Dragons Den lastnight.....

Log in to reply
LINGsCARS

LINGsCARS

Free Member
Feb 16, 2007
1,761
414
52
Gateshead, UK
  • #81
    Let me tell you, i have over 1,400 free Noodle "Free Lunch" requests in the queue!!! :) Hahaha. I will post about 1/2 depending on comments. I do not post to imbeciles, rude people, people who have put no thougt into the comment , like: "great" or anyone who calls me "he", as they have not read the website. Plus I avoid freebie forums. However, Forums like "Money Saving Expert" - they get them, instantly .

    Also I have over 1,000 "Free Money". Good job I have truckload of Chinese RMB and Chinese Polos - I stocked up.

    But the workload is big, and at £1 per posting, this will cost me - but worth it for the amount of blogging that goes on when people get the noodles.

    It is far cheaper than using Google Adwords, because adwords is at least £1 per click and I get many visitors from just one post of noodles, FYI, plus; a) why feed Google my money - they are already rich, b) It gives a nice feeling to me and to victim getting noodles.

    The brand is FUKU noodles. Really!! :) I buy them specially. I think more businesses should just give things away.
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #85
    I hope "rocks" is good.

    Please don't keep saying all the rubbish about "how good, etc", I have just watched the rest of the programme (Dragons Den) and some of the others were much better. But they kind of misled, or were very serious or bored the Dragons.

    The real point to me was that I tried to get some laughter into my pitch and my business was the only one that a viewer could walk to their PC and click on and visit. Out of all of them, they could only see mine instantly.

    Faced with an ABC1 viewing audience and a few million (???) of them, why on earth did the others (even the kiss thing) not plug a website? They miss out on massive immediate interest. I think they are a bit dim about that. Maybe they wanted the money - but if so Dragons\' Den is not the place to raise serious cash, is it?

    By the way, I am having a really great time browsing Google looking for references, it is going mental. That's good. My noodles will set loads more blogs going. On the downside, I have been inundated with quote requests. However many bloody cars I add to my price list and say "these are the bargains" people still insist I quote on other stuff and then moan when it is not hyper-cheap. If I delete my quote request form, I just get a million emails about the same questions (can I get a price on a Bentley - NOOOOO!!!!, hehehe).

    I tell them I am Chinese not Catholic - I can't do miracles. I even link to the Vatican site for people who want crazzzy prices.

    I joined this forum because you lot a) seemed sensible b) suited my profile and I thought I might learn stuff and c) were one of the first to get Googled - always a good sign. You all seem very nice and helpful, thanks.

    I'm really not here to plug cars, everyone runs a car (almost) so I don't need to do that. But I will say my margins are marginal :) but I would be glad to offer 10% of the initial payment (of usually 3 x rentals) -ex VAT - as discount. Not much, but there you go - could easily add up to £100 off. This would be as cash-back after delivery upon invoice. Just mention it as someone asked. But is it really neccessary - £100 seems a bit of a low incentive to me in the scheme of things.
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #86
    stugster said:
    I love you!!! :D:D:D

    (Wo oi ney!)
    Click to expand...

    Good try!!! :) It's Wo ai ni (I love you) Wo, ni, ta (I, you, him/her) Women, nimen, tamen (us, you(pl), them).

    Now I can say wo ai nimen - I love you all, too.

    xie xie (thanks)

    This is mandarin (putonghua) for those who are wondering. Quite different to cantonese (guandonghua) that they speak down your local takeaway and in south China/Hong Kong. Mandarin is the official language of China. It is easy to speak (not read/write) because there are no verb conjugations (yay!!!) and no gender. Just a few funny sounds :)

    However, there is no need to learn it, as: Chinese people are like British people (minus politics) in what they say. When a Chinese opens their mouth exactly the same thoughts spew out. How amazing that physically between China and the UK there are some VERY strange countries and peoples! And two particularly funny ones between us on the other side. Japan and America.

    Can you tell I'm bored? The lull before the storm, Sunday evening.
     
    Upvote 0
    An Oasis

    An Oasis

    Free Member
    Oct 3, 2006
    9,876
    1,682
    Weaverham, Northwich, Cheshire
  • #89
    Ling I watched the footage from your website. The look on the DD people at the end was great. Now I know that you are Chinese I understand you website - I spent three years working for the Hong Kong Art Festival. Your website is obviously working so "it rocks".

    Keep the posting up you have posted some very memorable comments that have made me laugh and for that I thank you.
     
