This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Great tips,Joe!!! A little update on me: I'm slowing down also,now cutting down to 7 hour days:From 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. Let's keep encouraging Marshall.>There is work on pianos!! My best to you!! Isaac _____ From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Joseph Alkana Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2006 11:38 AM To: An open list, for piano technicians Subject: Re: Piano work; was Freebees- LONG ----FOR SEASONED VETERANS ONLY - Just about making money. Marshall, So glad you are eager to learn and evolve in this wonderful crazy world of pianos! My number, which by the way, is in the PTG guide and on line at their web site, is 425-747-4914. I'm out working until 4:00 usually, then home for my rest, dinner and return calls. Any evening is great. I once was a Boy Scout, trying hard to earn money to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. I was depending on mowing lawns, and business just wasn't booming. I whined to the Scout Leader about how slow things were, and he roared back at me to get off my butt and go out to the rich end of town and start knocking on doors and offering to scrub porches and floors. He proceeded to enumerate many ideas for earning money, all of which sounded so beneath me, yelling all the while to grow up and pay attention to what was going on around me. He gave me ideas on getting along with people, jobs to pursue, how life works, etc. What an eye opener for me. After just trying to get work it seems that jobs just flew my direction out of nowhere. One person told another that there was this kid who wanted to work and would clean up garbage areas, pull trash from under houses, clean basements, weed gardens, wash cars, clean windows, and, yes mow the lawn as long as I was there, even if there was a regular kid mowing for them. Hand clipping, hand raking, non-power mowing for older homes with small yards. Absorbing the important lesson of "The learning curve for dealing with older people set in their ways", collecting money owed, asking for work, and giving an honest day's effort on my part: All of this helped me to not only earn enough for that trip, but provided me with a whole lot of growing up and finding out what it takes to survive. I'll never forget that summer. Now I'm getting older and health is failing some, so I ease into retirement and look now for fun things to do and enjoy life. So much work keeps coming my way that it's hard to slow down, though! Quickies: + Can you tune in a day care center and keep smiling? + Challenge yourself to tune with a noisy refrigerator screaming at you. Or washer. Or dryer with tennis shoe in drum. + Horrible piano? Enjoy the people and develope friendship or sell them a new piano at the dealer and make spiff. + Make friends with child who plays piano, teach child what is going on with piano and child will be the one asking for you to come back and service piano. + Set sample key perfect and show player how much better note plays. Say piano will play better with regulation and you'll throw in free vacuum, too. +Clean fallboard of shiny piano with Cory Piano Polish while customer is writing out check. Sell bottle of polish and pay for nice lunch. + Sticky upright action after move? Problem is moisture. Borrow customer hair-dryer and free up 80% of problem notes. Sell Dampp Chaser, use Protek and go to nice restaurant with wife and kids. + Ask customer if they have piano in church; ask for introduction to pianist. Get 7 pianos to tune next week. + Learn to do one new service or repair every day. Each item worth maybe one hour average. Rate x time x number working days of year gives you that many dollar raise for year potential. Would you settle for half even? + Don't play piano? Learn. Learn one new simple song every month. Play one hundred times. Perform like expert. OK, it's time for my nap. Joseph Alkana RPT ----- Original Message ----- From: pianotune05@comcast.net To: An open list, for <mailto:pianotech@ptg.org> piano technicians Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 9:41 PM Subject: Re: Piano work; was Freebees- Hi JOe, I'll give you a call sometime, but you're number wasn't listed on the post, unless I didn' t see it. You have interesting ideas for sure, some of which I tired, and others I have not. I have years of cleaning experience. Perhaps I should offer to clean out a piano. In fact, a lady my wife used to clean for, asked about having her piano cleaned out. The tricky part is JOe, will these ideas work in an area heavily saturated with piano techs much more experienced than I, but some of which not as well groomed.;) I'll never wear jeans to any tuning even my practice tunings. Nice Dockers and a sweater or shirt work for me. A tie is too confining. Id like to hear what this Isaac guy taught you about marketing. Take care. Marshall -------------- Original message -------------- From: "Joseph Alkana" <josephspiano@comcast.net> > Long, and not for the seasoned veteran. > > Marshall and everyone looking to make money in the piano business: > > I was a late comer to the piano business. Pretty much of a non-player, but > heavily steeped in music experience looking for an outlet for my musical > interest and some way to make money too. I could give you the whole story of > working in this vocation, but writing isn't my forte and besides, the length > of the tome would make for a great bedtime reader. However, certain things > remain crucial to starting and maintaining any business. It's not hard to > come up with ways to develope your business "reach" and you need to take > some time and reflect on the whole approach to piano! service. > > PTG offers opportunities to learn, both formal and informal, practically > just for the taking. Without them and the desire to excel and improve on my > part I would be hard pressed to have stayed in business very long. Learning > almost every aspect of piano lore has to be a priority. Consider yourself a > sponge, soaking up knowledge about personalities, relationships, business > ethics, business skills, anything piano related and always practicing to be > the very best technician that you can. At first glance, my opportunities > seemed limited. There are so many great techs in my