Faxed Letters

[jbailey52]

Can someone post a example of what they fax to commercial clients for blind sales? That is to say a letter you send to a company without talking to them, and asking to be added to their bid lists.. Thanks!

[carcrz]

People actually do that? If I ever get something like that, it goes straight into the trash can. If they aren't ambitious enough to call me at the very least, I'm not even going to think about giving them the opportunity for my business. The least you could do is drop off an introduction letter offering your services.

[jbailey52]

An Introductory letter.. yes by Fax.. As a matter of fact most business like the fax better... depending.. and Ive been doing it for years.. works great.... and I dont know why someone would do it to you... your the landscaper...

[carcrz]

It works the same for my suppliers. I don't like them wasting my paper. It shouldn't cost me anything for their advertising.

[jbailey52]

Hm.. now theres a strange way to look at it.. but ok I guess ha

[The Captain]

I agree with you carcrz. We get enough junk through our fax. From unsolicited stock offers to offers to buy our business (no, it's not for sale), we get them all. Too bad we can't block these calls. :mad: They're a waste of paper, toner and time. Just more spam, but on paper. If anything fax solicitations tend to keep me away from the sender.

If I need a product or service, I'll call, not fax for a proposal.

(Wow.....Okay, I feel better now that I've got that out .)

[jbailey52]

Thats a shame.. we have been doing it for about seven years now... has been wonderful for us... and your a small business.. most faxes now are paperless, and electronic..

[carcrz]

Actually, most of the business you go to will have paper fax machines. Unless it is a small outfit that is pretty high-tech. what does me being a small business have anything to do w/ it? I know junk mail annoys the heck out of me. If you want my buesiness, you need to make the effort to get it.

[jbailey52]

Good think im not tryin to get your business... And no your wrong... most big businesses are completely paperless.... try to get it right.. they are all electronic

[jbailey52]

If anyone has anything constructive to say.. feel free...

[PSDF350]

If anyone has anything constructive to say.. feel free...

Just becuase you dont like the answers dont mean there not constructive.

[Ed Ryder]

I've got something constructive to say... don't do it! There, I just saved you thousands of dollars and a whole lot of misery.

Unsolicited faxes have been against the law since - I believe it's called the "Telecommunications Protection Act of 1992" was enacted. Since then, additional laws have been passed that punish senders of unsolicted faxes. In addition, some states, like California, have harsher versions of this federal law. If you happen to send a commercial solicitation by fax to a business where you have no pre-existing business relationship, and if the recipient is sophisticated with the law, you can be sued and taken to the cleaners.

A lot of people are uninformed about the legal exposure that fax broadcasting brings. At one time, it was legal and people went nuts sending fax spam. Today, only a fool would use faxing as a marketing tool.

[jbailey52]

Well hell... maybe its because these companies see us allover... dont know.. but it as worked great for us.. Id say in commercial account in a year aquired by this we gross approx 50-60,000 a year on new commercial accounts.. so I see what your saying, but I havent had any problems and never a complaint

[ICS]

It is just a numbers game, fax enough and you will catch something. Too bad you can't fax accurate pricing since that would pretty much be all they would care about from that type of soliciting. If you know where your faxes are going, maybe drive the route and come up with an idea of a price for the properties. If you want to show some business ethics you could also put on your you fax a number to call to be taken off your list. (Do you get a lot of people calling and complaining to be taken off your list, how often do you fax [once a year or more]) Blind business faxing has A LOT more restrictions then regular business telemarketing.

justalawnguy: wrote this before I read your thread

[jbailey52]

These are all pre-determined companies in the areas we service... and There is no price on them. We introduce ourselves and our services and ask to be added to their bid list in the spring.. it is very successful and We do have a removal number, Never yet had someone call it, we fax about 100 faxes begining each season, and Id say we get 20 responses.. Thats 20% and extremely good.

[Ed Ryder]

Risky!

It's good your gamble has paid off, and not many people are aware that they could extort you or sue you for violating that law, but someday somebody with a predatory mindset might decide to teach you a lesson. I'm a little blurry on my recollection of the exposure. But $500 per fax is the figure that sticks in my mind. I think it is $2000 per fax in California. Under the 1992 law, only the FCC could sue you. I believe the 2003 law allows affected businesses to sue you directly. I've read postings from people who gloated over how they sued businesses that faxed them. One guy sued and got a judgment for $40,000. (And his story was credible from the way he wrote of his legal maneuvering.)

[jbailey52]

Yea I guess, but we have been doing it for so long, never even had a phone call telling us to stop. I would imagine the people that piss them off are many many copies everyday.. we send one sheet, and it is for something they usually are looking into, like ive said, Ive never even recieved a complaint