    Upvote 0
    E

    eddieriby

  • #90
    Ling, I've been invited as a guest to the Yorkshire & Humber Chinese New Year dinner in Leeds on Thursday......I'll def be mentioning you!!!

    Celebrate the year of the golden pig!! I'm sure its going to bring everyone on here good luck and prosperity this year!

     
    Upvote 0
    M

    Miranda

    Free Member
    Jan 6, 2007
    174
    13
  • #91
    Faced with an ABC1 viewing audience and a few million (???) of them, why on earth did the others (even the kiss thing) not plug a website? They miss out on massive immediate interest. I think they are a bit dim about that. Maybe they wanted the money - but if so Dragons\' Den is not the place to raise serious cash, is it?
    Click to expand...

    I suspect Ling, in fact I'm pretty certain that your motive for going on Dragons Den wasn't actually to get the money but get the money by publicity. Woman after my own heart, I have said for the past couple of years I'd love to do a really good pitch to DD - and then turn them down (not quite got a product yet, but working on it). I think we all knew once you said you'd only give away 5% that you weren't expecting to get offered the money for 5%. Great TV, fantastic advert for Lings Cars.

    I'm actually quite pleased the kiss casters didn't plug their site too well as they've been claiming that it's a new product and they're the first people to offer a kiss-casting kit; a friend of mine who is very skilled in body casting and has herself appeared on TV a few times, has been marketing a kiss casting kit for several years and is actually quite upset by their claims to being first, which they refuse to revoke. She's not concerned at all at the fact they're selling a kit nor the fact they are heavily marketing it nor getting into the shops as she is at the quality artist end of the market and doesn't want to be a manufacturing company, but it's the principle of the fact they were not first to invent and sell one.
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #94
    Miranda, the guy from the kiss thing made me want to slash my wrists. And then the close ups...

    Anyway, I thought it was funny that the Dragons and Evan Big Ears kept suggesting i had developed this contract hire market in the UK when in fact it is reasonably mature, but still the public are ignorant of it. On the car dealer forums they are going mental that people think I have developed this product. All I really do is publicise it and do a good job of selling it and keep customers happy.

    I see my market in 1 by 1 public customer sales, not really businesses (still be nice if you want 10 cars :)) because the private market is so massive. If I doubled each year for 3 x years - £125k t/o to £1m t/o - that would still only be just over one quarter of one percent (I think) of the UK new car market currently £30 billion per year. These numbers are just too big for my calculator and frankly, irrelevant.

    Goodnight!
     
    Upvote 0
    M

    Miranda

    Free Member
    Jan 6, 2007
    174
    13
  • #95
    Well I certainly think you've educated some of the general public (particularly up the A1) about contract hire! I can't see why the car dealer forum people are going mental, surely they will all gain from your pitch as public awareness of the product has increased? I know we get lots more work in Real Nappy Week (11-18th March - watch out for it!) from the whole of the UK due to all the stuff on TV, and I'm rarely on national TV just local if I'm lucky and there isn't too much in the way of major stories like Iraq being invaded or people shot dead.
     
    Upvote 0
    E

    eddieriby

  • #97
    Ling.....

    So then do you have any ideas how to increase traffic to my site?...I have a steady retail business going but need to keep on public awareness of the product (but at the sametime dont have £££££££'s) .....i need something unique to drag the punters in.....

    .....Any mad suggestions are welcomed....??
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #98
    Aaaaagh! I am not a website guru!

    And this is dangerous because it is so easy to offend.

    But I have looked at your site, eddieriby and my view (for what it's worth) is... That you think you are selling those boxes. Like people in my industry think they are selling cars. In my opinion (I would say this about everyone's website) it needs to entertain. And give stuff away free. Must say cars are an easy topic to promote/make sexy. Post boxes harder :)

    My "Free Lunch" noodles were a real pain until a year ago. They just cost me a £1 a go, and that was it. But then, miraculously (not really) they got posted about on forums. This is what I say about them:

    Every day, 10 Visitors who fill in details below will get free lunch in post. I judge based on quality of comments. Depends how much thought you put into comments! I send you special flavour fast noodles, pudding, AND chopsticks! New!!! ...marshmallow cone or dried plum (delicious but may cause big s**t). Special Sichuan brand! Not stupid Cantonese spelling! Noodle now in date! (Following unreasonable complaint by Trading Standards, I now supply in date product for poor soft English customer who cannot defend body against 6 month old noodle!)

    This is delicious offer. Designed to help you make decision to use my service. You eat noodles, you agree to bribery?

