How can I market my business CHEAP?

I like private investigating.

I like to find people.
I like to find out info on people.
I like bringing people to justice.
I like undercover work and surveillance.
--


Frank L. Snider III
Snider Professional Investigations (SPI)
901 S. Benton St.
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
Phone: (573)335-1904
Toll Free: 1-866-618-5486
Http://www.spihq.net
spihq@spihq.net

"Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
news:bhdo3r02d4d@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
>
> What kind of work do you like to do? How you answer this will determine
> what advice I might be able to give you.
>
> Scott Jensen

I don't know what I like the most. Haven't had enough clients to really see
what I like best.

I find it hard to specialize in my area, because I have to compete with
people who have been around for 20 years or so. I am the new guy. I am
afraid if I do specialize I will lose more business to them. Also their idea
of advertising is an ad in the newspaper, and that's about it.

I want people to think of me when they think private investigator. I want my
name to be up there in people's minds here along with Magnum, Simon& Simon,
and Shaft. I am tired of being the little guy. I want to run with the Big
Dogs!
--


Frank L. Snider III
Snider Professional Investigations (SPI)
901 S. Benton St.
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
Phone: (573)335-1904
Toll Free: 1-866-618-5486
Http://www.spihq.net
spihq@spihq.net

"Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
news:bhem8p0fv5@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> Is the above a specialty? That pretty much sounds like you cover the
entire
> gambit of private detective work. You might want to look into being a
> specialist. If that isn't already specializing, which of those do you
like
> to do the most, are best at, and would be considered a specialty?
>
> Scott Jensen
> --
> Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
> Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
> Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.
>
>

"S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote:
> I don't know what I like the most.

I would suggest you then give this some thought.

> Haven't had enough clients to really see what I like best.

How many clients have you had? A distribution of types of cases and their
number gives us a better idea of your experience.

> I find it hard to specialize in my area, because I have to
> compete with people who have been around for 20 years
> or so. I am the new guy.

Being new has its advantages as well. Besides, everyone starts out
somewhere ... including those guys that have 20 years of experience.

> I am afraid if I do specialize I will lose more business to them.

Specializing USUALLY has the opposite effect. Right now you're just like
any other private detective. Why should I go to you? That's what potential
clients ponder. If you're no different than the guy that has 20 years
experience, guess who wins in that comparison. Now if you specialize,
you've just made yourself different. You stand out. You're not a
jack-of-all-trades (a.k.a. master-of-none), but a specialist. A master.
Just the fact that you focus on a specialty makes you special and gives you
an edge over the jacks-of-all-trades.

> Also their idea of advertising is an ad in the newspaper, and
> that's about it.

Don't knock them until you show you're more successful than them. They've
been in business 20 years and you haven't. This doesn't mean this is the
only way to promote your agency, but it does say this is how others have
successfully done so in the past.

Now put yourself in the shoes of who you want your potential clients to be.
They have a problem that they want to hire a private detective like you to
work on. How will they search for you? You cannot yet afford mass
advertising so you cannot depend on them remembering your company's name
from a TV ad. What you need to think about is this stage of the process.
You're not an impulse purchase. They expect to have to search you out.
What you need to do is put a figurative flashing billboard along their
search path that leads them to you.

> I want people to think of me when they think private investigator.
> I want my name to be up there in people's minds here along with
> Magnum, Simon& Simon, and Shaft. I am tired of being the little
> guy. I want to run with the Big Dogs!

Then you need to drop the fantasies and deal with reality. Then again, are
you saying you want to be a celebrity private investigator?

Scott Jensen
--
Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.

"Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
news:bhkj1v01g6a@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> "S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote:
> > I don't know what I like the most.
>
> I would suggest you then give this some thought.
>
> > Haven't had enough clients to really see what I like best.
>
> How many clients have you had? A distribution of types of cases and their
> number gives us a better idea of your experience.

2. One wanted to find a friend from school. The other was wanting to take
someone to court and needed to know where he lived, what he owned, and if he
had ever been sued. And you know i haven't been paid for either.

Oh, I forgot I had one where the lady wanted me to serve a former tenant
court papers.
>
> > I find it hard to specialize in my area, because I have to
> > compete with people who have been around for 20 years
> > or so. I am the new guy.
>
> Being new has its advantages as well. Besides, everyone starts out
> somewhere ... including those guys that have 20 years of experience.
>
> > I am afraid if I do specialize I will lose more business to them.
>
> Specializing USUALLY has the opposite effect. Right now you're just like
> any other private detective. Why should I go to you? That's what
potential
> clients ponder. If you're no different than the guy that has 20 years
> experience, guess who wins in that comparison. Now if you specialize,
> you've just made yourself different. You stand out. You're not a
> jack-of-all-trades (a.k.a. master-of-none), but a specialist. A master.
> Just the fact that you focus on a specialty makes you special and gives
you
> an edge over the jacks-of-all-trades.

