American History 1988
Chapter 62 - 58 The Second Target

Chapter 62: Chapter 58 The Second Target

A rental advertisement for 4 US dollars was a carefully considered price by Dean. Frankly speaking, it isn’t high, but it is very appropriate for Cleveland.

After all, it is not a big city like New York or Los Angeles; in terms of the cost of living, Cleveland is still a bit lower than them.

Although the price of a single advertisement is low, the advantage lies in the steady income. The advertisements on Price’s List are different from traditional TV commercials.

For example, if Cheap Rent were to advertise on television, the target would be the "Cheap Rent" brand itself.

But Price’s List registers each property individually, one advertisement for each apartment, directly corresponding to one another.

Jerry, who is in charge of several communities, has a total of over 500 properties; even if only half of them need advertisement, that would still amount to an income of one thousand US dollars.

This is merely the property resources in Jerry’s hands; what about the entirety of Cleveland? Additionally, tenants are transient, especially students; it’s not unusual for them to move every few months.

Just the rental advertisement business alone, as long as Price’s List is managed well, Dean could not only break even but also possibly profit.

Therefore, after bidding farewell to Jerry, Dean took the contact information of other area managers provided by the former and prepared to visit them one by one later on.

Everything was just beginning, and Dean had to personally make the rounds. Of course, after a few tries, Simon would also help him share some of the tasks.

Dean wasn’t worried that other property managers would refuse him, for 4 US dollars only. Would you rather watch your property sit idle and slowly deteriorate, or spend 4 US dollars on an advertisement to give it a try?

Dean believed they would know how to choose because the cost of failure was low enough to be negligible.

And once successful, as property managers, they could take a commission from the monthly rent, and without a doubt, the amount of the commission would be greater than 4 US dollars.

Unfortunately, if it weren’t for DCAP office software not having entered Cleveland yet, Dean even wanted to bring "Extra Rent" over as well and earn another sum from people like Jerry.

It looks like a trip back to Youngstown will be needed soon to check out how DCAP is operating. However, the priority now is still Price’s List.

Of course, Dean’s target for commercializing Price’s List isn’t just the housing market. As a classified service website, its content can be linked with everything in life, such as the David Human Resource Company right in front of him.

"You mean to place the advertisement on that what website?" David said with a puzzled face after listening to Dean’s explanation.

He knew about computers and the internet. His company even had several computers, and David had just sent an email with one.

But a website? David didn’t have a clear impression of that.

After glancing at the computer on the desk not too far away, Dean boldly made a somewhat presumptuous request. "Mr. Williams, may I use your computer?"

David didn’t refuse; he nodded and gestured with his hand, "Please do."

He too wanted to see what a website actually was, to be capable of serving as a medium for advertising.

After thanking him, Dean stood up and went over to the computer, tapping on the keyboard a few times, "Mr. Williams, this is Price’s List."

Standing behind him, David was instantly captivated by the page on the screen.

Oh~ Look at the rich content. Community, housing, jobs, services, for sale, discussion forums... Blue fonts paired with a white page, simple and eye-catching.

Wait, what did he see in the services column? Dating for the opposite sex? David’s finger uncontrollably clicked in...

[Annie, 21 years old, curvy figure, D cup; finishing move: "Witty Words"]

"Wow~" David couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, "I like her!"

"Annie’s verbal skill is known as ’God’s Whip’; no one can last more than five minutes."

"Really? How can I contact her?" David’s interest intensified.

"Open it, then leave a message under her page, she might contact you after seeing it."

"Aha, so it’s right here." David, who caught on quickly, easily found the right place, where there was already a mass of messages.

"Isn’t it cool?"

"Yeah~" David straightened up, satisfied with the website, "What a great thing. By the way, what were we talking about just now?"

"Uh..." Silence filled the office.

Snap, Dean snapped his fingers. "Advertisements! Yes, recruitment advertisements!"

"OK~" David’s expression returned to normal, "So, where should my advertisement go?"

"Right here," Dean pointed to the job section, "accounting and finance, business administration, human resources, manufacturing, general labor... according to the type of work, all job advertisements can be posted under the corresponding category."

"So you’re saying, my advertisement can not only be placed in the newspaper but also appear here?"

"That’s right, this is a completely new media platform. Users here come from all directions, though they are mainly concentrated in the Cleveland area. Mr. Williams, your human resources company primarily seeks suitable candidates for other companies, correct?"

David nodded without denying it, "As you have seen, we play an intermediary role. We find candidates that meet the employers’ requirements from all over Cleveland and then earn a brokerage fee. That is how we make a profit."

