Seven Deadly Sins Of Tradesman

These sins will cost you money in your business, without even you knowing it.

I have heard that one unhappy customer, will tell any where from five people to ten people about bad service. I don’t know whether this is true or not, but most people tend to tell other people, about a bad experience or anyone who has done lousy job.

If you do unsatisfactory work on twenty jobs, the customers could then tell anywhere from fifty people, up to a couple of hundred people. A couple of hundred people is a lot of potential clients to miss out on. I hope you don’t live in a small town. Lets look at the common tradesman or should I say tradespeople sins.

What Time Is It?

Better yet don’t schedule appointments for exact times. Instead of saying you will be there at three o’clock, try, “I will be there between three and half past three, would that suit you?

A small gap of time like this can be acceptable for most customers, but any longer is pushing it. A customer doesn’t want to be hanging around all day waiting for a tradesman, so saying you will be there in the afternoon or from 12 to 4 o’clock is not good customer service.

Why not as bad as being late, most people don’t like if you arrive to early either. If you do finish early on a job, give the customer a ring and ask if you can come early. Most of this is common courtesy for the customer.

Even worse then running late is not even showing up.

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Manners Please!

Basic manners is basic business sense.

I have heard tradesman answer the phone before with a, “Yeah.” And then he complained that he didn’t even get the job.

Looking Dirty

However that doesn’t mean wear your three year old favourite torn overalls, covered with dirt on them, to do a quote.

A little bit of thought when you do a quote would be nice, and you will get more jobs. Most people judge your work by the way you look and if you look messy and couldn’t care about your appearance, customers may think that is how you do your work, messy and rough.

Have a spare pair of clean overalls or a top in the van to change before you go through Mrs Jones’ house for the quote. Mrs Jones will more likely give you the work, if you are half presentable.

Some wet ones or handy wipes are good to have on hand when taps are not available and you have an appointment to attend to. Have some deodorant handy in the work van for hot days.

The Plumbers Crack

Leaving Behind A Mess

If your trade installs whitegoods or electrical appliances that have a lot of cardboard and packaging or any trade that leaves a mess, just ask the clients is there anywhere they can put it.

Sure it is a hassle to take away the mess, but the amount of times I have heard tradesman say the job is finished and then walk out leaving a mess is not funny.

Over Promising And Under Delivering

This will take some pressure of you in case there is a delay with the parts, weather, subcontractors, etc.

Your now maybe thinking, I am going to lose customers because they will want it done in three days. Because you have spent a bit of time with the client and being honest explaining some delay possibilities of the job (without boring them to death with technicalities) and the fact it will be done more thoroughly, the customers, won’t mind.

For the ones who want it done in three days, the customer may not be reasonable anyway and you don’t need those ones.

If you do the job quicker then five days, the client will love you. However, if you say the job will take three days, and it takes five, how annoyed will the customer be?

How much repeat business will you get from them or how quickly will you get paid?

Always under promise and over deliver, not the other way round like everyone does!

Why Won't He Call?

Say something like, “I appreciate you ringing and I would like to fix “XYZ”, however, I am booked out solid for two months. If you like I can grab your details and if I have a job cancellation I will give you a call. Does that sound okay?”

You have just done three things, one, you sound like a professional tradesperson, you are ahead of the pack.

Two, you have back up work, if jobs do cancel. Three, the customer may call you later on down the track and not call ten of his friends to complain, that you didn’t return his call.

With mobile phones there is no excuse for not returning phone calls. If your industry slows down a bit you may wished you had of returned some calls.

All these are very basic and easy to implement ideas, there is nothing groundbreaking here just some thought and business sense.

If you do these basics well you will be above the eighty percent of tradespeople who think customer service is only about doing the technical work and not about pleasing the ones who pay you- the customers!

Quoting

Getting the quote

The easiest way to find out what is important to the customer, before you quote them, is to just ask them, “What is your main concern about this ……..?”

You can even ask this on the phone, when the customer first enquires. You might have to ask a couple of question to get to the real answer. The customer might reply with, quality, or I want it done quickly, or price, etc.

Once you know the customers main concern, you can angle your presentation to suit this answer. This information is gold.

You have in have increased your chances for getting the job, dramatically. (A point worth remembering is wife and husbands opinion might be different from each other. The wife wants a quality job, while the husband wants the cheapest price.)

An example could be that Ms Jones wants a quality job done. When you are first looking at the job, you can explain to her briefly what steps you do and emphasis the quality of your work at each step.

Don’t get too technical, but do not treat her as dumb either. (This is pet hate for female customers, especially when it comes to tradesman or mechanics.)

Because you have showed your expertise and pointed out the quality steps that you do, you look like a professional tradesman.

If you need to work out prices and you deliver the quote later, (Preferably in person.) you can then emphasis the main points again, about what makes your work better quality.

Before you do I would probably just ask, ”Your main concern about the ……, was that right?” This jolts the person memory about what was important to them.

Also, depending on the time frame, the customers concerns might have changed, such as, Joe just got laid off, ouch.

If you do a written quote list the main steps in bullet points, about what you do and emphasis the quality angle once more.

Again, a lot of trades may do the exact same steps as you or use the same materials, but you may be the only one to explain the process, and sound like a expert.

You might have three different letters, e.g. one for quality work, one for quick jobs, etc, already to go and you just pick the appropriate one and put the price in.

Asking the customer about what they want in the job, is better then just doing a few measurements and then sending the quote in the mail two weeks later, and then wondering why you didn’t get the job.

How much is it?

You can weed some of these customers out by your advertising. Like putting in your ad, something like “Warning, why a cheap concreter can cost you thousands.” Or “If you are serious about quality kitchens then call 123 123.” Or something similar.

