Recommended reading: How to start a PC repair business on the cheap.In my previous article (Problem #3), I talked about the importance of using business cards, a solid yellow page ad and what not to list on either. Filling up a business card with some verbiage as MCE certified, A+ and so on is not something that ought to be listed on your marketing materials. Why? Because this should be reserved for your web page or other materials talking about your credentials. And trust me, credentials outside of referrals mean very little to most people these days. Even so, being certified is a part of this business, but talking about it out of context serves no one, so keep the details available, but out off of the marketing tools as being certified is not going to land you a great computer consulting gig.

Designing the perfect ad.

(Phone number has been changed for over two years)

Click open the picture above in a new window - Firefox users can right click, open in a new tab. Doesn’t look like anything special, does it? Yet that ad landed me years of on-going business over competing advertisements using lots of verbiage and color. Why? Because of the following:

• Easy to remember company name
• No geek-speak
• Free consultations (be it explained later that this is only over the phone)
• Next day service (Again, this simply means that we will be working out a battle plan by the next day, not that I am performing miracles with “time and space”)
• Trust building catch phrase (obvious, trust still has to be built, yet the phrase “Speed you can count on. Service you can trust.” has been a winner for me without exception).
• The ad is easy to read (the black and white look can help you greatly with those who do not enjoy reading bright, flashy print)

So how can you profit from this?

Build your yellow page ad using a similar template as above. Remember to include:

• A Good title (Computer Repair or Troubleshooting is recommended)
• Promote that you are hassle free; “No-Hassle Upgrades, computer repair, etc”
• Remind people that you do in fact, build to order.
• Provide free consultations (over the phone and at your digression - for businesses, I’d do this in person at my cost)
• Next day service (again, this can mean anything you want, as it promotes speed customer importance)

What not to have in your yellow page ad:

• Do not use the terms like PC, IT, MCE or anything else that means nothing to the average person. To Joe Average, it’s a computer, not a “PC”.
• Do not try to sell people on your service from your ad, people are skimming and do not care about your life story as a computer consultant. Keep your points short, solid and appealing. Ask someone who is going to be brutally honest with you to review your ad template before going to press. Ask them if this would compel them to consider you over other similar ads in the phone book.
• And finally remember, what works in one town, may not work in another. In an upcoming piece, I will share an ad that while successful, cost me a lot in hard learned lessons. Stay tuned, part two is coming up next!

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