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Generating new income sources

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Poolsharks1

Newbie

Posts: 17

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:06 pm

Location: Scotland

Post Wed Nov 25, 2015 10:58 am

Generating new income sources

Hi everyone,

Im a mobile locksmith from edinburgh Scotland.
After years of avoiding it i bought myself a mobile key cutting machine - i now wished I'd bought one sooner. Some weeks i can make an extra couple of hundred pounds from key cutting! Not to mention the occasion job you get from a business wanting the locks changed and 60 keys cut (good times!)

My assumption before buying the machine was i wouldn't make much money from it as no one asks for extra keys. So paying £1000 for a machine seemed a bad idea.
However, ive found if 'you ask' the customers if they want extra keys cut, most want at least 1or 2 extra keys.

My question is: does anyone else have advice on extra income sources for a mobile locksmith?
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MBI

User avatar

Site Owner

Posts: 1545

Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:25 pm

Location: Utah, USA

Post Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:04 pm

Re: Generating new income sources

Padlocks that take the same keys as common household keyways. In the US ABUS offers padlocks with the same keyways as just about every commonly available household keys.

There are three main keyways used on home locks in my area, so I keep two ABUS padlocks in each of those keyways with my mobile inventory. If I do a lockout or I'm rekeying a home I'll mention how handy it is to have a padlock for a shed, storage unit, trailer or whatever, that is keyed to the same key as their house. That way they don't have to carry a bunch of extra keys on their key ring. It's rare that I will rekey a home and NOT have them buy at least one padlock that's keyed alike to their house after I suggest it.

When you're doing a lockout, or rekeying or replacing a single lock on a home, ask if they've ever had the locks replaced or rekeyed since they moved in. If not, which is usually the case, you can bring up that it might be a good idea to rekey everything since they would likely have no idea how many copies of their house keys might be running around. The old owner's family members might all still have a key to the house and might still be local. Or several neighbors might have keys if they ever watched the home or fed the pets while the former owners were away on vacation. Since you are already there, tell them that it'll save them the $50 trip fee on top of whatever services are purchased, if they go ahead and have you rekey things while you're already there. Or even offer an additional discount on the services since you're already there and have to rekey one of the locks.

I also ask if they ever have a room in the home where they might sometimes want extra privacy, such as the master bedroom or an office. A lot of the time they'll think it over and decide they don't like having their sexy time interrupted (or whatever) and I'll be able to sell them a keyed knob to install on the bedroom door. Explain that while you're rekeying the home, you can also easily masterkey it for them, so that the husband and wife's key will be able to open all the outer doors AND the new bedroom door lock but the kids key will only open the outer door, or back door, or whatever door they want the kids to use for entry. They can also decide if they want everyone's keys to work on the new padlock that you just sold them, or just certain keys. Once again, no extra keys to carry, but they'll have more privacy with the new lock. This will allow you to add a small masterkeying charge of a couple bucks per lock, or whatever.

You can also check to see if there is a sliding glass door or windows that don't latch well. Sales of supplementary locks can mean a few extra bucks in your pocket also. Don't hesitate to point out other ways they can improve their security, even if it doesn't mean extra money for you. It'll help them feel you're really looking out for their security and that they're getting a better value for your service call.

There's more you can do along these lines, but adding up just these few items, it's pretty easy to add a minimum of another $50, $100, or more in add-on sales almost every time you have a residential service call.
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Poolsharks1

Newbie

Posts: 17

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:06 pm

Location: Scotland

Post Wed Nov 25, 2015 5:22 pm

Re: Generating new income sources

Thank you very much MBI for taking the time to give me those tips. Its definitely gave me something to think about. Cheers ;-)
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Neilau

User avatar

Active Member

Posts: 740

Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:29 pm

Location: Australia

Post Wed Nov 25, 2015 6:49 pm

Re: Generating new income sources

These are a cheap way of advertising your business - if you buy a few. There are also 4Gb ones that are cheaper.

The listing says that they will put your logo on them.

http://www.banggood.com/MECO-16GB-Metal-Colorful-Key-Flash-Drive-USB-2_0-Memory-U-Disk-Thumb-Pen-Stick-p-1011819.html

I bought a few about 5 years ago and have never had any trouble with them.

Just a thought.
Clark's Law (Arthur C)

For every expert there is an equal and opposite expert.
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Poolsharks1

Newbie

Posts: 17

Joined: Fri Nov 13, 2015 3:06 pm

Location: Scotland

Post Thu Nov 26, 2015 1:16 am

Re: Generating new income sources

Cheers Neilau
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aeporia

User avatar

Familiar Face

Posts: 130

Joined: Sun Jul 05, 2015 2:41 am

Location: Australia

Post Sat Nov 28, 2015 2:41 am

Re: Generating new income sources

MBI wrote:[…]


I like this post MBI: you’re giving advice on up-selling *while* making salient points that are actually worthwhile for many people. Need more of this (esp. to contrast the BS of the likes of ‘oh, it’s a hard lock… sorry, I’m gonna have to drill it out and replace it entirely… so I’ll have to replace all the other locks too…’).

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