The image of your brand can display the quality of work you do. Such as if you do quality work, your logo and name your business might deter customers who want every thing cheap.

Other ways to counter the cheapest job mentality, is to explain that you only use such and such quality materials that over time will save you.

If relevant, you could say, “Some tradesman can do the job cheaper, however, that is because they use …….. and it will roughly last two years. You may have to, get the job done again, which will work out to be twice as expensive. Our such and such will last five years and you will save $..... Would you agree that is a better price?

If no other competitors offer a guarantee, point out the peace of mind it offers for the little bit extra you charge. Even if, all your competitors, have a guarantee (such as a legal requirement), you might find in your industries no competitors mention this, so it might be worth shouting it out.

Don’t forget to point out your brief step by step method of why your workmanship is worth a little more.

Another method is to include a bonus or free gift in your price. You might charge more then your competitors, however, you add a bonus or extra services. An example might be you clean moss of roof and coat it so the roof looks brand new. The bonus might be to clean the gutters and replace some capping on the roof.

Profit wise, for you, this might only add a little bit of extra on your costs, however to the customer may see it as a real bonus. The main thing is to do your sums and think of something people would like to get extra.

Some builders use this strategy by giving away plasma TV’s or whitegoods, that appear to be expensive or what people want. Perceived value is reality.

If your trade is flexible you might also consider two prices on the quote. One for ordinary materials for the low cost and the other and a fair price with better quality materials.

If pricing is still a big issue for your clients, you might consider better systems in place, so you save time and effort, reducing your costs.

Training for your apprentices or staff, so they are using time in the best way possible is worth looking at. Systems is what makes McDonalds, with sixteen year old kids running the place, do a better more efficient job, then most adult businesses!

Another way is outsourcing to reduce your cost. Beware of false economies, the cost of outsourcing might appear to be more expensive, but they might do a quicker or better job.

An example might be Pete the plumber who gets the apprentice to dig trenches for two days, sure the apprentice is on cheap wages, but how much would it cost to get some machinery in to dig. Could the apprentice do something more valuable and save you time and money, if he wasn’t digging trenches? Do the maths and always think, “How can I do it better, easier and cheaper?”

There are a dozen strategies to combat the cheapest quote mindset, however, you will find certain customers just won’t the cheapest job done.

You can’t win them all, so at the end of the day, if you know your true cost of the work and know your margins, taking into account delays such as weather or materials being hard to get, it is your call if you take the work.

Is it worth your time and worth the money?

Become an expert

The points that are covered in the booklet, are the strengths that you or your company do well.

Other brochures or booklets (could be something like), “Warning, don’t hire a electrician until you read this.” Or “Why the wrong painter, could cost you thousands.”

You might meet the customer and hand them the brochure saying something like, “Regardless of what company you choose, here is some good information that may help you.”

One tool that makes you an expert in your field is to write a small booklet. It doesn’t have to be long, something along the lines of, “21 steps to a better lawn.” Or “Twenty one ways to keep your car in tip top condition.”

This one also gives you credibility, as you are just giving them impartial information to help them. The customers also thinks you are a guru, because you wrote it. Your chances of getting hired has increased, because people like an expert.

Another tool that you might use is a checklist, that you go through and ask the client questions. This makes you look professional as you are covering issues that the client might not have thought about.

Working out the quote

Wouldn’t it be nicer to know the exact cost of the project so you can know you are going to make a profit. With mobile phones, e-mail and helpful wholesalers/sales reps out there, there is no excuse for not knowing exactly how much you are going to make.

If the job goes bad, how much leeway do you have, before you have to sleep in the work van? Good things to know, before you even start the work.

For bigger or complicated jobs, there are, user friendly (Normally user friendly for the computer nerds who invented it, but getting better.) software packages, that can help you quote quicker and easier.

You might alter your pricing for the quotes for quality jobs, as you know that price isn’t the main factor. For jobs that the client wants as soon as possible, you might have two prices on the quote. One price, for a normal time frame job. The other quote, at a dearer price, if they want the job done straight away.

Are You A Happy Snapper?

One, so after the job is done, you can send them to the customer with a thank you note saying, “I thought you might like a photograph of this before we done the ………...” The client feels like you are thoughtful (and they may have a good laugh when in a couple of years, they see the photos of the old seventies look of orange mosaic tiles or patterned wall paper, or four foot high weeds and no garden.)

You might include a P.S. on this saying “If you know any friends or family that need a good tiler, (or what ever trade.) please tell them.”

Don’t forget to put your name or business name and contact number on the back of the photos, so in years to come when they are looking at old photos they may see your name again and think of you if they want something fixed, who knows.

Second reason, if the client is curious and asks you why are you taking photos, you just say, “I take pride in my work and I like seeing the before and after photos of what I have done.” This could help you get a quote as the customers think you take pride in your work.

Thirdly, if you have any customers who are not to sure about hiring you, then you can show them the other photos of other projects you have done. Put them in a nice laid out photo album of the quality of work you do, plus you have customers testimonials mixed in to persuade them.

If you think taking photos are a bit extreme or wacky, they may be useful in civil proceedings, if customers won’t pay you. (As long as you do a good job that is.)

For technical issues, photos are good for showing other tradesman, subcontractors or apprentices, exactly what you want done, or where, how etc. Good for complicated jobs.

Taking photos may not be appropriate for every job or trade, but considering photos can be taken now with mobile phones and downloaded easily it might be worth a happy snap.

For more marketing tips go to Craig Howlett's Blog

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Disclaimer - The articles aim to provide general ideas. Neither the authors nor publisher shall take any responsibility for any loss or damages occasioned to any person or organisation acting or refraining from action as a result of this information. As always the advice of a competent legal solicitor, accountant or other professional advice should be sought.