    I mean, what on earth has that got to do with cars? I go out of my way to offend, gently. Suddenly I got a flood of Google Alerts as people began to blog about getting them, and it spiralled. I got listed on every freebie site. For instance the Head of BBC Newscasting even ordered a pack (then had a car). I send to everyone based on quality of comment. You can get an idea of the quality of people from how they write I think - very roughly. And, the First Secretary of the New Zealand Embassy ordered some (then had a car), you get the idea.

    Then a magazine journo got some and he wrote an article, and it just went on. Same with the rocket truck, same with the bus, etc etc.

    Now I live from Google references. A good tool is GoogleFight wwwDOTgooglefightDOTcom which compares reference terms. If you use your keyword URL you can see what your success is. Eg: (no offence) if I GoogleFight between "parcelsafeuk" and "lingscars" both the bits between the www and the .com, I get 106,000 and you get 630. That might give some indication of your work you have to do.

    I hesitate to post this because it may seem like I am blowing the trumpet, but I am still only around the 250,000th website in the world (if I remember) from Alexa. So I am a tiddler.

    Also, use Google Alerts (how I found this forum). Everytime someone posts about you with your url or product name you will get an email. Then you can jump in and promote your product. Or make a fight, that's always a good ploy. I started a thread on safespeed, the website where anti-speed camera loons have a voice and it went for 30 odd pages because II argued with them. Got loads of references off that.

    But I think your site needs to be a bit funnier and I try to reward people for visiting (but they don't consciously realise that. If someone clicks on an item they get a candy like a movie or funny thing or the Chinese National Anthem, old scratchy version)- I say I live in my website and that's true really, I am my best visitor... I love to read, laugh and change things. Try typing my url /carpronDOThtm :) I have to hide that from Google they hate the "porn" word. I have to spell it "pron" and I don't live link it much.

    After all your product doesn't kill anyone. What about putting a snappy dog or killer tortoise in a parcelsafe and filming peoples reactions when they try the product - or a jack-in-box thing that jumps out and scares them. How about 100 different uses, like an outside goldfish bowl (add some perspex in the front and add water and fish, then take pics, film and post on website).

    Why not promote it as a drop-box for drug users - just a fun thought. Or to leave the baby in, when you are in a rush and haven't got time to take it with you??? A bit viral, make some movies and pay a PR firm £1000. A good one is RMSdotCOdotUK. They do a lot for me. Speak to Rick Blears.

    Any use? Probably most rubbish, eh, but there might be something you can use.


     
    Upvote 0
    E

    eddieriby

  • #99
    Ling.....Reading your posts always inspires me, like I mentioned before im only just turned 23 and still have plenty of years ahead of me but have done well so far, still loads of scope to improve though. Everyday I learn something new and I'll take bits from your post and have look in more detail tomorrow. I'm no website guru and don't have the foggiest how they are built, the coding etc ( I leave that to the people who know!!).......

    ..I will have a good think how I can add some more fun to my site!

    Thanks once again and I'll let you know how I get on.
     
    Upvote 0
    M

    Matt1959

    Free Member
    Sep 8, 2006
    6,325
    1,225
  • #100
    This thread really is good - I think its all about personalising your site and for some obscure reason most people don't/ won't/ can't. I think its due to peoples insecurities - they'd much rather hide behind the business but now and again you see someone who just goes for it and they always stand head and shoulders above the rest. I mean, most of us won't even put a pic of ourselves on our website - why? it personalises it, inspires trust and makes people warm to us.
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #101
    I did a Google search and found this:

    I will gladly pay 49.99 to your totally unique company (http://www.parcelsafeuk.com) to affix a disfiguring half meter metal box to the front of my house so that I can announce to all and sundry where my valuables can be found. Amongst it's features which attract me are the uselessness of it it's functionality when I am on holiday and requirement to explain to the deliverer how to use the clever locking device which I believe is a major selling point.

    And this:

    I want to know what's to stop random strangers coming into your garden, opening the empty box and putting a dead cat, fireworks or dog**** in?

    In my view, this is brilliant. I would promote these uses of the product. Nothing like laughing at your own product for getting street-cred. I would print these on the box with funny answers like: Easily cover the box with chicken wire and plug into the mains. This prevents any abuse of the box on sink-estates and council blocks.

    I mean, people will say this rubbish, just use to to your benefit...

    Who could resist clicking on these in Google? I couldn't :)
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #102
    Matt, but it has caused me many sleepless nights.

