Sometimes it's time to do things differently.

Have you ever asked yourself, what affordable ways can I grow my business? Chances are you have. There is a lot of competition in the skilled trade industry, and making yourself stand out is imperative to growing your sales. As a business owner, you know that word of mouth is the best way to grow your business, and that advertising is very expensive. Here is a few suggestions that you may or may not have thought of that could pay HUGE dividends.

Your Business Card.
- One color business cards - the cheapest ones that companies sell - get rid of them. Most printing companies now have full color business cards that are very eye catching and affordable. The difference between $20 and $40 for perhaps the most important part of your arsenal of business materials is worth the investment.

Business Card Magnets.
- At the same time you order your business card, purchase the business card magnets. They will traditonally cost anywhere from 80 cents to $1.00 each, but they are ingenious in design. Imagine that you had your furnace worked on 3 years ago and it finally takes a crap. If the previous contractor was smart, he slapped his business card in a prominent position on my furnace. Gues who I am going to call first! People love magnets, they slap them all over their refrigerator everyday. Always there, the contractor is familiar to me, guess who is going to be the first person I call, next time my water pipe starts leaking.

Your flyers.
- Do them in color. Studies have shown that people are 5 times more likely to look at full color flyers versus black and white fliers. Again, most printing companies have design services for as little as $40 to create a full color - eye catching flyer. Your flyer should NOT be a laundry list of every service you offer. It should be your company name, ways to contact you, 5 to 10 main services, and attention brought to what matters to consumers. How long you have been in business, free estimates, family owned, registered with the Better Business Bureau, insured, etc.

Get a Website.
- As more and more people research and shop online, NOT having a website is costing you business. People like to email, people also like to check out a website prior to having to pick up the phone and speak to someone. A website can cost as little as $100 to create, and with a little practice you can edit it on your own. Also, the cost of having a company host your site can be as cheap as $4 a month. What are you waiting for? If you need help with this, contact us.

Have you ever considered giving back.
- Hypothetically, you just finish a $5,000 painting project. Spend 1% of that on a Giant Eagle Gift Card for those homeowners. You talk about word of mouth, not only did you just land a follow up job 7 years from now, but I guarantee you that those customers will tell a boat load of people. OK, how about a $300 plumbing project. If you were hand deliver a fruit basket, chocolates, etc. you will yield the same result. It does not have to cost you an arm and a leg, but this is what I mean when I say HUGE dividends.

Disclaimer: The above comments are the webmaster's opinion only.