cannot find work to come in the door

[harolda]

I have all this cnc stuff mills lathes the works cnc punch press and
i cannot seam to get any one to bring some work does any one know how to
make it happen i think it is my face .I have no idea you know after 35 years
of this problem it is time to give up???? I have no gift of gab,i do not like
sprots, hunting ,fishing and all that stuff in comman with people i just want to make parts to keep the lights on!!!! Any answers let me know i my want to find someone who can do all that stuff .

[sendkeys]

maybe we need to move to china it's where all the jobs are now :P haha
Now if i could only find out how they live on 20 cents a day... i would be set.

[murphy625]

OUCH!

I am in a different business but what your describing is every business owners nightmare.

I am not much for sales either so I solved this problem while creating my business plan and decided I will probably have to hire outside sales agents who work for a commission of some sorts.

As I said, I am in a different type of business. Although my machine uses CNC controls, it is not a milling machine or cutting machine of any type.

Do you have a sales strategy?
Do you have a marketing plan?

[machintek]

Way back when in NJ when I had a BOSS 9 you had to BUY your work. Not fair but that was the game.

George

[Ken_Shea]

Harold, if it is not coming to you after 35 years there is a reason, and I won't guess at what that may be.
But... I have been self employed for 40 years and realize that in most of my problems all I have to do is look into the mirror to find that problem and solution. Then I try best I can to change that. My biggest business fault and I cannot guess what it has cost me over the years is that I am unorganized.
Somewhere I heard said "that it is never to late to begin to that which is right"

Here are some thoughts.
1) You may need to make changes both personally and business.
2) Consider what you are charging, is it competitive with your competition, better just a bit lower, perhaps your pricing is to low and people question the quality because of it.
3) If it is not coming to you then you go to it.
4) Call shops around and offer your service, and share your experience.
5) Put your qualifications and experience in a letter and mail it to business's that may need the kind of work that you offer, and mail it to as many as you can afford to put stamps on. Keep the letter positive and concise.
6) Perhaps a small ad in the local newspaper.
7) Call past customers up and ask for work.
8) Begin to manufacture a product and sell that.
9) Do you have regular hours ?
10 Do not get all caught up in gloom and doom, it will take you where you do not want to go!

Bests to you Harold.

Ken







After 35 years it would seem a shame to throw in the towel.

[ynneb]

Harold, you say you dont have the gift of the gab. But you have greater than this, you have honesty, and are humble enough to ask a personal question like you have, on a public forum. I am finding that when I talk with perspective clients that it is better to be meek and not be a know all. Dont present as though you dont need to listen to the client. Let the client advise you on what they want. Listen to them. Ask lots of questions. Be on the look out for expensive practices that they are doing, and offer to help them by been able to provide a cheaper or more cost effective method for them.

Kenneth has offered a great list, and there isnt much I can add to it, rather just expand by examples. One thing that Kenneth suggests is, manufacture your own products. That means you are not dependant on the customer coming to you, and you dont have to sell your soul in order to get the work. Make sure the product you sell is either unique, cheaper than similar products, or superior in design and quality.

Did you know that you computer can send faxes? Design a fax that desribes what you can do. Go through the yellow pages and find all the companies that you think you could offer services to. Do not send the faxes during busines hours but send them during the night. You dont want to piss off your perspective client by taking over their fax when they might be needing it. This is a great way for you to target your advertising, instead of open slather advertising like in a newspaper.

Did you ever see the movie, "Field of dreams"? The theme was, "if you build it they will come" Well it may happen in some cases, but on the whole it is bullsh1t. You will need to establish a client base the hard way first, service them well, make sure they are happy with your service, ask them if they are happy or displeased with your service, Be prepared to go that extra unpaid mile, and only then, will they come.

[Fred in NC]

Harold, specialty items.....

I knew a guy who made aluminum parts for model airplanes, and he used to get orders from all over the US. What he made was in small enough demand to have no competition from overseas, but yet he sold a bunch of them, and made a good living.

Have you considered making parts for homebrew CNC machines? Right now I wish I could find some of the blocks that are used for adjusting the ends of the linear rods... I have looked for them, and cannot find. Those are the square pieces that hold the end of a rod, and are adjustable with four set screws. I could make them, but rather like to buy in my case. A good part would be a ready-made z axis, in kit form. That is, just the main parts. Size 23 stepper mounts is another one. Not everyone has a mill around.

