I spent a while trying to put this post together. Please read the full article and give any feedback. I think it can be beneficial to any new guys out there.
Earn $100,000+ by Year Two
This post will cover how to start your service business with a focus on marketing and the exact tactics I used to get over $100,000 in revenue in two years. Aside from acquiring your licenses & insurance, this guide will teach you early low cost marketing tactics & strategy.
A bit about myself. My name is Chris Moreschi and I own Natural Resources Pest Control based in South Florida. Even though itโs a family business with a successful history, I started out on my own and grew my own company over 100k as a solo technician in under two years. Shortly after, I merged with my familiesโ company to create a more successful business overall.
Iโm writing this guide from my own experience and the results I was able to achieve over a two year period. I will teach you the exact tactics I used. So letโs get started.
The Complete Service Business Guide from $0 to $100,000 in Profits
Part 1. What can you be the best at? Find a niche.
Part 2. Pricing out your services
Part 3. Claim your Google business listing
Part 4. Building your website
Part 5. Craigslist ads
Part 6. Learn basic search engine optimization
Part 7. Important WordPress plugins
Part 8. Start generating good content
Part 9. Share your content
Part 10. Build an email list
Part 11. Attend local groups and events
Part 12. Find a few partners
Part 13. Importance of Communication
Part 1. What can you be the best at? Find a niche.
You should specialize in your field. When I started I decided I wanted organic pest control to be my niche. I knew I would be dealing with a clientele that would pay a premium for the service. I also had passion behind the product and service I was offering.
I personally know many guys focusing on one service only ie: termites, bees, or fleas and making over 1 million/year in a specific service category. Donโt think you need to offer a lot of services. Itโs better to focus your marketing on one service and become known for it. You should still expand your work to other categories and upsell customers on more services over time but itโs best to keep your marketing message focused.
As a single person focusing will greatly improve the impact of your marketing in a short time period which is what we want. So what niche will you focus on?
Part 2. Pricing out your services
Really nail down your prices in such a way that you can give any type of quote over the phone. This will cut down on wasted time preparing or driving out for estimates. There are some services that will require estimates but most of your services should be priced like an a la carte menu.
You should also be very transparent about your pricing. Not many service companies place pricing on their websites but this has been a tactic that worked really well for me. You can see the pricing pages we use here: http://naturalresourcesfl.com/pricing/pricing.html
Having set pricing that is public will make your business better. Here are some of the things it will do for you:
- You will gain more initial trust with transparent pricing.
- Your website will more accurately pre-qualify inbound calls.
- Customers are happier because they are getting what they are searching for.
- It makes pricing over the phone simpler for you and anyone in your business.
- It forces you to stick to the pricing you want instead of giving a deal over the phone.
I really canโt think of any negatives to posting your pricing. Being concerned about your competitors is just a waste of time. Focus your thoughts on offering better service.
Part 3a. Claim your Google business listing
The very first tactic you want to do is claim your google business listing. You can do that here: https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/
Google is quite powerful for sending you local traffic and inbound leads. Setting up a listing takes 1 โ 2 weeks since they send you a postcard code to verify your address.
Once this listing is active make sure you populate it as much as you can. Upload images and all the details about your company.
Part 3b. Google business listings & customer reviews
The next most important tactic is garnering customer reviews for your Google business listing. In the beginning those early customers will only be trickling in from word of mouth and friends/family. With every happy customer make sure you garner a review for your Google business listing. This will be the force behind early incoming traffic from Google. 20 reviews and you will really see a difference in daily calls.
When collecting these reviews you can practice the same business listing tactics on Yelp and AngiesList.
Part 4. Building your website
If you arenโt graphically inclined you will need to hire a designer. Your website branding is going to make or break the ability to bring in clients quickly. Please do not try to just throw up a site yourself if youโre not web savvy. You should scrape those early investment dollars together to budget in $1500 for a website that will actually bring in leads.
Having a professional looking brand which gains trust, is a key factor between slow growth and fast growth. Here are the tactics behind building your branding:
- Step 1: make sure your logo is professionally designed. You can use a site like http://99designs.com/ or hire a freelance designer. (research high quality logos to get a sense of what you may want for your own design, if you have a bad design sense then find a friend to help you)
- Step 2: Have your website designed like a landing page. You want to create a funnel with direct calls to action. On my website we use a small contact us form and get pricing forms to capture leads.
Hereโs a great post on landing pages: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Creating Awesome Landing Pages
For developing your website you should use WordPress and have a professional theme done by a web designer. I recommend WordPress because itโs fairly easy to learn to manage your own site after itโs developed. More importantly it is a platform that allows you to add more content to your site over time in the form of additional pages and blog posts.
- Step 3: Add your team photos and bio to the website. Even if youโre solo itโs better to appear personal over large and โfakeโ. Allow your site visitors to make a personal connection and see who is behind the company/website. It will increase your conversion rate.
- Step 4: Look professional. Make sure your vehicle has emblems with your new branding. Have nice stock business cards printed. Work in a uniform. Even though you may be tempted to keep it really casual it will not benefit your business.
Part 5. Craigslist ads
Using craigslist ads in the early days will help bring those early customers and more importantly reviews. Craigslist ads are great for service companies for free marketing. Make sure you add images to your ads and try to post 1 new ad every single day.
Part 6. Learn basic search engine optimization
Now that you have your basic website up itโs time to start learning how to improve its ability to bring in more leads. Iโm about to teach you the easiest form of search engine optimization.
