Ha, I don't even need two sheets of paper. I just show up on the doorstep and they fall at my feet! Ok...well maybe not yet, I still have to demo like a mad dog to generate interest. It is then easy to upsell. We have a funny market here and my company is new to the game so I have to "buy" my credibility with blood, sweat and tears. Hopefully someday people will start giving me referral business so that people will start trusting in my abilities without always questioning my prices. Ahhhh....a guy can dream can't he.
MY demo kit weighs...
I gotta tell you, I am developing a love/hate relationship with my demo kit. the more I use it, the more jobs I get, which i am thrilled to say i have picked up 3 landscape light jobs in the past week, after doing 6 demo's. after a dead time of a month, I am happy to be doing at least part time lighting work again before the big christmas light work starts September 15.
my love hate thing goes like this- I love having 4 75 ft runs of multi-plug cord, 20 brass mr-16 uplights, 5 deck lights with clamps, 2 600 watt trans, and a few paths and a few extension cords. really everything you need for a decent medium home demo.
my hate thing is weight. I have maxed out 2 very large ice chests on wheels w/ collapsable handles ( like luggage) , and I keep the paths and deck lights in a seperate box. each ice chest easily weighs 65-75 lbs, and I am tired of loading and unloading these things in the back of my truck.
I know that firefly does awesome demo's, and probably easily doubles the weight of mine, but I am also curious about the rest of you guys- what do you bring and how do you lug it around? how much time do you give yourself to setup, bid and load back up a demo? I am taking about 35-45 minutes to setup, 15-20 to write out and bid, and 20-25 minutes to load up and go home. all by myself. some demo's take longer if the customer wants me to move around lights, but a single demo typically takes me from 7:30 pm leave house time to around 9:30-10:30 get back home time at this time of year. February is much easier as you can get there at 4:30 pm and be back home by 6:30 pm. let me know if my experience is normal, or what you guys are doing different.
my love hate thing goes like this- I love having 4 75 ft runs of multi-plug cord, 20 brass mr-16 uplights, 5 deck lights with clamps, 2 600 watt trans, and a few paths and a few extension cords. really everything you need for a decent medium home demo.
my hate thing is weight. I have maxed out 2 very large ice chests on wheels w/ collapsable handles ( like luggage) , and I keep the paths and deck lights in a seperate box. each ice chest easily weighs 65-75 lbs, and I am tired of loading and unloading these things in the back of my truck.
I know that firefly does awesome demo's, and probably easily doubles the weight of mine, but I am also curious about the rest of you guys- what do you bring and how do you lug it around? how much time do you give yourself to setup, bid and load back up a demo? I am taking about 35-45 minutes to setup, 15-20 to write out and bid, and 20-25 minutes to load up and go home. all by myself. some demo's take longer if the customer wants me to move around lights, but a single demo typically takes me from 7:30 pm leave house time to around 9:30-10:30 get back home time at this time of year. February is much easier as you can get there at 4:30 pm and be back home by 6:30 pm. let me know if my experience is normal, or what you guys are doing different.
1 - 3 of 67 Posts
Thanks Mike. Ahhh....Misery loves company. My demo "kit", if you want to call it that consists of 2-600 watt transformers 2-300 watt transformers, about 35 mr 16 spots, 8 path lights, 25 par can or 'turd' lights as Eddie likes to call them, about 4 regular old t-3 floods and 6 underwater MR 16 spots. I keep a large storage container with me of various wattages and spreads of bulbs and a whole array of lenses. Not to mention also about 200 lbs or so of various 12-2 and 16/2 lengths of wire. It is not a fun proposition going to do a demo, but I do go prepared for just about anything.
You can't manage voltage drop off a car battery. Why would they buy dimly lit lights from your demo when they can buy the dim ones at home Cheapo? Use the equipment you are going to install dude. Do it right.
1 - 3 of 67 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Lawn Care Forum
A forum community dedicated to lawn care and landscaping professionals and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
