Michigan Taxidermists that Want More Business

[Trophy Specialist]

I am a taxidermist near Chelsea, MI and have had to turn away many customers because I only take in certain types of work that I have time to complete in a reasonable timeframe.  I refer these excess customers to other area taxidermists, but I’m exploring other options at this time.  I am looking to refer my excess work (probably over 50 a year) to taxidermists that can help me out with my fishing charter business by going on a charter yourself (tax deductible), and/or referring my charter business to others.  I only want to work with taxidermists that charge as much, or more than I do ($460 for a deer head), have a web site and operate in southern Michigan.  This is a good opportunity for someone who wants to grow their taxidermy business.

Mike                 

[Wildside]

The Michigan Taxidermist Association member help each other out like this all the time.  You should consider joining and getting involved.  Great resource at your fingertips.

[Trophy Specialist]

The Michigan Taxidermist Association member help each other out like this all the time.  You should consider joining and getting involved.  Great resource at your fingertips.

         
I wish I had the time to join the Michigan Taxidermists Association as I know that it is a good organization.  If I did join, I wouldn't be able to attend any meetings or do much other than pay my dues and read the newsletter, which is not a very good reason to sign up. 

I'm currently giving away thousands of dollars worth of business every year to a couple other taxidermists in my area and I haven’t even gotten so much as a "thank you" from them, much less any referrals back.  After many years of this, I'm just looking to refer my excess business to someone that appreciates it.  Even if I didn’t get any fishing charter business in return, I’d still like to at least here back from someone that I help out.  There’s not a week that goes by when I don’t refer taxidermy work out.       

[kuhof]

Why dont you take it in and wholesale it? That way you can have a relation ship with another taxidermist you can appreciate and make a few bucks at the same time.

[Trophy Specialist]

Why dont you take it in and wholesale it? That way you can have a relation ship with another taxidermist you can appreciate and make a few bucks at the same time.

I thought about doing that, but my fishing charter business and my other non-taxidermy business takes me away from home a lot.  I do taxidermy pretty much full time from Dec 1 through March.  Other than that period, I take in little work and don't do much taxidermy because I don't have the time, or I'm not home.  All my taxidermy work comes from repeat customers, word of mouth, and the internet.  Besides my website, I do not advertise anywhere.  The funny thing is that even though my website only lists my services for deer and fish replicas, I still get tons of calls from people off that site looking for everything besides deer and repro fish.

I've gotten a few responses form MI taxidermsts, but all of them live a quite a distance from me.  Most of my calls come from people in there areas: Metro Detroit Area, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Jackson or Washtennaw, Jackson, Wayne, Monroe, Ingham, Livingston and Oakland Counties.  Prabably 80% of my calls come from that area.                 

[mr.T aka mr. friendly]

What is wrong with turning down work that you do not want to other taxidermist? They got to eat too.

[Trophy Specialist]

What is wrong with turning down work that you do not want to other taxidermist? They got to eat too.

There's nothing wrong with it.  Right now every customer that calls me gets told by me that I'm full for the year and can't take in their work.  Their next question is always, "can you recommend another taxidermist?"  I've been recommending taxidermists that I know do good work for a fair price, but those guys haven't even had the decency to thank me even though I've recommended them hundreds of times.  Now I also run a fishing charter business that these guys know about too.  The fishing charter business in Michigan has been extremely depressed for some years with our horrible economy here.  I can grantee you that if someone referred a hundred customers to me, I'd at least have the decency to thank them profusely and I would also make sure to give my best effort to steer as much business towards them as I could.  Even if someone steers one customer to me, I'm going to thank them personally.  That's just good business.  I have a couple taxidermists that take fishing charters with me that do not live in my area, but I've still recommended taxidermy business to them a bunch of times over the years.  That's good business for both all parties concerned.

Mike     

[mr.T aka mr. friendly]

So if someone calls you, and you turn them down,,,, you still call that your customer? I don't understand that part. How can you call them "excess customers" when you turn them away? Turning them away doesn't make them a customer. They are not customers until they pay you or sign a contract.

[Trophy Specialist]

So if someone calls you, and you turn them down,,,, you still call that your customer? I don't understand that part. How can you call them "excess customers" when you turn them away? Turning them away doesn't make them a customer. They are not customers until they pay you or sign a contract.

Here's the definition of "customer" from my dictonary:

1) a person who purchases goods or services from another
2) a person one has to deal with 

One way or another the people that call me looking to get taxidermy work done are "customers" reguardless of whether or not they actually pay me or sign a contract.

[Tanglewood Taxidermy]

Are sure that these other taxidermists know that it was you that sent those customers to them?

[Trophy Specialist]

Are sure that these other taxidermists know that it was you that sent those customers to them?

Every customer that phones me is asked how they found me.  That is a basic, critical business principle that any businessman worth their salt knows.  How else can you track how your advertising/marketing is working?

I guess to answer your question, I do know for sure that at least one of them knows, and if the other doesn't, then he should.  I'm not talking about one or two referrals, but rather over 50 per year.

I just found out that a feature article that has an in depth interview of me just came out in the current issue of In Fisherman magazine.  The writer even listed my contact info at the end of the piece, and I know this effort by him will certainly land me a bunch of business.  I've already thanked him, but of course I also offered to take him out on a comp fishing trip any time he wants to go and the same thing goes for the editors of the magazine.  To do anything less would be unthinkable to me.  When someone goes out of their way to give you business, savvy businessmen take notice and show some real appreciation.  In Fisherman has plugged me a bunch of times and the writer of the current article has featured me in his work in a slew of magazines.             

[Mill Creek Taxidermy (fozzie)]

Just bein childish I was

[mr.T aka mr. friendly]

Sell the boat, and do move taxidermy.

[Mill Creek Taxidermy (fozzie)]

Again

[Trophy Specialist]

By the looks of you taxi website you better
stick to fishing in your dingy.....professionaly of coarse
 LMAO ! Ya see, you're sapposed to let your
peers brag about you and THEY are the ones
that are sapposed to promote you...not you lol!sheesh

Rick has a grudge against me for the stupidest of reasons: I interviewed him for an article I wrote last year, submitted it to a magazine and they did not publish it.  I have no control over what an editor chooses to publish, but Rick in all his eloquence, decided for some reason to blame me anyway and has attacked me a couple times on here since then.  Now ordinarily, I would have used that interview in another story and/or perhaps even somehow helped him out with some publicity in another story to make up for it, but by being a real jerk about the whole thing, you just cost yourself.  Since then, I've heard from a couple other taxidermists that had nothing good to say about Rick so I guess he is just a self destructive type of person that tends put his foot in his mouth often.

Rick here's some advice for you, you aught to refrain from posting negative comments about people on this site because it really makes you look foolish.