To read the second part....scroll down to the 17th reply below;
Earn $100,000+ by Year Two
This post will cover how to start your service business with a focus on marketing and the exact tactics I used to get over $100,000 in revenue in two years. Aside from acquiring your licenses & insurance, this guide will teach you early low cost marketing tactics & strategy.
A bit about myself. My name is Chris Moreschi and I own Natural Resources Pest Control based in South Florida. Even though itโs a family business with a successful history, I started out on my own and grew my own company over 100k as a solo technician in under two years. Shortly after, I merged with my familiesโ company to create a more successful business overall.
Iโm writing this guide from my own experience and the results I was able to achieve over a two year period. I will teach you the exact tactics I used. So letโs get started.
The Complete Service Business Guide from $0 to $100,000 in Profits
Part 1. What can you be the best at? Find a niche.
Part 2. Pricing out your services
Part 3. Claim your Google business listing
Part 4. Building your website
Part 5. Craigslist ads
Part 6. Learn basic search engine optimization
Part 7. Important WordPress plugins
Part 8. Start generating good content
Part 9. Share your content
Part 10. Build an email list
Part 11. Attend local groups and events
Part 12. Find a few partners
Part 13. Importance of Communication
Part 1. What can you be the best at? Find a niche.
You should specialize in your field. When I started I decided I wanted organic pest control to be my niche. I knew I would be dealing with a clientele that would pay a premium for the service. I also had passion behind the product and service I was offering.
I personally know many guys focusing on one service only ie: termites, bees, or fleas and making over 1 million/year in a specific service category. Donโt think you need to offer a lot of services. Itโs better to focus your marketing on one service and become known for it. You should still expand your work to other categories and upsell customers on more services over time but itโs best to keep your marketing message focused.
As a single person focusing will greatly improve the impact of your marketing in a short time period which is what we want. So what niche will you focus on?
Part 2. Pricing out your services
Really nail down your prices in such a way that you can give any type of quote over the phone. This will cut down on wasted time preparing or driving out for estimates. There are some services that will require estimates but most of your services should be priced like an a la carte menu.
You should also be very transparent about your pricing. Not many service companies place pricing on their websites but this has been a tactic that worked really well for me. You can see the pricing pages we use here: http://naturalresourcesfl.com/pricing/pricing.html
Having set pricing that is public will make your business better. Here are some of the things it will do for you:
- You will gain more initial trust with transparent pricing.
- Your website will more accurately pre-qualify inbound calls.
- Customers are happier because they are getting what they are searching for.
- It makes pricing over the phone simpler for you and anyone in your business.
- It forces you to stick to the pricing you want instead of giving a deal over the phone.
I really canโt think of any negatives to posting your pricing. Being concerned about your competitors is just a waste of time. Focus your thoughts on offering better service.
Part 3a. Claim your Google business listing
The very first tactic you want to do is claim your google business listing. You can do that here: https://www.google.com/business/placesforbusiness/
Google is quite powerful for sending you local traffic and inbound leads. Setting up a listing takes 1 โ 2 weeks since they send you a postcard code to verify your address.
Once this listing is active make sure you populate it as much as you can. Upload images and all the details about your company.
Part 3b. Google business listings & customer reviews
The next most important tactic is garnering customer reviews for your Google business listing. In the beginning those early customers will only be trickling in from word of mouth and friends/family. With every happy customer make sure you garner a review for your Google business listing. This will be the force behind early incoming traffic from Google. 20 reviews and you will really see a difference in daily calls.
When collecting these reviews you can practice the same business listing tactics on Yelp and AngiesList.
Part 4. Building your website
If you arenโt graphically inclined you will need to hire a designer. Your website branding is going to make or break the ability to bring in clients quickly. Please do not try to just throw up a site yourself if youโre not web savvy. You should scrape those early investment dollars together to budget in $1500 for a website that will actually bring in leads.
Having a professional looking brand which gains trust, is a key factor between slow growth and fast growth. Here are the tactics behind building your branding:
- Step 1: make sure your logo is professionally designed. You can use a site like http://99designs.com/ or hire a freelance designer. (research high quality logos to get a sense of what you may want for your own design, if you have a bad design sense then find a friend to help you)
- Step 2: Have your website designed like a landing page. You want to create a funnel with direct calls to action. On my website we use a small contact us form and get pricing forms to capture leads.
Hereโs a great post on landing pages: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Creating Awesome Landing Pages
For developing your website you should use WordPress and have a professional theme done by a web designer. I recommend WordPress because itโs fairly easy to learn to manage your own site after itโs developed. More importantly it is a platform that allows you to add more content to your site over time in the form of additional pages and blog posts.
- Step 3: Add your team photos and bio to the website. Even if youโre solo itโs better to appear personal over large and โfakeโ. Allow your site visitors to make a personal connection and see who is behind the company/website. It will increase your conversion rate.
- Step 4: Look professional. Make sure your vehicle has emblems with your new branding. Have nice stock business cards printed. Work in a uniform. Even though you may be tempted to keep it really casual it will not benefit your business.
Part 5. Craigslist ads
Using craigslist ads in the early days will help bring those early customers and more importantly reviews. Craigslist ads are great for service companies for free marketing. Make sure you add images to your ads and try to post 1 new ad every single day.
Part 6. Learn basic search engine optimization
Now that you have your basic website up itโs time to start learning how to improve its ability to bring in more leads. Iโm about to teach you the easiest form of search engine optimization.
To read the second part....scroll down to the 17th reply below;