area, that one would > think all opportunities are sewed up. Far from it, I learned that you must > pursue some avenues that are a bit removed from premium piano work, but you > can make a very good living if you only try. Quality jobs will come to those > practicing quality work. Attend an Is! aac Sadigursky class and be ready to > make dollars afterwards. Be ready to work an eight hour day - from eight 'o > clock to eight 'o clock. (Isaac's wisdom) > > Be around pianos, not in front of a TV set. Go to the dealer, schmooze him, > take an interest in what he sells, how he sells and watch for opportunities > to jump in and help with a piano. Visit the store using any excuse, just to > be there. Measure a piano, ask some questions, inspect their used stuff and > offer to help fix a few things on a beater right then and there. Bring in a > friend who is a player and show him the merchandise. Sales people love to > see techs refer customers. Ask the manager if you can vacuum out some of > the merchandise and polish cabinets and pedals to make the stock more > attractive. Walk the manager around to pianos you have assessed and show him > what is needed to improve his merchandise f! or sale. Leave a stack of cards > at every visit. > > Visit with other techs as often as you can to learn what it is that they do. > Listen, observe. Offer to help on a project. Can you do simple shop jobs > well? Offer to clean actions, scrub out pianos, de-string pianos, you get > the idea. > > When you have what you think is nothing to do, read everything piano related > that you can. Immerse yourself in pianos. Have you read the last 20 years of > the PTG Journal? Why not? Start out looking for customers that probably will > turn out to be one timers. So what. Their money all spends the same as the > Steinway owner's. Most techs have "paid their dues", that is, spent quite a > bit of time working on inferior instruments, honing skills by doing basic > jobs over and over again, often in less than pristine surroundings and often > for a lot less money than the top tech ! in the area. Consider magnetic car > signs and park for a while in a shopping plaza or grocery store parking lot. > Park by the entrance to a large housing development. Put your information up > on every bulletin board you can find. Offer services no one else does. > Develope skills no one else has. Be the most congenial person that you can > be at all times. Make sure you are marketable appearance wise. (Clothes, > personal grooming, auto presentable) > > Brainstorm with others in small business and open yourself up to new ways to > develope business. Invest heavily in yourself. I fail to understand how you > have time to pursue another business with money to be made in the piano > business at hand. Call me and I'll give you ideas to pursue. Marshall, > believe me, your biggest problem is not that you can't afford a Yellow Pages > ad! > > Joseph Alkana RPT > &! gt; > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "pianotune05" > To: "An open list for piano technicians" > Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 8:02 PM > Subject: Re: Freebees- > > > > Hi Brian, > > My biggest problem is that I cannot aford a yellow pages ad. In fact, my > > wife and I are barely making it with the office cleaning accounts we have. > > So, how's a tuner breaking in to the business get his foot in when there's > > only one music store in town, and about 9+ tuners in the area, South Bend > > area. I'm considering relocating just to get business because all of the > > other tech. are hogging all the work. > > Marshall > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Brian Doepke" > > To: "'An open list for piano technicians'" > >! ; Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 8:15 PM > > Subject: RE: Freebees- > > > > > >> Hmmmmm??? I get many calls because I am the first in the yellow pages. > >> I > >> ask polite questions, try to personable and most of the time get a new > >> client. > >> > >> So, I think the business name that starts with AAA worked well for me. > >> If > >> you are going to have expense of being in the yellow pages, be at the > >> top. > >> And return phone calls!!! So many others in the book do not return calls. > >> I > >> can't understand it...but....it's their loss. > >> > >> Brian P. Doepke > >> > >> AAA Piano Works, Inc. > >> 260-432-2043 > >> 260-417-1298 > >> > >> -----Original Message----- > ! >> From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On > >> Behalf > >> Of Susan Kline > >> Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 2:38 PM > >> To: pianotech@ptg.org > >> Subject: Re: Freebees- > >> > >> Build a good tuning, and repairs which stay repaired -- relax and forget > >> about the rest of it, the fussy charges, the contracts in case of > >> no-shows, > >> the discounts for booking the next tuning on the spot, the reminder > >> cards, > >> the call-backs, the big display ad, the business name starting with AAA, > >> the chatty little newsletter sent to everyone twice a year "it's time for > >> your darling piano's next tuning" -- just toss all that > >> time-wasting > >> irritating trivia -- they will come. > >> > >&g! t; Really, think about what message you are sending out. Even just a pen > >> with > >> your name on it -- "This is someone who was short of work for so long > >> that > >> he decided to shell out money for advertising. Either he is brand new to > >> the trade, or his work is bad enough that he doesn't get much repeat > >> business. He expects me to throw away his card and forget his name." > >> People > >> are naturally polite; they'll respect your professional dignity by taking > >> your freebee and thanking you -- but they'll react to the hidden message > >> just the same, maybe not even realizing why they aren't really sure they > >> want you back. > >> > >> If you're going to attempt to manipulate customers, try the opposite tack > >> -- "Be sure to call at least three weeks in advance, espe! cially around > >> the > >> holidays ..." > >> > >> ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssnnnn > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> 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 > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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