business advice in the building trade

Philip B. Wicks

Business Advice in the Building Trade

http://p-b-w.co.uk

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Example Clients:
Problems & Solutions

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I help the owner or owners of any building trade business make more money with less stress

" I help the owner(s) make more money with less stress"

Example Clients: Problems & Solutions - Example A

In this example, I outline the problem and some of the solutions for this type of client.

Plumber - The Problems:

He works as a sole tradesman, partly as a subcontractor for a plumbing agency and partly for private customers.

He wants to make more money.

He makes £20 per hour plus a vehicle allowance working for the agency .

For private customers it is variable - he does not have a definite pricing method - but on average he makes better money from private customers - about £30 per hour.

Discussion reveals he would like more private work but it is not reliable. His existing advertising is minimal, mainly word of mouth. It is agreed that working only for private customers would be the objective for better income.

The Solutions:

We decide to try four different promotional methods as a trial - local newspaper lineage, local newspaper display, leaflets to private houses, and mail shots to companies. The total investment in the trial is only £800. The display ad quickly looks viable and settles into producing an average of 4 calls a week, although it fluctuates from week to week. Discussion reveals that he feels uncomfortable with billing customers when the total works out to more than about £30 per hour.

We agree that the rate should be £50 for the first hour and £40 thereafter, which is a big change for him .

We work out a definite clear statement to tell all customers on the phone before agreeing an appointment. The statement gives the customer a very clear picture of what it will cost them, what happens if the plumber can't do anything to help, and so forth. The statement includes checking that the customer is prepared to pay on completion - avoiding a common problem for the plumber - that he would have to send a bill to some customers and spend ages chasing the money.

The plumber now feels more resolute on making the correct charge and expecting immediate payment. His income rises substantially and the work he does for the agency shrinks to a few days a month. The mailshots to companies produce some work but apparently not at viable cost. So that is discontinued.

In short the key measures were:

Identifying which work produced the best income
Setting the pricing correctly
Sorting out the conditions of work to protect against time-wasting and undercharging
Finding a promotional method that works at reasonable cost

See also:

Example B: A Small Building Firm that is busy but making no money
Example C: A Decorating Firm, owner was bankrupt some years ago and debts are rising again
Example D: A Joinery Shop which is doing well, but they need a book keeping system

Contact me for a free initial consultation.
Tel: (01342) 324604 - Mob: 07958 412307 enquiries@p-b-w.co.uk