So you are saying if I specialize in finding people I wont lose surveillance
cases to the others, and vica versa?
>
> > Also their idea of advertising is an ad in the newspaper, and
> > that's about it.

OOPS! Did I say newspaper? I had meant yellow pages. I will be in there
myself, when they get ready to put it together. The new one doesn't come out
till December.
>
> Don't knock them until you show you're more successful than them. They've
> been in business 20 years and you haven't. This doesn't mean this is the
> only way to promote your agency, but it does say this is how others have
> successfully done so in the past.
>
> Now put yourself in the shoes of who you want your potential clients to
be.

That's easy someone who actually pays.

> They have a problem that they want to hire a private detective like you to
> work on. How will they search for you? You cannot yet afford mass
> advertising so you cannot depend on them remembering your company's name
> from a TV ad. What you need to think about is this stage of the process.
> You're not an impulse purchase. They expect to have to search you out.
> What you need to do is put a figurative flashing billboard along their
> search path that leads them to you.
>
> > I want people to think of me when they think private investigator.
> > I want my name to be up there in people's minds here along with
> > Magnum, Simon& Simon, and Shaft. I am tired of being the little
> > guy. I want to run with the Big Dogs!
>
> Then you need to drop the fantasies and deal with reality. Then again,
are
> you saying you want to be a celebrity private investigator?

No I am saying that is what people think of. I want to be in someones mind
when someone thinks PI.
>
> Scott Jensen
> --
> Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
> Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
> Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.
>
>

"S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote in message
news:bhdvmb02mf3@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> I like private investigating.
>
> I like to find people.
> I like to find out info on people.
> I like bringing people to justice.
> I like undercover work and surveillance.

You need to pick one thing that will get you foot in the door.

For example, a woman might want you to find her ex-spouse because he owes
her money. Finding the guy is the first step. They you need to find out
where he works so that he can be served, or maybe where he hides his money,
or whatever. The point is, advertising that you can find the guy in the
first place will get you the job, and then these other forms of
investigation will come into play on their own.

In regards to getting paid, that is another matter all together. Were you
stiffed by your clients, or did you agree to do the work for free? Can you
at least get some testimonials from these people?

You have already decided what type of work you want to do. Now you have to
determine who it is that will pay to have this work done. Catering to poor
divorcees who's drunkard husbands skipped out on their child support has all
the romance of your favorite detective novel, but the money isn't there. You
might find that it is the dry work that pays off. For example, the CEO of a
Company who is about to be fired by the board of directors might want to dig
up some dirt on somebody in order to sway their vote.

The most important thing is to identify who it is that you want to bring in
as a customer, so that you can target just that small group of people as
inexpensively as possible. Sending post cards out to a hundred CEO's that
say, "We dig up the dirt on your enemies in your company's board of
directors," is much more likely to be successful than a thousand post cards
that say, "PI for hire, specializing in all forms of investigation" sent out
randomly to people in the phone book.

Good Luck!

Mike

"S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote:
> "Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
> > How many clients have you had? A distribution of types of
> > cases and their number gives us a better idea of your experience.
>
> 2. One wanted to find a friend from school. The other was wanting
> to take someone to court and needed to know where he lived,
> what he owned, and if he had ever been sued. And you know i
> haven't been paid for either.
>
> Oh, I forgot I had one where the lady wanted me to serve a former
> tenant court papers.

Three clients? Three non-paying clients? Hmmm. That shines a different
light on this whole discussion. I was under the impression that you've been
in business for a couple years ... or at least several months ... and have
had hundreds of clients.

I also now have just visited your website. Hmmm. I see that you provide
paranormal services. The website itself needs a "little" work too.

Frank, does your state require private detectives to licensed and insured?
If so, are you?

Scott Jensen
--
Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.

"Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
news:bhul8001vu1@enews2.newsguy.com...
>
> "S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote:
> > "Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
> > > How many clients have you had? A distribution of types of
> > > cases and their number gives us a better idea of your experience.
> >
> > 2. One wanted to find a friend from school. The other was wanting
> > to take someone to court and needed to know where he lived,
> > what he owned, and if he had ever been sued. And you know i
> > haven't been paid for either.
> >
> > Oh, I forgot I had one where the lady wanted me to serve a former
> > tenant court papers.
>
> Three clients? Three non-paying clients? Hmmm. That shines a different
> light on this whole discussion.

No 2 non paying clients.

I was under the impression that you've been
> in business for a couple years ... or at least several months ... and have
> had hundreds of clients.

I have been in business since Feb. 2002.
>
> I also now have just visited your website. Hmmm. I see that you provide
> paranormal services.

That is what we first started doing in March 98.

>The website itself needs a "little" work too.

