small business question sales % down want to inrease

Discussion in 'Starting & Running a Business' started by Elives, 1st Jul, 2018.

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  1. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    Hi All,

    i recently started working for my self (been doing it for about 3 months now) as a maintenance plumber, i mainly do work for realestate agencies and google customers (direct to public) I've noticed that my sales are down compared to when i was an employee. so at the moment i've collected data from the last 2 months (there was no real change between 1st or 2nd month) from every job i've done from google customers and using excel i found on average my sales stats were..

    42.6% for sales success (quote 10k win 4.26k)
    45.65% for tasks success (i quote 10 small jobs/tasks at a house and win 2 jobs etc fix tap + toilet)

    i used to work for a very large company that did all trades as a technician my job was to sell services and try to get add ons on the call and both my sales & tasks percentages used to be very good on average about 75-82%. my prices are much lower then theres. i do my same old routine when i'm at a customers house but find due to it being my own business customers are more likely to say no compared to when i was an employee.

    2 main things that i can see that are different are
    1. i don't have signage on my van yet which is on the to do list.
    2. i also answer the phone when a customer calls through from an ad on google as it's my number on my website, i was thinking maybe if i paid for a virtual receptionist to take the calls & schedule jobs in instead of me doing it (as this is the only real thing i can see different from when i was an employee) that maybe this would increase my sales as they wouldn't see me as the business owner so much but more as just a technician obviously if they asked i would say it's my own business but not many people ask. Am i being paranoid?

    any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

    Cheers, Elives
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
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  2. Trainee

    Trainee Well-Known Member

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    Generally people like dealing with the business owner. Try improving your phone manner? Found that the one person shops can be good but marketing isnt their strong suit. If your good and cheap, leave business cards and magnets with happy customers and they recommend you.
     
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  3. marmot

    marmot Well-Known Member

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    Does it make any difference if you are dealing with an owner occupier compared to an Job through an real estate agency managed IP.
    We find when we call out a tradie , we also have a list of other small jobs that we want done,but will wait till we need a plumber or sparky to get these other items done.
    Over the years we keep on using the same guys ,generally one man bands with maybe an apprentice, I dont see the point in using a large company who also take their cut.
    Same with IPs, but when the managing agent deal with a problem that has been reported they will just do the actual repair and nothing else.
    For bigger jobs they would let us know and I will ask then to do any other small jobs that I know have to be done
     
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  4. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    yes, i'm trying to grow / focus on only google customers as it's more profitable. agency generally you are only aloud to do works up to 250-350 if over you have to give quote leave job and then hope you win it then come back and do it. where as home owners you can walk around with them and do all the jobs then and there as they generally expect that.


    on average i quote 2.92 tasks per job and win 1.333 tasks
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
  5. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    yes maybe phone manners could be one, i'm not used to having to take the calls generally the people in the call centre would have a script and have it down pat. i wouldn't say i'm cheap. but i'm some where in the upper middle
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
  6. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    When you say ‘google customers’, do you mean HI pages, service seeking or similar websites?

    Also, consider Facebook advertising if you haven’t already. Letterbox drops? WOMO?

    Are you aiming to appeal to everyone - or specific types of customers?

    I think your point of difference is that you are the business - it’s about your honesty, competence and integrity. I don‘t think a virtual assistant will help - as long as you are getting back to people and connecting with them.

    If you are getting lots of contacts, but not converting them to sales, you could also ask the people who chose you for the jobs, what the reason was - and see if you could get feedback from those that didn’t choose you?

    Another option is to give happy clients a referral card. If they refer a new customer who you complete a job for - you give the referrer a small gift card from Coles or similar.
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
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  7. marmot

    marmot Well-Known Member

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    Also dependent on where you live , but my first point of call has been the trades section in the weekly local community papers that service specific areas of many cities.
    The web can be a bit overwhelming with pages and pages of listings with many from the other end of the city area.
    As mentioned earlier ,Fridge magnets are a good idea as I might not use a plumber or sparky for over 12 months ,and you tend to forget which ones you have used before.
     
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  8. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    google as in google adwords,
    hipages, serviceseeking & gumtree you attract more bargain hunters / lower quality customers. i need to attract higher quality customers which generally come through higher paid channels. i'm aiming to appeal to quality customers / ones that aren't searching for 3 quotes etc. as for people who choose me / don't generally it's after i show them the price so normally i would say it's a price thing. saying that.. my old place of work would charge about 50-60% more then what i'd charge and i would have a 75-82% success rate now it's my own business and i'm charging 50-60% less and my success rate is much lower.
    for the customers that go ahead with the work i give them a business card with a URL link on it to leave me feedback which is left via google reviews / yelp other websites. Referral card is a good idea i've never heard of a trades company using this system before.
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
  9. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    on my google advertising i only advertise around a 13km radius of where i live, yes i agree that fridge magnets would be a good idea.
     
  10. Foxdan

    Foxdan Well-Known Member

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    This is a huge fundamental mistake to charge so much less than other businesses. Why would you charge 50-60% less? Why not charge the same price and even if you get 50% less conversion, you would still make the same money.... but work 50% less so have time for more quoting or marketing
    If your quote is half of everyone else’s, most people will think your service is sub standard and not choose you. It also will attract people that are price sensitive and not “quality customers”. Price sensitive customers are the worst. Attract customers that pay a good price to have a job done properly.

    Assuming higher paid channels yield higher quality customers is ironic given you are quoting so low for jobs and expecting customers to think its the same quality.

    Also, some of the advice above is terrible and clearly not given by business owners let alone successful ones.

    If yout want good advice, find a successful business mentor.
     
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  11. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    my mistake the company i used to work for was the most expensive company as they were a very large company say anywhere from 2.5-3.5x average and did all the trades. so even by me being 50-60% cheaper i'm still up there in price (more then the average company possibly but hard to say).
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
  12. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Would love to know exactly why you think the advice given above is ‘terrible’. If you could be very specific as to why (and refer to your specific experience) that would be useful for other readers.

    Then, perhaps those with business experience can let you know specifically how the suggestions worked for them.
     
  13. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

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    All my main trades have come to me via word of mouth ... so it might take a little time to get a client base.

    Also, big on my list when I'm looking for one-offs is a proper website is a must - and a business name such as "FB Plumbing" rather than "Fred Bloggs Plumbing" seems to attract more clicks.

    The hard part is you are now everything from the CEO to the tea lady - you are the public face, the marketing manager, the tradie and the accountant - and you need to slot into them all comfortably
     
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  14. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    yea my website is ok and does its job but i'm looking to add to it, i couldn't afford to have everything 100% done just at the beginning. but yea that makes sense.
     
    Last edited: 1st Jul, 2018
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  15. Aaronjod

    Aaronjod Well-Known Member

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    Hey @Elives

    Couple of ideas flowing through my head as I am in a similar position (self employed - niche trade).

    For me, I went onto all my competitors websites and made sure my website was better than theirs. The particular industry I am in it wasn't all that hard, as half of them didn't have websites or were sub-optimal.

    Then, I went through and found keywords that I wanted to bid for on Google Adwords, and would optimise a page around that key word - including it on the description and in multiple places - now I rank for #1 on those keywords and pay less than when I started because it's relevant. I also created 3-4 different pages relating to my services, but very specific. (Think "Kitchen plumber, bathroom plumber, strata plumber - that kind of thing). You can also see what has more search volume and what people type into the search with google keyword planner. I think when your customer finds you at the VERY top of google, and its exactly what they're looking for, it give you some "street cred", and then when they jump to your website and it's amazing too, they feel more confident. To get my website tip-top it took about a year of hiring freelancers on UpWork and experimenting with it - but it can be done for relatively cheap and it's easier than one upfront lump sum - I was paying around $20-30 USD per hour and only having them do around 10 hours a week. I still feel my website could use work - it's a never ending saga IMO.

    Secondly, I think responding to inquiries quickly helps. I know when I'm looking for something if I inquire online I'm expecting a quick response - I might be replying to customers at 8pm on the lounge via my phone, but it tends to be all worth it in the end.

    To add to the "size" appeal of my business, I opted for a land-line diverted to my mobile. This gives the impression the company is "larger" and more professional, and when someone calls I know it's business related and can answer appropriately. Also then I can offer them my personal phone number to contact me anytime - as the landline stops diverting after 8PM.
    If I can suggest writing down or adding each customer into your contacts after chatting with them, so when they call you can answer with their first name. I also sometimes add them in with a keyword relating to their job to help me remember when talking to a lot of people. I did also have a call flow that I practiced with my partner and family and friends, imitating phone calls and trying different scenarios to refine the process. Now I have spoken to that many clients I no longer need the cheat sheet.

    Lastly I think presentation is important, having a clean, modern car with good signage, and a neat uniform when you show up on site.

    I will note that I found after going full time with it and all in, that my best jobs come from referrals. I started with AdWords - and still run it, but because it's a small niche there is limited work that can be won via AdWords. I found that building relationships with others in the industry and having them refer you works really well. For example, real estate agents, developers, strata managers etc. I have cold emailed a few relevant individuals with a friendly email, and although it's a low hit rate, have built some of the best relationships through this. For example - you could partner with other plumbers that aren't interested in "maintenance" plumbing. They're too busy chasing "construction" plumbing, so they refer all the maintenance work your way, and vice versa. As long as your first impression with them is good they may remember you and next time a customer asks about what you do, they send them your way.

    Let me know if you want to chat further.
     
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  16. MWI

    MWI Well-Known Member

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    Owning many IPs in QLD living in NSW, and dealing with few QLD Property Managers, I usually rely on their contacts as I don't have the time to source the quotes, I ask them to do it for me. So you need to establish who your market will be, retail or some wholesale?
    In addition, I think they have a preferred contractor list as they need insurances as well as someone they know they can rely on to be there, turnaround time is important too especially for emergencies in your profession.
    If I were you I would try and do business via real-estate agents to generate more business....one painter I remember told me did $500K turnover just with one real-estate.
    In addition, if you do all the work yourself you are just self-employed (no mean to disrespect you I have been in similar self-employed business situation for years) BUT what income will you generate if you do not turn up or get sick? Proper business requires YOU as a CEO to run people an processes, so your role would change to employ other plumbers, to have others on call if they get sick or cancel, smooth out yes the booking and admin process, payroll, etc..rather than do the actual job (Hence IMHO why most start up businesses fail, even though we are the experts, the specialists at what we do best, we don't realise our role in actual business changes - think about that).
    In one IP at the moment in QLD, the same plumber is there for the 3rd time and investing and solving the issues, hence I also like to know that I can rely that plumber will be there in the future (no guarantees there but at least some, right?).
    So hopefully some of these suggestions help as you did mention you just started out in your business?
     
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  17. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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  18. TMNT

    TMNT Well-Known Member

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    Call me a negative Nancy but I wouldn't put too much focus on how your stat's are different to when you are an employee.

    Customers look for different things.
    Some prefer big companies
    Some prefer a single operator like you.


    As for your quotes, if youre not winning as many then there is a issue with price, or communication or speed or manner or a million things. I'd personally focus on doing your best and see what your customers or potential customers want instead of percentages and statistics