I have a few ideas of parts that might be sellable, not only to CNC but to other types of crafts.

[Jim Estes]

Have you ever studies sales?

I have been there myself, and after 7 years of scratching and pawing for work, I finally started to realize what my problem was. My problem had nothing to do with whether or not I liked sports, hunting, fishing, or even whether or not my face turned people off. My problem was that I didn't have the necessary tools to do that job. It wasn't until I figured out that if I was going to try and "sell" my business, then I needed to get the necessary tools for that, and that meant learning how to sell and what tools and techniques I needed to "sell".

I spent years accumulating micrometers, special fixtures, jigs, and learning tricks to do the work faster. I bought thousands of dollars worth of tools and machines. I read everything I could about machining of any kind. All that time spent focused on improving my skills was wasted time, it was time I could have spent doing the routine work that has always been there, the farmer who needs his tractor fixed, the factory that needs the holes drilled in the plate, the cabinet maker who need his planer fixed, the guy down the street who need his engine heads milled flat.

I spent hours upon hours worrying about how I could afford that next big machine, meanwhile the machines I had were sitting empty gathering dust. I made excuses for not making sales calls, like having to clean the dust off of those machiens in case a customer walked through my door.

Bottom line is I was not trained to sell, I was trained to machine. I had to make a decision, do I want to machine parts or run a business? If I just wanted to make parts, then I could go to work for someone else and do that. But if I wanted to run a business and build it up into something I dreamed about for years, that meant I had to take steps to learn how to do that.

I started by getting a book about selling, it was called "Secrets of closing the sale." by Zig Ziglar. I started learning how I could help my customers get what they want so that I could get what I want. Instead of reading more and more about machining I am reading more and more about selling, besides, the machining comes so natural to me that I don't need to spend so much time trying to master every new and exciting technique there is.

Just my $0.02 worth, maybe it will help. Let us know what happens though.

Jim

[Fred in NC]

Jim, I think you are right !!! At one point in my life I did the same. Books about selling and public relations. Elmer Wheeler, Dale Carnegie, etc.

I was in the printing business years ago. I made myself a card that set me apart from the crowd. It was very simple, shiny white paper like glass, and a logo foil embossed in real gold. Company name, address, phone, and my name without title. I would go out and call on businesses... dressed in working clothes, with a red rag sticking out of my rear pocket, and a printer's rule very visible. I had a few cards in a little envelope, and I would walk in and say very meekly "Hello, my name is Fred and I am a printer" and take one of the cards out of the little envelope, holding it by the edges, and hand it to the prospective customer. Then I would shut up !!!! I just answered any questions. If not, I would simple state "please keep me in mind" and thank them and leave. It worked !!!!!!! I got real fancy printing jobs at very good prices for me. As a matter of fact, I was able to complete a 4 year degree while supporting a family at a decent standard of living.

I guess if I was running a CNC machine shop I would make a card out of SS, with a border, and raised letters and logo, and make it highly polished, etc. Just a beautiful job as a sample, and take it to some business that need machining.

Just an idea ....

[harolda]

I am unorganized .I do have a product i started but fizzled out on.I think it might be the winter blues.I had someone send me a drawing now i cannot get a hold of them thay wanted to come over things are a shamble i think thay just wanted to be nosey . Then somone want sheetmetal punched thay were going to send a dxf file did not get that yet .I only have one costomer sometime i price things high and get them .I cannot figure that part out.
keep the post coming it helps

[jdelaney44]

Harold, I wish I had your equipment. But not to take in work. To make products.

I firmly believe that one can remake one's self. I've done it a few times over my life. Each time is hard. Each time is even more rewarding than the last.

If I were you I'd be looking at niche products that you can sell at a 100% gross profit for one to two years and then move on to the next one. That's what I am hoping to do now. I'm fitting an old Bridgeport with home brew controls to make kitchen gadgets. Low tolerance decorative stuff.

I too am going to have to learn how to sell better by the way. You are not alone there. Great post too. Stimulated a lot of good replies that I learned from. Thank you very much for puttin' it out there.

[ViperTX]

harolda,

When you say CNC Punch....like a Strippit? Where in the USA are you? Do you use "Non-Disclosure Agreements" in your work?

Can you brake stuff? Have ya got a Pemserter or a clinch nut inserter?

PM me.

Thanks,
Paul