Someone once asked me why I was cold calling if I was so good at marketing. The truth is if I was to wait for everyone to find me, as opposed to me finding them, I wouldn't be tapping into the market like I do. I wouldn't be uncovering opportunities where none thought existed. I wouldn't be putting my name and details into hundreds of tradies phones, getting referrals from people who aren't even my customers (yet), spreading my omnipresence to those who aren't even looking, or keeping a massively full pipeline of leads. Even when I'm booked out for months, I keep marketing, and you should too. Marketing is a way of life for me.
Always Keep a Massive, Full Pipeline
I consider this a law of business. If I wait until I'm looking for work, before I actually look for work, I'm screwed. I'm behind the eight ball. Many tradies experience ups and downs in work. You may even ride several year long highs, but everything that goes up must come down. Nothing is guaranteed, and I may not know what tomorrow brings but I do know what I'm gonna bring to tomorrow. A massive full pipeline and the prospecting tools to keep it full to the brim.
Give Your Customers a Quality Experience
All too often I hear tradies say, "I don't need to advertise, I've got enough work as it is. I don't need a website or social media." Or what about "I've been going 25 years without a website. Don't need one, never have." As if the website was just a means to advertise. A website is many things, one of which is a quality experience. This is part of servicing your customer. You can get work from word of mouth, lead sharing sites, contractors, but this pales in comparison to the experience of a high performance website. Are you looking for a raving fan customer or a quick buck? Take some pride in your business. Offer your customers a high quality experience, starting with your website and social media.
Don't Turn Away Work, Expand
Turning away work is the dumbest thing ever. It's like you're dropping money all over the place because you couldn't work out how to deepen your pockets. Business is a hard game, I get it. But just because you tried once and got frustrated at how difficult it was, then contracted ever since doesn't mean you should stay small forever.
You deserve greatness, and people who need your services deserve to be helped by you. Don't put a limitation on yourself for the sake of comfort and avoiding challenges. If you need help with finances, systems, scaling, hiring and retaining good talent, seek help. A mentor, a coach, someone who has been there, done that.
I'm not a business coach, but I do know you should never give up on yourself and settle for average. Average is the enemy of greatness, as I explore in this article.
Be great
Alan Frye