I keep hearing that but I have yet to hear one suggestion as to how to fix
it.
>
> Frank, does your state require private detectives to licensed and insured?
> If so, are you?

No, except a business lisence. I will be insured soon if the insurance
company ever sends me the financing papers. They sent them once but the
address on the papers was an address that doesn't exist. I asked for a
correction over a week ago and am still waiting for the corrected papers.
>
> Scott Jensen
> --

Frank,

If you're serious about being a private detective, I suggest you work for
one first. Work for one for at least two years. Get some real life
experience doing the job and see if you like it before starting up your own
agency.

Good luck!

Scott Jensen
--
Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.

I am sorry but that would be taking a step backwards. I don't think I am
ready for that. I have been self employed for over 5 years in one business
or another, and I like it.

My only problem is that the marketing class I took in High School aside from
getting me a shot at states DECA competition didn't do squat for me. I do
what marketing I can, and I just can't get the sales I need to do something
that will get me more business.

I have been doing private investigations unofficially for about 10 years.
When I was in college, before I moved, I was working on my Associates degree
in Criminal Justice with a 4.0 GPA. When I was doing paranormal
investigations the yellow pages gave me a listing under investigators. If I
had known about the licensing laws for PIs in this state I wouldn't have had
to turn down allot of PI cases. This is something I love doing, and I don't
want to quit and work for some guy who probably charges double what I do,
because he has his home expenses and his business expenses. Whereas by
working at home they are but one utility bill, one water bill, and one phone
bill.

I just wanted some cheap marketing ideas. I don't understand how a major
change in life will get me more business. Also I wanted some ideas that will
work for any kind of business, so that I may be able to use them for other
businesses.

I have tried allot of ideas in the past only to get barely any sales, if
any. Ideas like targeted emails, putting an ad on restaurant placemats to
get info about a person if they try to win a free meal. I have even done
radio ads out the butt, and even been on the news and in papers for
interviews. If any of them worked they didn't have much to them. I didn't
even get 1 sale after sending out 100,000 targeted emails. Did a live remote
with a radio station and got like 5 sales all day.

I guess I'll just go back to the occasional ad in the free classifieds, and
putting flyers and business cards on bulletin boards at stores.
--


Frank L. Snider III
Snider Professional Investigations (SPI)
901 S. Benton St.
Cape Girardeau, MO 63703
Phone: (573)335-1904
Toll Free: 1-866-618-5486
Http://www.spihq.net
spihq@spihq.net
"Scott T. Jensen" <stj@charter.net> wrote in message
news:bi1ovs02usl@enews3.newsguy.com...
>
> Frank,
>
> If you're serious about being a private detective, I suggest you work for
> one first. Work for one for at least two years. Get some real life
> experience doing the job and see if you like it before starting up your
own
> agency.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Scott Jensen
> --
> Like a cure for A.I.D.S., Alzheimer, Parkinson, & Mad Cow Disease?
> Volunteer your computer for folding-protein research for when it's idle.
> Go to http://www.distributedfolding.org/ to sign up your computer.
>
>

Frank,

Perhaps your question ought to be, "Where do the people I want to have
as customers go and what do they read?" You will want to promote your
business, but only to people who are likely to want to buy.

Another suggestion would be to define what business you are in. Your
message spoke of "investigations", "paranormal investigations", and
"PI". As you define your customers, you need to know what the
customers will want to buy.

You are probably getting the idea that almost all of your first
marketing steps are really cheap, requiring only thought, discussion,
and investigation.

While I don't handle the program, you might want to pick up a copy of
"Get CLients Now!" by C.J,. Hayden. She has also licensed a number of
people to offer the 28-day workshops, but the book can work fine on
its own.

When you pick up the book, look up the one-page chart she has created
(p.9) showing the effectiveness of various methods of getting clients.
Advertising is low on the list!

Let us know how things go!


Randy Bennett
EC Stratagems
Business Advisory & Coaching Services
>> Uncovering hidden value in markets and products <<
(remove ".last", "dont." and ".spamm" for e-mail)
ec-stratagems.last@earthlink.dont.net.spamm

On 22 Aug 2003 04:52:01 GMT, "S.P.I." <spihq@spihq.net> wrote:

><snip>
>I have tried allot of ideas in the past only to get barely any sales, if
>any. Ideas like targeted emails, putting an ad on restaurant placemats to
>get info about a person if they try to win a free meal. I have even done
>radio ads out the butt, and even been on the news and in papers for
>interviews. If any of them worked they didn't have much to them. I didn't
>even get 1 sale after sending out 100,000 targeted emails. Did a live remote
>with a radio station and got like 5 sales all day.
>
>I guess I'll just go back to the occasional ad in the free classifieds, and
>putting flyers and business cards on bulletin boards at stores.