Reaching Clients for Out-of-Home Stringer

[ctoth666]

I am having difficulty in this regard. I purchased an Ektelon D machine off of Craigslist this past summer and refurbished it to full functionality. I have prior stringing experience, etc...but I haven't been able find anyone to string racquets for. I advertised in the Shopper's Guide but received no replies, and placed fliers in plain sight at all of the public tennis courts within a 15 mile radius and also the ONE indoor tennis facility with 40 miles of my home. No replies. Tennis players are scare where I live, and players who break their strings are even scarcer. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Note: My location is approximately Woodstock, CT.

[zcarzach]

Originally Posted by ctoth666

I am having difficulty in this regard. I purchased an Ektelon D machine off of Craigslist this past summer and refurbished it to full functionality. I have prior stringing experience, etc...but I haven't been able find anyone to string racquets for. I advertised in the Shopper's Guide but received no replies, and placed fliers in plain sight at all of the public tennis courts within a 15 mile radius and also the ONE indoor tennis facility with 40 miles of my home. No replies. Tennis players are scare where I live, and players who break their strings are even scarcer. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Note: My location is approximately Woodstock, CT.

I'd start by offering your services to the local high school team. That worked for me.

[BobFL]

Originally Posted by ctoth666

I am having difficulty in this regard. I purchased an Ektelon D machine off of Craigslist this past summer and refurbished it to full functionality. I have prior stringing experience, etc...but I haven't been able find anyone to string racquets for. I advertised in the Shopper's Guide but received no replies, and placed fliers in plain sight at all of the public tennis courts within a 15 mile radius and also the ONE indoor tennis facility with 40 miles of my home. No replies. Tennis players are scare where I live, and players who break their strings are even scarcer. Any thoughts/recommendations?

Note: My location is approximately Woodstock, CT.

I think you answered your own question

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by BobFL

I think you answered your own question

Supply and Demand.

[equinox]

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en...e&ved=0CAYQtgM

Zoom in near providence and you'll find plenty of opportunities. May even score a megstar on streetview.

The WS middle school has two greyish courts.

[equinox]

A flyer on a wall and advert that nobody reads doesn't cut it.

You'll need to network and actually introduce yourself to coaches and centre administrators / even local sports store managers. IF they're big enough or short of time, they'll already have an assistant or several doing the stringing. Assistants move on or go study leave. That's your opportunity to takeup the slack and offer over night service with stable dropoff/pickup point.

Imho it's not possible to make business completely from just stringing, unless doing huge volumes.

And i believe round time/distance and petrol costs would make traveling to largest areas for anything less than boot/backseat load of racquets infeasible.

[ctoth666]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Supply and Demand.

Oh yes I've been aware of this situation since I first started playing tennis. I'm not trying to run a business either, just make money on the side. I'm trying to create opportunities where there are none, which is a difficult thing. I live in the nexus of nothing. I suppose I could reach out to athletic directors at local high schools, but I played on a team for four years and was one of two kids breaking his strings and/or winning matches. I strung for Penn State for one season and between 10 guys I was stringing plenty.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by ctoth666

Oh yes I've been aware of this situation since I first started playing tennis. I'm not trying to run a business either, just make money on the side. I'm trying to create opportunities where there are none, which is a difficult thing. I live in the nexus of nothing. I suppose I could reach out to athletic directors at local high schools, but I played on a team for four years and was one of two kids breaking his strings and/or winning matches. I strung for Penn State for one season and between 10 guys I was stringing plenty.

Seems like most of the home stringers here meet clients down at clubs and then word of mouth spreads. Of course, there are quite a few players down here in sunny Florida so perhaps that approach would not work for you.

[LeeD]

You can't sell snow to eskimos in Alaska.
You can't sell tanning products to beachcombers living in the tropics.
Assuming you play tennis, hit up all your buds for free ONE TIME stringing, and encourage them to tell their friends.
Local highschool and RecParks courts, and college courts.
You can't demand 15 bucks per racket for labor when you are unknown.

[coolblue123]

Craigslist, word of mouth, offer payment by PayPal so customer feel they have recourse and safety.

[mikeler]

LeeD's post reminds me of Sam Kinnison's solution to global famine. "Move where the food is!".

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by LeeD

You can't sell snow to eskimos in Alaska.
You can't sell tanning products to beachcombers living in the tropics.
Assuming you play tennis, hit up all your buds for free ONE TIME stringing, and encourage them to tell their friends.
Local highschool and RecParks courts, and college courts.
You can't demand 15 bucks per racket for labor when you are unknown.

The original expression I believe was "coals to Newcastle."

But you CAN sell bottled water to people around the world who already have access to perfectly good water. And what is more, you can do it in non bio-degradable plastic bottles.

But more fundamentally, your analogies have nothing to do with your last sentence. The situations are entirely different. Having no demand or being unknown is completely different from selling to people something they don't need or have too much of.

[pvaudio]

You start with people you know first. String for your friends and hitting partner(s). If you do a good, and more importantly, consistent job, then when someone asks about stringing, you'll get a recommendation. In addition to that, being the stringer with something unique helps immensely. Things like a protective bag adds a professional touch. Using all identical knots for cleanliness. I, for example, purposely do not use the Parnell knot. I only use the Wilson knot with a starting clamp for crosses. Why? Because regardless of the frame, the knot tail is always neatly against the frame and symmetric in direction on either side of the frame. It is also smaller, so on Wilson frames which tie off on the bottom crosses which have little room, the knot can sit there without pushing the main outwards. Above all else, I have to stress it again: consistency is key. The customer should get the same feeling racquet every single time when using the same strings. That means making sure you have the racquet secured properly, the tensioner is calibrated, your clamps are properly set and your pull speed is even. It seems like it's not noticable, but having not had my stringer at times, it's very obvious to me when two different people string my frame OR when the same person has done a rush job.

[TheIrrefutableOne]

you might want to post this in the TW stringing section. There are probably more pro stringers there

[LeeD]

Suresh, why should the whole post be only about analogies?
Maybe throw in a few simple sayings... I never heard of Newcastle, really...and then throw is some common sense advice.