Searching the Virtual Yellow Pages

Do you sell your services with the Yellow Pages…

or other forms of classified advertising?

Google Map Have you claimed YOUR online identity yet? If not, you should, before some else does. You don’t need a website and it is free.

It is probably more common today to do an online search for a desired service than it is to let your fingers walk through a book of yellow pages.

For the second time during the past month, I’ve needed to call in a local repair specialist to my home. This time is was a broken washing machine.

Naturally, it broke on a week-end while doing the weekly wash, so a trip to the laundromat was necessary. But, with a perfectly good washer at home, albeit broken, I embarked on the task of finding a repair person.

My keyword Google search went like this: “washing machine repair” and I clicked once for more listings close to my vicinity in the local search option. Of the dozen or so listings, I was drawn to the ones that seemed to have a few recent reviews and eliminated a couple with bad user experiences.

I think the Better Business Bureau has become un-necessary with the ease of access to online reviews from actual customers. Keep this in mind every time you provide your service. Unless you strive for superior customer satisfaction, you will collect online comments that are sure to deprive you of future business.

After calling the top 4 and receiving a recorded message from 3, I ended up ordering a service call from the one that answered with a real person even though it was a national service (when my preference is local small business owners).

During my call while placing my order for service, I received a call-back from 2 of the others I had left messages with. I ultimately chose to cancel my order with the national service (they could not come out for a week) and got a prompt response from a local one-man shop because of the way he handled the call-back. More on what he did right to get my business in a future post on “conversational selling”.

The successful provider that got my business does not even have a website but I was able to find him because of a little known free service provided by Google. It’s called “Local Business Center” and is available by simply registering with a Google Account.

I recomend that you claim your online identity as soon as possible using this free service. My Yellow Pages Book goes directly to the recycle bin. It has been obsoleted in my world, and I suspect in yours also.

Learn More…

You can listen to an interview that I conducted on BizChatz Radio with Richard Geasey, author of Get Found Now, the book where I learned all about Google Local Business Center.

By Howard Howell

Howard is an Internet Sales Consultant. He speaks professionally about Web Marketing and Sensible Selling from an experienced entrepreneur’s viewpoint. He also provides individual coaching, group training, and web marketing consulting services. Contact him now.

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