Best Tips for Tradie Businesses

Tradespeople are often maligned for not supplying a high quality service. Which may indicate many are looking for information about how to better run their business. Bearing this in mind we have put together top ten tips to help tradies stick out from the crowd.

  1. Stick out in the crowd – In such a competitive industry, it’s important to set up your points of difference for a tradesperson. For instance; it could be cleaning up after your job, consistently calling 30 minutes prior to arrival, providing quotations within a 24 hour turn-around. Communicate in meetings, on your site and in all your advertising material.
  2. Licenses – They vary state by state, by size and type of occupation and even by company structure. Do not get caught out by not having the ideal licences set up. Your conditions licensing body can assist you with all the info you want. They also have comprehensive site information that will help you keep in tune with changing requirements.
  3. Become the neighbourhood ‘go-to’ – your market cannot be ‘everyone, everywhere’ so pick your key market areas and concentrate your advertising budget and efforts in these neighbourhoods to get them to find a tradie and have that tradie be you.
  4. First impressions count – Can you reunite enquiry calls immediately, show up on time, present in clean branded apparel, and grin? Before you’ve even stepped in the doorway a client has already decided if they want to offer you the chance to win the job so get that first impression right.
  5. Get insured – Tradies are exposed to more dangers than almost any other job. Public liability, workers compensation, income security, tools security are just a few of the insurances to take into account. A good insurance agent that specialises in trade insurance packs can help you keep on guard with everything that you require.
  6. Do you own a website? The most frequent question you could be asked. An internet presence helps build credibility. A simple two to three page site covering your desktop, project photographs and sound references can be accomplished with a budget less than $500, and might be all that you need so as to answer with a positive ‘yes!’.
  7. Know that a great accountant – They can help you with everything from your normal tax obligations such as BAS, GST and Superannuation in addition to helping you establish the perfect business and tax structure for your own operations in whatever trade your business is, whether it’s appliance repair or installing solar power systems.
  8. Track and measure success – Your time is your most valuable asset so that it pays to understand what’s working for you and what isn’t. Set yourself a quotation success rate; it may be 5 out of 10 jobs or even greater. And if you are not winning those jobs, request comments and analyse why.
  9. Safety at the T&C’s – Clearly written and officially accepted terms and conditions are just as important for you as they are for your client. Together with a comprehensive quote and range of functions it should cover payment provisions and above all result of “non-payment” clauses. A good attorney can help you set this in a one time price.
  10. Referrals are rewarding – among the many professions on the market, it’s the “tradies” that many home-owners actively seek the peace of mind of a professional referral. So knock out your clients with an exceptional service experience and allow the value of word of mouth to spread.