If you consider yourself a busy tradesman with a ton of work on the go, generating new work leads is probably the last thing on your mind at the moment. You presumably think that chasing leads is for tradespeople who are left scraping the bottom of the proverbial barrel for their next job. Not necessarily. Even though you are busy right now and scheduled for the better part of the next month, have in mind that your current workload is going to end eventually. And if you are interested in developing your business even further, it’s of the highest importance to assure that you have a constant pipeline of work from one week to next and beyond.
Many builders and tradesmen make a massive mistake by taking their foot off the pedal, allowing their fierce competitors to creep in and steal business off their perch. Do everything in your power not to let this happen, and always search for your next gigs proactively. So, how do you get the ball rolling? Without further adieu, here are our top seven profound ways of how tradesmen and builders can generate more work in 2020.
Offer Your Services On Specialized Trade Websites
Plenty of builders and tradesmen use specialized trade websites in the UK as a welcome boost for their line of work, as these platforms generate high-quality job leads and put the tradesmen in direct contact with the potential customers who need their services week in, week out. Even though there is a group of people who view these platforms negatively as they charge membership fees, there’s absolutely no denying that these platforms are too effective in 2020 to be ignored. If these sites are not useful at the end of the day, then nobody would use them. The founders of these platforms spend a fortune on SEO daily, meaning they will always outrank local websites when someone searches for a builder or a tradesman on the Internet. If you are interested in creating immediate leads, these specialized trade websites represent some of the best fundamental ways of doing so.
Create Your Own Website
Having your own SEO business website is very important for your business in 2020. Think of your website as your storefront, and don’t hesitate to invest the time and funds needed into creating the best one in your local community. Pick a catchy domain name and find a reliable developer to create the website. Afterwards, fill the website with high-quality content to showcase your work, make sure that contact details are highly visible throughout your site, and write clear and understandable English content that describes what you do best. Make sure that your website is built around the four cornerstones of excellent Search Engine Optimization: content, quality, performance, and usability. Develop and nurture your site with proper care because a great website can work wonders for your business to get found by potential clients and customers.
Make The Most Out Of Social Media
Speaking of social media platforms as a proven digital channel where you can market your business, there are a few options available. But since over 70% of homeowners use Facebook to find tradespeople online, we firmly believe that for a small to medium-sized local businesses, there is no better social platform to generate work than Facebook. Create a business page for the line of work you conduct, spend a few dollars on Facebook ads, and your work achievements can be showcased to thousands of targeted potential new customers in a matter of seconds. Facebook is a profound way to generate plenty of work for small and medium-sized businesses given the right pitch.
Email Marketing
Since a simple email can let your past and present customers know what new services you offer or promotions you’re currently running; email marketing can generate job leads for builders and tradesmen in 2020. Email marketing for small and medium-sized businesses doesn’t have to be complicated but have in mind that creating an HTML responsive email template is a thing of beauty and leaves no one indifferent. Better yet, if you have the skills and budget to develop and deliver a proper email marketing campaign, the analytics of the campaign will be invaluable to your company and the returns tenfold.
Leaflets And Flyers
Up until this paragraph, we’ve focused mostly on the modern digital channels to promote your work and gather some valuable job leads. Yet, there’s nothing to say that you can’t go a little old-school with fantastically-designed leaflets and flyers that can catch people’s eye in a glimpse of a second. Find a reliable designer to put your leaflet together and create the right image of your business. Afterwards, place those leaflets into shops, pubs, people’s letterboxes, and anywhere else you can think of and wait for someone to pick up the phone.
Nurture Partnerships With Other Tradesmen
If you are a tradesman or a builder, chances are you know other people who are in the same line of work. We encourage sharing ideas, previous experiences, and clients with other tradesmen that you know. If you are an electrician, you probably need a wall plasterer to fill in all the holes in a wall after a rewire, or if you are a builder, you probably need an electrician or a plumber to wire and plumb the new extension you just finished. Working together with fellow builders and tradesmen can often lead to plenty of additional work, reduced costs, and new lifelong friendships.
Offer A Referrals Discount
You know that feeling when you’ve just finished an excellent job for someone, and you would love if the person recommends you to his friends and family, but there’s no guarantee that he or she would do so? Offer an incentive to your clients, that if they recommend you for other projects, you will give them say 20% off the price for the next job they hire you. That 20% takes a bite off your profits, no doubt, but if the referral strategy takes off, you will recoup the lost profits through the many new customers you will attract.
Last Words
Even though this is not an exhaustive list, these seven ways are proven methods for tradespeople and builders to generate additional work. These strategies are something that most builders and tradesmen can follow, from sole traders to more prominent firms. Never forget that it’s all about making the right noise to the right people.