Advice Needed For Flat Glass Advertising

Tintguy09 · February 8, 2017

Hey everyone, I own a window tinting business doing automotive residential and commercial window tinting. I stay super busy doing automotive jobs but I'm having some trouble figuring out a good way to advertise for residential and commercial tinting. I'd really like to transition over to doing mostly flat glass jobs. I have many years of flat glass experience and I really like the idea of transitioning over to doing mainly that because it seems to be a pretty untapped business venture in my area. Most people I even mention it to don't even realize that it's somehing people do. I advertise a lot on Facebook but I didn't get much feedback at all for Residential. Everyone always asks about automotive tinting but people don't seem to grasp the idea of how many benefits their are to tinting your home or office building . I'm curious if their is any other business owners who have success advertising and if anyone's willing to give me some advice on the best way to snag some people. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

WearTheFoxHat · February 10, 2017

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign
Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign?

SAWF · March 1, 2017

Go to thumbtack.com

I have been using this service for only a couple months and it's been a game changer for me. Sign up for free, you pay to quote on things but it's not a lot. You just have to be, HAVE TO BE the first responder to a request. I had two $4000 dollar estimates in one day using Thumbtack. One of those ended up wanting more quoted after the original estimate and ended up being for $8000...and it only cost me $5-7 for the chance to quote!

Tintguy09 · March 2, 2017

I really appreciate your recommendations. It hasn't even been 24 hours and I've received one request already. If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you quote people without the measurements? Do you just describe your business to them and how you stand out as opposed to other businesses or do you tell them how much you charge by the square foot? I feel like maybe my first response to someone wasn't detailed enough. I just said if they could send me the measurements I could give them a quote. And then I offered to come out for a free estimate as soon as possible. Do you have any suggestions?

SAWF · March 5, 2017

I have a couple different quote templates: one for local requests and one for long distance requests. I usually put a price range $6-10 per sq ft etc, and for long distance I up that. I pay close attention to the location and size of the job for each request, and I don't quote on small jobs that are too far away. If the job is far away and a decent sized job (16-20 panes or more) I will quote and either ask for measurements or just take the risk and schedule an onsite consultation. Most of the time, if you can just get it scheduled to visit...you got the job. A lot of the window film companies don't bother going out for a site visit unless they know a lot more details. I went out for one and it ended up being an $8000 project for a middle school. The customer said I was the only one willing to come out.

TIPS: Respond first, be professional in EVERY CONTACT, have a nice profile (pictures, video, answer all questions and info sections thoroughly, NICE PICTURE OF YOURSELF). Contact past customers via email and get as many REVIEWS (positive) as possible on your profile. That is key...once you have a couple reviews and your profile looks nice, respond first, be willing to go for an estimate (even if its a small job) sell the job, do the work, get a 5 star review, it goes on your profile REPEAT.

A website helps too...just to look professional. To me Thumbtack is AWESOME. I went from a fledgling company of one trying to get more and more sub-contracting accounts, to letting those accounts go except for the real good ones that pay quickly. Thumbtack is the cheapest and easiest way to get your foot in the door, you get a fighting chance. You only spend money when you want...forget Home-advisor and direct mailers (expensive!), they don't guarantee any return on investment. With Thumbtack you are GUARANTEED to receive requests and you only pay when you quote.

Works for me!

SAWF · March 5, 2017

For each quote template have an Introduction (who you are, what you do, how long), You say thank you for contacting you, you would love the opportunity to HELP THEM, any necessary info about your film products (made in USA?, warranty?) Whether or not you give free estimates in their area, "Please contact me for an on-site consultation!" Say thank you, leave your name and contact info...

That's all I really do. Good luck!