Referrals and Service Calls [RE-wrenches]

[Joel Davidson]

DITTO. Most of your customers use the internet so communicate with them in the
21st century. Let your web site be your electronic business card. Show and tell
people who you are and what you do. Your internet service provider (ISP) probably
gives you a free personal web site with simple set up instructions. I don't do
web sites as a business, but I gave this simple web site to a friend. See
http://www.solarelectricalsystems.com/Company.html

Doing a web site can be easy. If you don't have the time, desire or skills, then
get a neighborhood kid to do it for you.

As far as getting email from people out of your service area, you do not have to
waste time answering them (delete key) or you can send them a polite boilerplate
answer like:

Thank you for writing. Penobscot Solar Design installs PV systems for people (be
specific like - living on the north side of Main Street in Smallville, PV). If
you want an installer for your solar electric system, please contact one of the
companies located near you that are listed at http://www.i2p.org/ (or
http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html or whatever list link that you like)

Best regards,
Daryl DeJoy
Penobscot Solar Design

"John Blittersdorf, Cent. VT Solar & Wind" wrote:

> Daryl,
>    I have had tremendous success with a very simple web page (not even a
> site) on a local business listing site.  The secret is to have it set up
> properly so that people doing searches for "solar" and your "local area" find
> it readily.  My page costs $100 a year and I have had 15000 hits on it in 2
> years.  Every large installation I have done somehow involved the web page to
> get the customer to me.  Even if they have heard about me, most computer savy
> prospects will go the the web to check me out or simply to get my phone
> number.  I have had numerous comments such as " the best renewable energy
> site on the web".  Take a look at mine and you will see how simple it is.
> Most folks new to renewables can be easily confused and the glitzy web sites
> just add to the confusion.  I am even resisting putting in pictures as it
> adds to loading time.  My goal is to have them contact me and I send info
> based on their interest.  Most initial contacts are by email with some by
> phone.  I respond to every email contact with a question to them to start a
> dialog and if they respond, I up the ante with more specific questions.
> Usually the tire kickers drop out right away and the serious folk respond.
> Each day when I screen the wrenches topics, I first look for the Non-
> Wrenches emails which are prospects.  I narrow them down by location and
> refer the distant ones to a wrench if they look real good.  If they don't say
> where they are, I just email back asking that question.  Often that is the
> end of the dialog.
>    I had a more sophisticated web site running but it was almost invisible
> when searching.  I am now in the process of having my domain name handled by
> the web page guy mirroring my existing web page.  That will make me look more
> legitimate and cost a little more but I will have to maintain just the web
> page and not a complete site.  I'm in this for the same reasons you are.  I
> like being outdoors and doing the installation and seeing happy customers.  I
> do spend an hour or so on the computer each night but part of that is the
> wrenches monitoring which I find very useful when isolated geographically as
> I am.
>
> Take a look at my web page for the "simplicity factor"
> www.middlebury.net/cvsolar and soon you will find the same page at
> www.cvsolar.com
>
> John Blittersdorf
> Central Vermont Solar and Wind
>
> from my mountainside office high in the Green Mountains of Central Vermont
>
> - - - -
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- - - -
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