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32 • NOVEMBER 2012 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Generate residential sales leads continued from page 30 be reached per 30 second ad can be substantial, and that could successfully translate into a shot in the arm for your residential business. You might be pleasantly surprised at the creativity of the people who are available to assist you in the produc- tion of your ad. I believe that it could significantly improve your business if done right. I recently talked with some con- tractors who are in the process of adding billboard advertising to their ad program. Here again, if you can lock in a good location, the amount of traf- fic passing by might convert into some meaningful sales. While this idea might seem "off the wall" to some of you, I would sug- gest that you at least investigate it, and see if it makes sense for you and your program; you might be surprised! (Looking at this from another side, my wife mentioned that when we travel, she watches these billboards and mentally attaches the notion of "pick me, pick me" to their message.) Another idea that I have person- ally recommended and from which I have seen positive results has been the use of a mobile sign. If your location is situated so that Fence man Bob Shipley was active in American Fence Association and served as its president in 1997 We were saddened to hear of the death of Robert B. (Bob) Shipley, CFP. No details were available as of press time, but we will try to present a full obituary in an upcoming edition. Mr. Shipley was owner of Anchor Fence in Rexford, N.Y., and served as an officer in the Empire State chapter of the Amerian Fence Association. your mobile sign can be highly visible, this can be a cost effective way of ad- vertising. I heartily recommend look- ing into this as an additional source of exposure. This type of sign, when placed in a strategic location, can re- I would also like to see more of you have a better handle on just how much your web site is adding to your business development going forward, which means you must track your hits and responses. It does take some effort, but there are numerous ways to do this. flect daily or weekly specials or a fea- tured type of fencing for the home and can be changed as often as needed. I have personally watched traffic in- crease not only to the wholesale/retail store front, but also for full-fledged new fence sales. Once again, if it makes sense for you in your advertis- ing budget, then by all means seriously consider it; it can make a difference. (Editor's note: On the same theme of visual attracting interest, there is perhaps no better way than to turn your rolling stock – vehicles – into billboards. It does not have to be real fancy, although there are companies He belonged to the local chapter when it won the Chapter Yearbook Award in 2001. Mr. Shipley was active in the national AFA organization, and served as its president in 1997- 1998. Bob Shipley In 1999 the or- ganization presented him with the Distin- guished Service Award, and he re- ceived the 1997 Outstanding Committee Achievement Award. SPREAD THE (WORLD FENCE) NEWS! Tell your friends, employees and business associates that they will soon be able to view The Fencer's Almanac in a fully interactive format online, as well as the monthly editions of World Fence News. And there is no charge! Visit www.worldfencenews.com Click on "Read Our Current Edition OnLine" who provide beautiful color graphics to be applied to your vehicles; some of them are stunning. Long-time fence sign supplier J.C. Gury Co. of La Habra, Calif. immediately comes to mind.) Another area that might prove helpful to boosting residential sales is joining the advertising program that exists in many supermarkets nation- wide. These are the terminals at the checkout that run programming which highlights sponsors on an ongoing tape played all day at the checkout. While people are waiting to check out their groceries, they can see the tape on the terminal and see your com- pany info and message instead of read- ing the tabloids. I have seen this successfully implemented and it has created additional sales. Just as a reminder, there are al- ways your local "pennysaver" type of ads that can prove effective. There are also local promotions that support your fellow businesses, where you can place each other's business cards at the counter area and offer a discount to each other's customer base for sup- porting them. That has proven valuable as well. Finally, we need to mention sites such as Facebook, Craigslist and Twit- ter and the like. Some of you have shared with me that you have had some success generating sales through this media, particularly Facebook. There could be a place in your ad- vertising scheme to include such a site in your program. I only caution you to be careful what you present on any of these sites, because in a matter of sec- onds it's all over the world (or so it seems). Because of this fact, you may have to deal with some "false" leads along with the valid ones, but there may be a place for it in your plans, as I mentioned. Well, we have covered a myriad of ideas that I think are worth consider- ing, either on their own merit or in conjunction with a total advertising program. There can be no doubt that we are still struggling in these tough times and perhaps even tougher times lie ahead. Hopefully, you will give some se- rious thought to how any of these ideas can help you generate residential sales. Recognize that in difficult times you need to advertise more, not less. Sooner or later, your advertising program will serve you in good stead, despite what you may feel at the time you are spending the ad dollars. It is hoped that one or more of these thoughts will help you to realize that Profit Is Not A Dirty Word!™ WFN contributing editor Jim Lucci writes a monthly column on business management and issues which affect fence company owners and operators. He is president of Man- agement Motivational Associates of Freeport, N.Y. See his ad in this month's issue of World Fence News. August construction shows 8 percent advance NEW YORK, N.Y. –At a season- ally adjusted annual rate of $433.9 bil- lion, new construction starts in August climbed 8% relative to July, reported McGraw-Hill Construction division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. After declines in the previous three months, the August pickup was the result of greater activity for each of construc- tion's three main groups: nonresiden- tial building, residential building, and nonbuilding construction. During the first eight months of 2012, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $304.5 bil- lion, up 3% from the same period a year ago. The August statistics raised the Dodge Index to 92 (2000=100), up from July's 85. After reaching 114 in April, which was lifted by the start of a massive nuclear power plant in South Carolina, the Dodge Index then retreated through July. With its August rebound, the Dodge Index has returned to the aver- age level that was reported for all of 2011. "The pattern of construction starts continues to exhibit an up-and-down pattern, with the end result being that overall construction activity has yet to show much in the way of sustained growth," stated Robert A. Murray, vice-president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "Gains for some project types continue to be off- set by declines for other project types. So far in 2012, housing has been one of the brighter areas for construction – multifamily housing is strengthening, and single family housing is finally registering steady growth, although in a very gradual manner. "The commercial project types have shown hesitant upward move- ment, while this year's earlier weak- ness for the institutional sector seems to be easing a bit," he added. "Electric utility construction is seeing another year of exceptionally strong activity, but the public works sector continues to deal with spending limitations. If overall construction activity is to es- tablish a more solid upward trend, the continued on page 44