Clearview National October 2014 - Issue 155 | Page 26

INDUSTRYNEWS

Why investing in job leads
can drive more business
for smart tradesmen
Chris Burke, Director of Insight, Rated People
»»In an ideal world, tradesmen
would like to receive a steady number of jobs
throughout the year, but the reality is that
leads can be difficult to generate, particularly
during off peak trading periods. Fortunately,
with online tradesmen marketplaces
rapidlygrowing in popularity, there have
never been more options to source work,
buildcustomer relationships and develop your
business profile.
In the past, tradesmen relied on directory
services as their main resource for generating
job leads. This method offered a very low
return on investment as supply rarely matched
demand, requiring a significant amount of
‘waiting around time’ for any tradesman trying
to bring in leads.
Online tradesmen marketplacesconnect
homeowners with more than 26,000 local
tradesmen, nationwide and can be very
effective in generating consistent business
for tradesmen. They allow homeowners
to find qualified and local tradesmen and
make a better informed decisionabout who
hireby viewing the tradesman’s profile, work
experience and past customer reviews.
Tradesmen marketplaces have many
benefits for tradesmen such as alerting them
to homeowners who are actively looking for
someone to carry out home improvement
works and providing them with details about
the types of jobs available and when they are
taking place. The unique features of an online
marketplace also offer greater flexibility to

26 » OCT 2014 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

Recommendations
A recent poll from Bradstone Assured
claimed that 60 per cent of British
homeowners admit they feel anxious when
it comes to dealing with workmen they
haven’t met before, and almost half are
concerned they’ll get ripped off. By enabling
homeowners to read customer reviews and
make recommendations, these concerns are
put at ease.
Using an online marketplace to find work
also helps you to build a bank of online
recommendations once you’ve completed a
job. Having this information available helps
reassure other homeowners when deciding
who to hire in the future. Tradesmen can
also utilise the profile pages provided by an
online marketplace to show off photos of
previous work, details of the services offered
and customer feedback. Think of it as a digital
storefront; if you take the time to develop it, it
can be a great alternative or addition to your
company website.

tradesmen, allowing them to tap into a steady
flow of work during traditionally quieter
periods, grow their customer base, and to fill
in gaps between jobs through the year.
Of course, the end goal for any tradesman
is to turn the leads from a marketplace into a
steady stream of future job opportunities. To
do this, a tradesman needs to demonstrate to
a client that they are worth hiring again for
future work, and there are a num