals]

Being on the other side of this I'd like to share with you what it's like being in advertising telesales.

Remember that the person who phones you needs to pay their mortgage the same as you do.
If you're not interested in the advertising they have to offer you then ask yourself why?
Is it because you don't know of the company? If so then ask them to send you some information so you can be fully informed for when they ring back (because they will ring back).
If it's due to your advertising budget has been used up then explain to them that you have no money left for more advertising and you're more than happy with what you have at the moment.

Most importantly try not to be rude, they haven't deserved rudeness (most of the time).

Well said Sandi. I always try to be polite to telesales people. I've always thought it must be a soul destroying job, with people being rude to you all the time. I know I wouldn't last 5 minutes without bursting into tears or totally losing my temper!

 

[Mrs.Clooney]

Being on the other side of this I'd like to share with you what it's like being in advertising telesales.

Remember that the person who phones you needs to pay their mortgage the same as you do.
If you're not interested in the advertising they have to offer you then ask yourself why?
Is it because you don't know of the company? If so then ask them to send you some information so you can be fully informed for when they ring back (because they will ring back).
If it's due to your advertising budget has been used up then explain to them that you have no money left for more advertising and you're more than happy with what you have at the moment.

Most importantly try not to be rude, they haven't deserved rudeness (most of the time).

It's interesting you raise this point, because I have thought this myself. The person on the other end of the phone is just doing their job and they probably earn commission the more advertizing space they sell.

I don't think anyone on this thread has indicated that they have been rude, although it's a good point. Personally, I gave both these people the time of day but I know at the end of the call that they are always going to hit me with the price. I would rather have the option of not having to answer the phone in the first. Junk mail you can just bin. These sorts of phone calls are like junk mail IMO except you cant instantly bin them as that would be rude, lol.

 

[rouge]

Being on the other side of this I'd like to share with you what it's like being in advertising telesales.

Remember that the person who phones you needs to pay their mortgage the same as you do.
If you're not interested in the advertising they have to offer you then ask yourself why?
Is it because you don't know of the company? If so then ask them to send you some information so you can be fully informed for when they ring back (because they will ring back).
If it's due to your advertising budget has been used up then explain to them that you have no money left for more advertising and you're more than happy with what you have at the moment.

Most importantly try not to be rude, they haven't deserved rudeness (most of the time).

I quite agree that they are doing their job and don't deserve rudeness, but sometimes they are unbelievably pushy (like the guy from ufindus.com) and then I get very short with them. Generally I am polite to them but don't like feeling backed into a corner and made to explain why I don't want to give them my hard earned money.
On the other hand, if they are polite and accept the fact that I'm not taking on advertising then I will be polite to them.

 

[joe90]

I have had lots of this recently and also lots of reps trying to sell me teeth whitening and IPL. I always try to be polite but sometimes you get so many in a day it does become difficult to remain polite, especially when the person ringing is very pushy.

 

[talented talons]

I do get many calls from this sort of thing saying i can go on the back of doctor's appointment cards, quarterly local journels etc.

I just say to them that i have a lot of clients, so don't need to advertise more than i do and as most of my clients come through word of mouth, i don't need to pay to advertise, my work speaks for itself!