As a new mill owner am looking to drum up business anyway possible! So I purchase some cheap magnetic signs, put on my truck, hook up woodmizer and drive to local beer store!! I go inside make my purchase! Come out and have a CUSTOMER waiting at my truck!I think *DanG this is COOL! ;D I hand the guy my business card, give him my Best salesman pitch! He seems really interested,turns out he is the mayors son! He wants to buy a sawmill! *DanG I read that one wrong!! :( :( Daniel
Gee that new mill will really cut into the mayors booze fund won't it? ;D
Advertise on Craigslist.
I'm just getting started with my new venture but so far every time I have milled a load of lumber I drive down town and stop at the quikie and take my time ,lots of lookers and questions ! I will be pulling my mill around some this summer as well ,gonna drive slow through towns etc let everyone get a good long look ! Might work might not but I figure you need to take every oppertunity you can !
Quote from: scully on March 30, 2013, 08:48:10 AM
I'm just getting started with my new venture but so far every time I have milled a load of lumber I drive down town and stop at the quikie and take my time ,lots of lookers and questions ! I will be pulling my mill around some this summer as well ,gonna drive slow through towns etc let everyone get a good long look ! Might work might not but I figure you need to take every oppertunity you can !
Kinda like trolling. If you're not dragging a bait, you're just driving a boat.
Woodweasel......all my customers want to buy sawmills. ;D
I echo the Craigslist idea. Also, post something at auction barns, including livestock, grocery stores, anywhere you can. Find out who the woodworking groups are in your area, and send them a flyer. Sometimes those guys want logs cut for their own use. Every little bit helps. Might not bring in immediate business, but people remember. And they talk. And try and set up and cut a few logs on a major highway. Have a sign there advertising your business. People love to see lumber being cut.
Woodweasel,
There are a lot of ways to get your name out there, try as many as you can. :P
Business cards - always have them available, if you tell anyone about your mill you should be handing them a card. Consider printing a board footage scale on the back side, something helpful like that will keep it in their wallet for a long time. smiley_thumbsup
Website - at least a splash page so internet searches will bring up your name smiley_thumbsup smiley_thumbsup
Craigslist - there are ways to avoid most of the spammers
Local ad papers - the free ones you pick up at the gas station or convenience stores. Also consider support ads in school programs, church bulletins, or woodworking clubs.
State forestry listings - many states have them available on line. smiley_thumbsup
Internet 'find a sawmill' listings - there are quite a few of them with free listings
Make contact with the state forester for your area and your local extension agents, supply them with your cards. Invite them to drop by when you are sawing so they can see what you do. smiley_thumbsup
Post your business cards, or a flyer, at feed stores, farm & home supply stores, restaurants, repair shops, etc. any place with a community bulletin board.
I found a little device that is pretty handy. They are called CardCues, a little cardboard holder for business cards. You fold them up and pin or tape them to bulletin boards. They have a pocket for your business card and a container that will hold up to 40 business cards. A package of 12 is about $10 and I have them up at several locations and keep about 10 cards in each one. smiley_lit_bulb
In addition to business cards I have a tri-fold brochure that I print at home. There are acrylic holders available that hold both the brochures and business cards for locations where there is a higher chance of serious interest.
There are lots of ways to get name recognition. I've had someone get a business card or brochure and then call more than a year later. Once you get their attention they will remember when they happen on to a log or know someone else who has one. :)
Many people take pictures or video of your mill while you are sawing their logs. Put your name on the mill too.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/19572/Website_URL_on_mill_RF.jpg)
When I started doing tree removal and selling firewood as a small, side job, I did three things. First, I advertised on Craigslist. Next, I got two magnetic signs. One on my truck and one on the wife's SUV. Had my phone number and email address on these. Lastly, I went online and got 500 business cards made by Vistaprint. I gave these out to everybody, five at a time.
Another thing I'd do, if I didn't have a firewood load booked to deliver, I'd load the truck up, then drive about two miles from the house in VA Beach. By then, someone would call the number on my magnetic sign, or they'd flag me down at a stop light. I sold out of firewood every year. I had so much part-time business, I could have gone full-time easily. I did this for five years and never had a day off, unless it rained.
In addition to all that has been mentioned, Tom said website. After 20 years in business and advertising locally, paper, business cards etc. Big sign on major through road, most people do not know about us.