    I must say sometimes I have been in tears. I decided to advertise or "sponsor" the unofficial British Army site www.arrse.com

    My God, I had 6 months of total abuse, absolute hell, it was vile, I was often really in tears. I am now amazed that I went through this experience and I am now their hero following the DD thing. How the worms turn. I have been invited to military open days with the truck!

    I would go to the forum as an advertiser and get an instant "f... off" as the most polite response. Usually involved some wierd sex thing. But I stayed and now am getting orders from soldiers. My sig there was: I am Ling. I refuse to rent brand new UK cars to stupid soldiers, and I told them, I sponsor brave British Army. But you have to get something going, eh?
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #103
    Finally tonight, in case you are not 100% bored with me yet, this is one of the opening lines on my finance proposal form page. That is a key page where I need to cover some boring stuff. This form starts the process, quite important I think you agree. I say:

    After you pass finance check, I send you car ORDER form. Car order form (I explain for stupid customers) is form you sign to order car.


     I'm really not sure if this is brave, foolish or clever. I'll never know how many people it discourages, but to me it gives people a kick to say "idiots struggle with this simple process". What do you think? :)
     
    Upvote 0
    M

    Miranda

    Free Member
    Jan 6, 2007
    174
    13
  • #105
    It's true, the best publicity is free : one of my best sellers is fleece nappy liners (they keep baby feeling dry like the throwaway nappies advertise they should feel dry on TV - yet its only so the baby doesn't feel wet so doesn't complain and stays in nappies for longer, clever marketing eh?)

    I actually say in the description ' You can make your own fleece liners from 100% polyester fleece available from all good fabric shops'

    We also give one away free with each nappy trial kit. It's widely publicised for us from time to time on forums that you can ask us for one to use as a template (which we happily send) so you can cut your own.
    Yet they are a top seller. I am not complaining.

    I think your boxes would look great with a big set of stick on dog or shark teeth around the opening like jaws.....whole new range of customisable stickers....or maybe a photo competition amongst box owners for best customising effect of the month....

    For a spot of PR I'd do a survey amongst posties (or see if you can find the info anywhere) about the difficulties of delivering eg posties find x out of 10 householders are out when they have a parcel to deliver that is too big for the letterbox, and jump on the bandwagon of the current publicity re closing local post offices since one option homeowners can do if a card has been left is arrange to collect it from the local PO. Then write a press release and send it out to any publication you might find relevant, but tailored to the recipient eg focus on your being a local company to your local papers, focus on busy executives being at work for deliveries and not wanting to or got the time to queue at the sorting office on a Saturday for business-y papers and magazines, focus on mums ordering online/using ebay but are often out at toddler groups duing the day and don't want to trek to the sorting office to get their mail for the baby/parenting magazines.
     
    Upvote 0
    M

    Miranda

    Free Member
    Jan 6, 2007
    174
    13
  • #106
    LINGsCARS said:
    I say:

    After you pass finance check, I send you car ORDER form. Car order form (I explain for stupid customers) is form you sign to order car.


     I'm really not sure if this is brave, foolish or clever. I'll never know how many people it discourages, but to me it gives people a kick to say "idiots struggle with this simple process". What do you think? :)
    Click to expand...
    I think you're right, it's going to make us feel superior and intelligent, we're all going to think 'hahaha well that's not refering to me, I know what a car order form is, I'm not an idiot'

    I think you have the advantage with your line of Chinglish, it's easy to come across as 'being Chinese my command of the strange and wonderful English language may not be as great as yours so excuse me if I get it a bit wrong' whereas if I were to write in that way it won't work.
     
    Upvote 0
    E

    eddieriby

  • #107
    LINGsCARS said:
    I did a Google search and found this:

    I will gladly pay 49.99 to your totally unique company (http://www.parcelsafeuk.com) to affix a disfiguring half meter metal box to the front of my house so that I can announce to all and sundry where my valuables can be found. Amongst it's features which attract me are the uselessness of it it's functionality when I am on holiday and requirement to explain to the deliverer how to use the clever locking device which I believe is a major selling point.

    And this:

    I want to know what's to stop random strangers coming into your garden, opening the empty box and putting a dead cat, fireworks or dog**** in?

    In my view, this is brilliant. I would promote these uses of the product. Nothing like laughing at your own product for getting street-cred. I would print these on the box with funny answers like: Easily cover the box with chicken wire and plug into the mains. This prevents any abuse of the box on sink-estates and council blocks.