"But those top talents are often pre-booked by the big companies, aren’t they?" Dean was well aware that HR companies like David’s generally couldn’t compete with well-known enterprises.

This was also something David had been powerless to change; he could only select from those second-best candidates who were left.

"Now, with Price’s List, Mr. Williams, your choices are different. This is a brand-new arena, one that the well-known businesses haven’t even realized exists yet." Dean’s sales pitch captured David’s attention.

"For example..." David pointed at the computer in front of him.

"Yes," Dean said confidently, nodding, "Price has thirty to forty thousand users, and the vast majority are in the university town to the east. And the entire university town has more than one hundred and twenty thousand students, do you know what that means?

It means that nearly one-third of the university town’s students are using Price’s List! Why do those well-known companies always manage to recruit the best talent? Brand reputation is one reason, their ability to enter campuses and directly connect with students at job fairs is another!"

David strongly agreed with what Dean said. Every graduation season, his company could only distribute flyers outside the school gates, but they couldn’t enter the campus. Because he was not a direct employer, the schools barred them from entry.

This had resulted in the situation mentioned before, where David HR could only pick what was left over.

"But now, Price’s List gives you the opportunity to communicate directly with students. Any student could see the job advertisements you post. And it’s at any time, not just during the graduation season." Dean struck while the iron was hot, painting a picture for David of the scenario he had long dreamt of.

To be honest, David was somewhat tempted, but he still had one concern, "Does Price’s List really have that many users?"

"Mr. Williams, just look at the recent ’Opposite Sex Seeking Companion’ community to understand, the number of comments there is the best proof."

Oh~ Speaking of this, David was still impressed. Alright, he was persuaded by Dean.

"One last question, what’s your price?"

Dean gave an innocuous smile, "25 US Dollars per post, no time limit, until you find the right candidate."

"Can I indicate requirements for multiple positions in the same job advertisement? For example, recruiting ten accounting assistants but only posting one ad?" A shrewd light flickered in David’s eyes.

"In theory, it’s possible," Dean said nonchalantly, shrugging, "but if the needs are from different companies, I’d recommend separating them. People are generally cautious about vague hiring organizations."

David pondered for a while, then nodded. "Deal!"

Even though he couldn’t consolidate the advertisements, the deal was still cost-effective. Because once it was successful, the commission he would get was equal to the candidate’s entire month’s salary. For those senior talents, even more, it could be three months to half a year’s wages.

In comparison, 25 dollars was really nothing. Moreover, whether it’s newspapers or flyers, their advertising costs were far more than 25 dollars.

"Pleased to do business with you!" Dean, having conquered yet another city, was elated.

David HR would not be Dean’s last stop, and the 25 dollar advertising fee was not fixed.

This mainly depended on the comprehensive strength of the sales target. For companies of a manageable size like David’s, which were not big, the quote was a flat rate of 25 dollars.

If it were giants like the Federal Savings Bank or Standard Oil, then the price would increase to 75 dollars.

There were also smaller intermediaries, specializing in more average blue-collar jobs, where the recruitment advertising fee would be 7 dollars.

7-75 dollars, that was the range for Price’s List’s published rates for recruitment ads. The website was a novelty, so the prices couldn’t be too high.

Additionally, the reason Dean first targeted mid-sized companies like David HR, and not well-known enterprises,

was because large enterprises had campus recruitment fairs and brand reputation; they didn’t lack channels. Only when mid-tier companies like David’s began to threaten their talent acquisition would these big companies start to acknowledge the existence of Price’s List.

Experience proved that these mid-sized companies were the best sales targets; they had ambition. They wanted a share of the top talent market, so they were willing to try something new like a website.

Small agencies mostly gave up outright and their profits were too small. Besides, those blue-collar workers largely didn’t use the internet much, so making an impact in this market needed time to cultivate.

As for why Dean promised David HR cheap rentals and would only remove advertisements after finding tenants or recruiting hands, it was also one of the current sales strategies. How could the newly started Price’s List succeed without showing a bit of sincerity?

Later, when the website traffic reached a certain level, there would be no more such good deals. Then, the advertisements might have a fixed duration, one month or one week, depending on the situation.

...

Having pitched the advertisements to potential clients, the next steps were up to Price’s List.

Advertising was always a two-way street; it wasn’t as if the property management company or HR company posted their ads, and then Dean could rest easy.

He needed to deliver these ads precisely and then generate effective responses.

Otherwise, if the ads went unnoticed, the few remaining clients would soon abandon Price’s List.

So Dean needed to do something; he needed to create a positive cycle for Price’s List.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.