I have tried cold calling with limited success. I did get about a 5-10% positive interest in our service and I didn't get anyone really pissed at me. Mostly because of the way I approached it. I would call and say; "Hello. Is Mike there. Hi Mike, my name is xxx from xxx. We do lawn care and xxx for a few of your neighbors there on xxx street (which was true). I was wondering if you'd be interested in getting a free bid on ...."<p>I know this isn't the same as hiring a telemarketing company. But it's similar. I agree telemarketing is annoying to most people and I don't think I'd try it. The good news about it though is that even if you piss them off, it's short term memmory. Most people will forget who it was that called within 5 minutes. So no long term damage done to your reputation. <p>Is it worth it? I dunno. I kinda doubt it but done right, it could be. Is it the best way to get new customers? Heck no! If you are new, nothing beats fliers. Laying fliers on people's doors gets the best response for the money of any kind of marketing - bar none. <p>Once you get more established, the best form of marketing is your reputation, lettering on your trucks, A-frame signs put up while on a job, etc. We get a good 50% of our new business this way. But then we have 5 trucks driving around town that all look identical, permenant yard signs in 50% of our customers' yards, A-frame signs on the sidewalk at every job we do, and a good reputation. The rest of our business comes from Yellow Pages Ads (barely worth what they cost and TRICKY!), fliers, and a few other places. <p>I used to do fliers a LOT. And we still do in the winter or early spring if we are a little slow. But I haven't had to do that for almost 5 months now. Still, for the money, they are the best. You can lay a good 400-700 fliers a day if you try. 2 or 3 days of that and even with a 2% return you'll be swamped. Trust me. <p>Hope that helps. <p>----------<br>Jim Lewis - Lewis Landscape Services<br>http://www.lewislandscape.com