Many locals find my website and are amazed I am local.
Get the key words on your site. Keep is simple.
I bet Jeff has some good pointers and could get one up for you.
Any events that attracts the DIY crowd? I saw a sawmill at a local small town airport. They was doing a Fly In for a weekend.
Website. Website. Oh yeah, website....I get about 200 hits a day, most days. That's about 1400 potential customers that are looking at my product per week. If only a small percentage contact me, and I have an attractive product, then I can close the deal on more business than I can handle.
Lots of almost free websites builders out there, build it and they will come. Also lots of talent on this site, lots of very helpful and experienced web administrators.
Second best for me is Yellow Pages, CL, and newspaper.
Ask yourself, if you want to buy something, where do you look to find it? Imagine you were a potential customer searching to buy your product and service, could you find it?
YH
I am new also. I cut a semi load of Walnut and had my saw set up in a rental center as I needed a place I could work. I got at least 3-4 people a day stopping and looking and cut lots of small jobs of lots of people. wood showed up by the 16 foot trailer load. I also have a 4x6 card I have left at southern States and Tractor supplies etc. Get good results. I also agree craigslist works great.
I'm new and am trying to drum up business as well. I've bought some magnetic signs, had some vistaprint bumpef stickers made, and gotten some business cars. I'm way off the beaten path so I'm not going to get any roadside advertisement.
Pulling my mill has generated some calls but the best thing that has helped me yet has been to set my mill up at our local fairgrounds and cut a few cedars during a weekend craft show. Drummed up lots of erc sales to locas.
I'm a firm believer in the old saying "The best advertisement is word-of-mouth"!
Lots of small communities have a "fall fair", or some other annual celebration. Often they have a parade, and often the organizers are looking for interesting "floats". Get the idea? ;D.
Every year I get a few people come buy asking about buying a saw. I give them 5 minute of my time, tell them how much it'll cost, tell them sawing is easy -- reading the log is the challenge. About half these people have become customers. Only one guy actually bought a mill. He sold it, unused, a year later.
Business cards. They don't have to be fancy. Your name, your number, what you do. When you give them out, always give out two. People will often pass one on to someone else, even if only to get rid of the extra one.
I just renewed my "Shameless commerce" fee for a web page linked to the Forestry Forum. People don't need to find the Forum to find you -- just being linked to the FF will get your page on the top half of the first page of Google.
A local high school teacher has a special program for students interested in industry. This isn't a regular "class". It's a bunch of students who are actually interested in seeing different industries. I give them an hour and a half of my time in the spring, and sure enough, I'll get a customer or two who heard aboiut me from "a kid I know".
Quote from: Chuck White on March 30, 2013, 10:37:23 PM
I'm a firm believer in the old saying "The best advertisement is word-of-mouth"!
Too True Chuck ;) I don't do cards sites or anything like that even though I should for the higher value stuff I do but my work usually finds me had a phonecall the other week for $200ks worth plus of pallet to take up the slack of another mill that supplies them I said is that a year and he said no thats every month :) ;) :D :D :D ;D
Best thing you can do is decide what market or markets you are chasing and get on the phone and let people know what you are upto Mate ;) ;D ;D 8) 8)
Regards Chris
Seriously,if you cut decent product and are reasonable in your priceing word will get around.As Chris says word of mouth,all my new customers were sent by old customers.You could try the old brer-rabbit briar patch ploy,tell a customer keep this mill a secret I'am too busy and want to do more fishing. Frank C.
Thanks Gents !! daniel
I made the mistake of stopping at Walmart on my way to a saw job. I needed to pickup some windshield solution and when I came out, there were 2 guys, 1 woman and a bunch of kids crawling on my sawmill. Won't make that mistake again.
people of walmart dot com
woodweasel...If you're out to saw for a living then advertising is crucial. The boys have covered all the bases and then some, but I do want to underscore Chucks comment regarding word of mouth. as you build your business, your reliance on advertising will diminish in importance as you become known. Referrals are pure gold in almost any business, but for some reason, especially in the sawing business. I spent many years and thousands of $$ on advertising building a successful cabinet shop and furniture/piano restoration business, But in spite of my efforts to keep the sawmilling quiet, everyone in town knows me as the the guy who runs the sawmill. go figure.
In my situation, word of mouth secures sawing jobs within about a 50 mile radius. Jobs beyond that are website/internet generated.