In my experience, most professional organizers are very happy to share resources and expertise with their colleagues and reap many rewards from doing so. I asked my client, Julie Stobbe, about her thoughts on the subject, and was so impressed that I invited her to share them here today as my guest blogger.

Coopetition occurs when companies work together for parts of their business where they do not believe they have competitive advantage and where they believe they can share common costs. (Source: Wikipedia)

Cooperating with someone in your line of business is a great way to get to know people, brainstorm and  learn ideas and help each other with areas that you are weak in.

When I decided to try coopetition, I did it on a project basis. I used it to help me to market better, because marketing is not my strength.

I would think about something I would like to have (product development) or something I would like to do (offer a new service) and think about someone who had mentioned that they had an interest in the same thing.  I would approach them with an idea and see if they were interested in working together to develop and implement the plan.  It was nice to have a partner to walk the path with and hold my hand.

The payoff is having to do half the work while increasing business for both parties with the understanding that if they get busy and need help, they would approach me first, and I would do the same for them.  If you develop a service with a partner, if someone gets sick, you have the other person as backup.   I always selected someone who lived east of my main marketing area.  This made it easy to get materials delivered over a larger area – half the work, twice the area covered.  This gave us both exposure to a larger market.

Here are some examples of projects I’ve worked on with people in my field and with complementary businesses:

• Developing organizing tip booklets; we have 4 different topics.
• Developing courses to offer to colleges, school boards and groups; we have 3 different 3 hour courses prepared.
• Advertising someone else’s electronic resources (because I don’t want to develop them at this time) in exchange for services.
• Advertising together so the cost of printing is shared by both companies.
• Recommending specialty services to clients, such as clutter removal service, rug cleaning, and website design.
• Inviting someone to attend new meetings and events with me. That way I don’t have to walk in alone, and perhaps they can make introductions too.

Although I have been fortunate and careful with whom I partner, there are always things to consider.

• The person you partner with now represents your company as well as their own.  Make sure you have similar business ethics or your company’s reputation maybe adversely affected.
• If you are producing a product and the quality of what they produce is not up to your standards, you may be disappointed.  However, you have both contributed time and money to the project so they may use it the way they want to.
• One of the companies may work much harder at marketing the product or service than the other company.  Make sure that you can live with it if you realize that you are marketing them but they are not marketing you.

Overall, I have gained a lot from coopetition with others.  I have grown as a business person, I have learned new skills, I have made good friends I can depend on, and I have learned to be flexible.  I hope my coopetition partners have found me to be reasonable, supportive and hard working.  Taking a chance to work with good people is really making a sure bet.

Julie Stobbe is a POC Trained Professional Organizer and the owner of Mind over Clutter in Beamsville, Ontario, Canada. You can also like Mind over Clutter on Facebook.

Do you have a “coopetition” story of your own? Please share it in the Comments. If you have any questions for Julie, please feel free to post them here as well.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Do You Play Well with Others? A look at cooperative competition.

Scott Stratten (AKA @unmarketing) raised quite a stir last week when he compared advertising in the Yellow Pages to Aiming Your Company at the Bottom of the Barrel. I’ve been a fan of Scott’s work since I attended his teleclass on The 7 Deadly Website Sins for Professional Organizers in 2004, but I’d hate for you to rule out Yellow Pages advertising before looking at it from all angles.

Scott’s first point pertains to the Hierarchy of Buying, and I agree with him completely that when someone needs something, they’ll contact a company they’ve dealt with before or one that’s been recommended to them, before they’ll begin looking for one. He adds that most people will search online rather than in the Yellow Pages, except for “old folks, shut-ins and people who are still locked into AOL contracts.” What if you just happen to be a Senior Move Manager and that’s exactly the demographic you’re trying to reach?

He goes on to describe the Yellow Pages directory as paper spam, because it’s delivered to everyone, whether they want it or not. The difference that Scott seems to have overlooked is the fact that nobody (at least no one I know) wants to receive ads for prescription drugs, cheap watches, or sexual aids in their email, but there are still people who appreciate having a printed business directory on hand. Although I generally check the Internet first when looking for a local business, there are occasions when it’s quicker and easier just to flip open the phone book to the right page, so I still keep one around (and there are lots of people who use the Internet much less than I do).

His third point is that “The lower down on the hierarchy of buying you are, the more you’re up against lowest-price seekers and competition.” Although that may be true, it’s not in itself a reason to avoid having a Yellow Pages listing. It is a reason to be prepared for calls from such “tire kickers” with a dazzling explanation of why your service is the best and worth every penny, even though it may not be the cheapest. You can get that type of inquiry even when you advertise online, unless you choose to post your rates on your website, which is a different subject altogether.

His fourth point is that the directory is printed only once a year, which means that once you’ve placed your ad, you’re locked into it for quite a long time. I really can’t argue with this, especially when you consider that the deadline for being included in the Yellow Pages is several months prior to publication. It also means that if they make an error in your listing, you have to wait an awfully long time for it to be corrected!

His final point is that fewer and fewer people are using the Yellow Pages to locate businesses, even amongst seniors. He supports this statement with statistics such as “45% of seniors over the age of 70 are online” but again I ask, what if you want to reach the other 55%?

The real question isn’t whether or not you should advertise in the Yellow Pages; it’s how much of your marketing budget should be allocated to it.

It’s not widely promoted, but in Canada, anyone with a business telephone line or cell phone can get a free basic listing in the Yellow Pages. It’s very basic – just your business name, address, and telephone number, listed under one heading, but for zero dollars and a short phone call, it doesn’t have to bring you much business to generate a good return on your investment. Furthermore, that free listing will also appear on YellowPages.ca, giving you one more place for your business to be found online. Word of advice: don’t bother filling out the form on the website – you’ll wait several days for a reply, which will just be an email asking you to call their office. What do you expect? They are a phone company, after all!

Of course, if free listings aren’t available where you live, or if you don’t feel a basic listing will provide enough information to be effective, your decision will require a lot more thought. Here are some of the things you’ll need to consider:

1. Who is your target market?

If you specialize in working with seniors, it may well be worth it for you to invest in Yellow Pages advertising. If you work mainly with home-based business owners, it is less likely to be effective for you.

2. Are your competitors listed in the Yellow Pages?

If you’re the only local organizer not in the directory, you might miss out on some opportunities. If no one else is listed under your category, even a basic listing will probably generate calls for you.

3. How much is your overall advertising budget?

I would not recommend investing the bulk of your funds in Yellow Pages advertising, even if you’ve determined that the people in your target market are not likely to use the Internet to search for service providers. Since people generally prefer to deal with someone they know, like and trust, or that has been recommended by someone they know, like, and trust, it only makes sense that you should concentrate your efforts on becoming known, liked and trusted by as many people as possible. This may mean attending business networking events, becoming involved with community activities, or speaking to groups who might be interested in what you have to offer.

I also want to stress the importance of having an online presence. Even if that’s not the direct route to reaching your target market, you can still build that “know, like and trust” factor by connecting with others who may know people who need your services and will help you spread the word about your business.

In conclusion, although the Yellow Pages may not play as large a role in informing buyers as they did in the past, only you can decide whether it’s a worthwhile advertising medium for your organizing business.

Please visit Your Organizing Business to read and comment on Yellow Pages Advertising for Your Organizing Business.