What your staff doesn’t know about Customer Service is costing you.

HVAC Contractors spend a pile of ad money in the Yellow Pages. In fact, nearly 75% of contractors spend over half their marketing budgets in there. You deserve and should get outstanding sales from this expense. The sad news on that is that only 13.4% of HVAC sales result. The last figures from Matt (while at Decision Analyst) showed this figure shrinking to just over 10%. Pitiful.

Before I start yelling, you tell me: “Is spending half your budget on an ad that produces 10% of your sales a good investment?”

Yet we know that the YP is source to millions in consumer traffic and purchases every day. Contractors incorrectly believe that this traffic translates to sales success. It doesn’t. Contractors rank 9th in spending categories, but aren’t even ranked in the top 150 for lead results.

Make your YP ads bring in more leads and profits by following these simple rules.

Unbreakable rule #1: Always use a Headline.  You must compel people to stop and notice an ad that speaks to them with a clear, immediate benefit. This is done with a powerful headline.

Headline value is rated at 80% of a display ad’s effectiveness. Yet, when I critique ads for contractors, I see countless examples of what a headline is NOT

Unbreakable Rule #2: Remember the target of the ad. (Hint: It is NOT you.) It’s the prospect. It always is, always has been and always had better be. Always put the customer’s benefits ahead of your greatness.

Unbreakable rule #3: Give specific, measurable benefits in clear sentences. I’m often amazed at contractors’ ads with long feature listings but no real meaningful or measurable benefits. What’s the point? Don’t waste your money on “fluffy or unclear” psuedo-benefits.

Unbreakable rule #4: Reduce your prospect’s risk.  Prospects don’t know who to call, and they have all heard horror stories about scams.  They’re hesitant because calling puts them at risk. Your job in every ad or sales situation is to assume risk, solve their problem and get paid. Right? Let your ad be like 10,000 salespeople by doing this in print.

Unbreakable rule # 5: You must list a “Call to Action.”  If you don’t, your ad has failed to zero-in on the reason prospects are even reading your ad. What are they supposed to do?

A “Call to Action” can be short or long depending on application:

• Call now.
• Call your 24-hour service hotline now.
• Solve your comfort problems now with one quick call.

Bottom Line: Creating a lead-generating Yellow Page ad is not a mystery. Just like your salespeople know there is an order to the sales presentation, your ads should read the same way. Lead them in with benefits, tell them how they’ll gain, reduce their risk and explain why “now” is better than later. We do this every day with otherwise dismal ads (it’s not hard to improve most of ‘em!) and get superb results from contractors who finally get an ad that works for them.

When you’re spending as much as you are for YP space, it’s even more important to make it work. Good YP ads tell their prospects exactly how to gain the comfort and value your company represents.

Click here to learn more about saving money on yellow page ads. 

Adams Hudson is president of Hudson, Ink, a creative marketing firm for contractors. For a FREE critique of your Yellow Page Ad, Service Roundtable Members can fax their Yellow Page ad to 1-334-262-1115.  You can also call Hudson, Ink at 1-800-489-9099 for help or visit www.hudsonink.com for many free marketing articles and reports.