    I mean, people will say this rubbish, just use to to your benefit...

    Who could resist clicking on these in Google? I couldn't :)
    Click to expand...

    LOL.....I can remember this thread now...It angered me at first but then I just sat back and laughed it off....I personally think its a jealousy thing, just becuase they don't have the balls to take a risk and progress a business idea. Anyway I've proved them wrong!! If they actually took time to read about the product then they would look rather silly after the comments they made.

    Its all good fun, at least in keeps a smile on my face!
     
    Upvote 0
    C

    clickprofits

  • #109
    Ling maybe you should come up to the Edinburgh festival in August, could be very entertaining and probably funnier than some of the so-called comedians I saw last year. :) Could call it 'LingsCars.com: Dragons for Breakfast' or 'LingsCars.com: Inside the Dragons Den' or something (sure you can do better...) You could bring the missile truck or bus, actually you could use the bus as your 'venue' (save money). ;) Would not be the first business type of show on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Yo-Sushi guy, (Simon Woodruff?) did one called 'How I got my Yo!' but it was a bit boring, sure yours would be better! Mamma Cherry from Mamma Cherris Soul Shack (Gordon Ramseys Kitchen Nightmares) also did a show/ talk last year which was quite good and included a free lunch! ;)

    By the way, saw your comment post (#4) in this blog giving the behind the scenes info on Dragons Den and the Dragons - very interesting!
    http://www.steveparks.co.uk/blog/steve_parks/entrepreneurs_who_dont_want_dragons_dosh
     
    Upvote 0
    LINGsCARS

    LINGsCARS

    Free Member
    Feb 16, 2007
    1,761
    414
    52
    Gateshead, UK
  • #110
    Just read this, I am up early to clear the backlog.

    To bloody Birmingham this afternoon for AM (Automotive Management) Awards. Most of them hate me in the industry. I have crawled out of the traditional car leasing cage and I am attacking "their" customers - normal UK people who want a new car.

    They are collectively going mental attacking me, indeed one dealer (head of Mazda dealer council) with Mazda franchise has already contacted Mazda UK and the MD has "blacklisted" me from sourcing Mazdas from ANY UK Mazda dealer. Quite illegal these blacklists. So now I have to source Mazdas through a back-door. This kicked off when I offered this dealer (local to me) 3 x Mazda RX8 sales supply.

    Also the head of Network, a big leasing company half owned by VW, has blacklisted me from accessing any "Automotive Management" rates (a subsidiary company) on the spurious basis that I refuse to rent office premises and increase overheads. I work from a professionally converted home-office to reduce costs. I never face to face customers.

    These are examples of tactics used to try to stifle my sales to regular customers by the industry. I would have loved to have seen their faces when I got on DD.

    So I will get a lot of stick this evening. Jon will be with me, though. If I win/don't win (best Website - up against Perrys and Vardy - bloody Giants), I will simply leave the event before they all get drunk and drive back to Gateshead.

    - Ling
     
    Upvote 0
    T

    theguvnor

  • #111
    A mate of my partner sent me details of a car he could get from one of his sources, do us a deal and under book etc all that bull. Could probably get it for 9k. what he forgot to do was delete the link to the trade web site he gets his cars from.....it's there for 7.5k!! I don't mind someone making a bit on the deal whilst doing a mate a favour, but 1500 quid? I'm getting one of my mates who runs a garage to try and get it for 7.5k. What is an eye opener is the trade prices for cars, made my eyes water! You must be rattling them big style ling, give em hell!! Good luck.
     
    Upvote 0
    M

    mattk

    Free Member
    Dec 5, 2005
    2,579
    974
    50
    Swindon
  • #115
    DD is getting a bit gimmicky now. No one is every going to take a "Eureka" product on there because all the dragons do is rip into them and then offer them an insulting deal.

    And I can't believe whatshisname invested in the worst business of all - a franchise! Doesn't he read this forum???
     
    Upvote 0
    D

    DotNetWebs

  • #116
    I couldn't believe they invested in that 'covered washing line' last night.

    Somebody should have told them that rain doesn't always conveniently fall straight down. I bet as soon as it rains with a bit of wind the washing would end up wet anyway. :|

    Also the cover would also keep the sun off and restrict the airflow around the washing thus significantly increasing the drying time. :|

    I can't believe they thought it was a good idea. And I cant believe I am making a post about washing lines! :redface:
     
    Upvote 0
    Log in to reply

    Latest Articles

    Top Bottom
    Community
    Articles
    Menu