Les Regarding the list of names you got. When you sent out the letter, who wrote it? If you wrote it, customers don't know who you are, and that's why?they didn't call you.?But if the person from whom you got the list write the letter, recommending you, it would have made a big difference. I bought 440 names from the widow of a tuner here in Hawaii. So far at least half of them have called me. The basic concept is that the customer who like you want to know who to call when you are no longer available. Not all of them will call the new tuner, but most of them will. Wim -----Original Message----- From: Leslie Bartlett <l-bartlett at sbcglobal.net> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Thu, Aug 20, 2009 1:04 pm Subject: Re: [pianotech] Client List Recently a gentleman quit the tuning business because he had to make a living, returning to computer programming.? He wrote to all of his clients, recommending one or two other tuners they might choose.? Stupid?? Maybe. I probably will attempt to do the same in a few years when I quit. Part has to do with my abysmal lack of keeping even a database accurate, let alone continual reminders.? Part is I just don't like paying someone for names. I was given a database of about 400 names several years ago.? The letter written, I had to copy, provide stamps and envelopes and stuff-and-mail.? Out of 400, I might have gotten half a dozen customers.? Why should John Doe trust me over some other person?? My reputation has been built on word of mouth- not my words but recommendations from others. I'll probably do less well than some, but I have yet to starve. les bartlett Noah Frere wrote: Hello all. I don't know what the rules are about talking about money in the PTG, but I have noticed conversations of the kind before, so I figured it was okay to ask for some advice. I am probably moving from NYC in February and have considered selling my client list. Now being in the business for only 3 years, it is not huge. However, I have worked very hard for it and have accumulated over 200 names, many of which are reliable repeats. I feel it is worth money. Other than just throwing out a random number to a potential buyer, is there some sort of precedent for a reasonable price, or method of dealing with, this? Most of you will probably be wondering right off the bat "how many repeat clients?" so that you can give an informed answer. Well, most of the names in my address book are home pianos, and I have not kept up with the records as I should have (I did in the beginning though!) so I will guess for our purposes here that 75 are repeats (tuned at least twice) and 10 are frequents (tuned at least 4x/year). I think many of the others are potential repaeats, however I have not hounded them due to a 9-5 at a piano rental company.? Thanks in advance to all responses, -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090820/0641375c/attachment-0001.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC