I was chatting with a guy doing maintenance for a dozer today on site, we talked a lot but i asked him about how people go independent. He mentioned its hard nowadays because of the intense software blocks they have up. Anyways, my question here is, how do u find your clients and would you ever take on more work?
Go independant doing what work? Owner operator of a machine? Or being a mechanic? What are software blocks? And who is "they"?
I asked the client, in a couple of instances, to provide the software, laptop and com adapters. They were happy to oblige vs dealing with a long wait and questionable results from the few service providers available. It’s not like there is any competition today. Don’t rip your clients off, don’t get hurt on their job site and you are golden.
Thats nice of them. Never thought theres that much of a demand for quick turnaround that theyd pay for the software. Interesting to note
There are ways to get software when the stealership isn’t willing to cooperate. It may not have 100% of the features that a dealer tech will have but it will do plenty. Also- while it’s very helpful, you don’t always need a computer to be in business. There is an infinite amount of jobs that you could do without a laptop. Pm’s, tires, a/c, hydraulic cylinders. The list goes on and on.
I worked for a couple of local dealers out of a service truck for probably 12 years, so knew most of the local customers before i ever went out on my own. Worked well for me, as i knew who i liked to work with and who to stay away from right from the start. IMO, word of mouth is the only way to advertise. If you're advertising on telephone poles you'll get ****** customers. But if your good customers are passing your name on to their friends, you're likely to get more good customers, and theres only one degree of separation so hopefully not a lot of risk on your part.
You had a big advantage working for a couple dealers and getting to know potential customers. Not everybody has that advantage but going around and talking to potential customers is usually the best way to get business. Basically being a good salesman for your services rather than for products.