When I was just starting out I had a two line ad in the YP for a year and NEVER got a single call from it. There are 20 or so tuners listed in the local YP's and not one of them is a member of PTG. When I first started out I did some market research by calling about a dozen of them getting price quotes in order to establish a reasonable fee for my services. Attitudes ranged from surly to desperate. One of them actually told me, with airs, that he was not available to work on my piano because he only worked on Steinway's and other "good" pianos. Only two of them claimed to have the skill to repair, (not replace), a broken string. I decided I was in bad company and canceled the ad. Word of mouth and sharing referrals with fellow PTG members has been the most valuable resource for me so far. Keeping a professional attitude and doing good work along with finding ways to initiate short friendly conversations with the customer about things other than their piano has proven a valuable way to keep them as customers. -- Geoff Sykes -- Assoc. Los Angeles -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of John Ross Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 9:32 AM To: An open list for piano technicians Subject: Re: AAA Yellow Pages trade listing I have to agree 100% with you. I know an ex RPT, from my chapter, who says he might get 2 jobs a week if he is lucky. I have never called people, and have more than enough work. Word of mouth, is the BEST advertisement. The yellow pages gives you legitimacy, deserved or not. There have been people come back here from the course at the University of Western Ontario, supposedly a good course. They have problems, and I think it is their social skills, and how they relate to people. You have to project a positive image to the customer. That along with guaranteeing your work, will allow you to succeed. John M. Ross Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca ----- Original Message ----- From: "Porritt, David" <dporritt@mail.smu.edu> To: "An open list for piano technicians" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2006 12:09 PM Subject: RE: AAA Yellow Pages trade listing As an old timer in this business, when giving advice to a young person starting out, I can't over emphasize the importance of personality development. I have known some people with very average skills who have built up a good business. I've also known some really excellent tuner/technicians who have struggled all their lives to build a business. Social skills are a must. I'm not talking about the memorized lines to get you a call or get you in the door, I'm talking about real social skills and the ability to develop inter personal relationships. Of course you need to do acceptable work too, but you don't have to be a concert level technician to build a business. Do good work and know how to relate to people. dp __________________________ David M. Porritt, RPT Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 dporritt@smu.edu ________________________________ From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org on behalf of Nichols Sent: Sat 1/14/2006 9:45 AM To: ilvey@sbcglobal.net; An open list for piano technicians Subject: Re: AAA Yellow Pages trade listing At 10:18 PM 1/13/2006 -0800, you wrote: >Any way of seeing what that looks like in the Yellow Pages? I think >it's >a good idea... > >David Ilvedson, RPT >Pacifica, California If it's not already there, look in the YP under automobile dealers. There will be trade listings for the different manufacturers. There are usually trade listings for Briggs and Stratton, Merrill Lynch, Sherwin-Williams, etc., that have multiple participants. With some mfgs., I bet they do ad-share with the dealers. Baldwin used to, years ago. You'll see what I mean when you realize what you're looking for. later, Guy _______________________________________________ Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > _______________________________________________ > Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives > _______________________________________________ Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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