Quiet Periods | Locksmith Blog
Topic: General Chatter
Without a doubt at some point during the year you will have a quiet spell where locksmith work seems to come in dribs and drabs. School holiday periods are usually pretty dry for me.

Although it may seem like the tide has changed and leave you checking your mobile phone is still working and that all your websites are still live and displaying correctly, the fact is the majority of potential customers are more likely to put off that door repair or ropey old lock and spend the money elsewhere during these periods.

As a successful locksmith it is important to occupy this valuable free time to polish up other aspects of the business or concentrate on promoting your locksmith services. Just because you are not earning as much doesn't mean you should be working any less.

1/ Get your locksmith business added and updated in as many online directories as possible. Online directories are popping up all the time and usually short lived. Those locksmith adverts you created a few years ago either don't exist anymore or are so out of date they no longer rank well via Google searches. It is important to try and keep these updated just as you would your own locksmith websites to keep content fresh and up to date. Just be aware that a lot of marketing companies use these to collect your contact details and you will probably get a plague of advertisers calling you afterwards for a few weeks. Just tell them to jog on.

2/ Get some fliers printed and delivered advertising your locksmith services and information about new products such as anti-snap locks. Although many locksmiths see this as hard work with little return, it reaches out to the minority that do not use the internet every day to find information such as the elderly. I have dropped on many a good customer that has saved my fliers or business cards and it is well worth the time and effort doing a local drop every now and again.

3/ Another important area you can turn your attention to is your book keeping and account records. Compile all receipts, invoices and other paperwork into a managable state so that when handed over to an accountant at the end of the year or when you come to file your own tax return, it will be less of a headache.

4/ Check out your local competition, see what approach the are taking to marketing themselves, where they are listing their businesses online and what their rates are. Any other good locksmith will be checking you out just as closely and its an important part of deciding what your time and experience is worth to a paying customer.

It is too easy to sit there and complain that work has gone quiet and then do nothing about it. Self employment and small businesses rely on a certain amount of input. Neglecting to work on the administration and tedious tasks will ultimately impact upon your future success.