Play hardball. They will deal with you or you walk. My Biz partner has a part time pressure washing biz and has had the YP ad since 1998. They cut the price in half for him. This is how the conversation went:
Pesky DEX YP salesgirl wrote:
I have been trying to give you calls from 5-6pm but I haven't had any luck catching up with you yet! Will you have any time tomorrow or Thursday night from 5-6pm? I will be staying later both of those nights to accommodate some other clients schedules. Let me know if that will work for you.
Best regards,
I wrote My biz partner:
I have noticed the YP salespeople are getting more aggressive. Just because you have done it forever, is it right? Your biz is where you want it, yes? The YP ad will bring in a few new clients to balance the ones who move, ect.. You have a seasonal biz, try negotiating a 6 month ad? They are getting desperate for ads, play hardball and get them to come down on price. IMHO
My Biz partner wrote the pesky DEX salesgirl:
Hi Tina,
Here's my feelings. I'm leaning towards pulling my ad altogether. I'm a 6 month business paying for 12 months of advertising, which even in the 6 months I'm actually working, results have been dismal. I would like to keep my same ad in for next year, but I'm only interested in paying 1/2 of what I'm paying now. I have been a customer of yours since 1998, and I think it's time for a price break. If you can do this, great! If not, please pull my ad for next year. Thanks,
The pesky salesgirl replied:
Hi there,
If you want to just have your single line listing with name, phone #, and address the cost of that is $10 a heading in the Barrington directory. You currently are under 3 headings, so if you want to keep all of those it would be a monthly investment of $30. We can put your website for free underneath your number if you want.
If you want to upgrade any have an ad that tells something about you a 1" color ad for Barrington is $18.50. I would suggest this because people are used to seeing it and you can tell more about your services. But, let me know your thoughts. I will be in the office tonight until 5:30 Thanks again