There are lots of ways that new prospects come your way . Probably the majority will come from recommendation , arriving as a phone call , text or an email . You may also have a form on your web site that can generate leads . You may be investing in marketing to generate prospects for more work . There ’ s lots of routes nowadays .

Wherever they come from , thinking about how to respond to these leads can make a huge difference to your chances of success . In contrast , not doing some of the things recommended here can lead to some problems . That will at least partly explain why some installers get frustrated when they don ’ t win work that they feel that they should have done .

Be pleasant and easy to do business with

The first impression that you give will be set by the way that you answer calls or respond to emails and texts . Before anything else , you should always write or say “ Thank you for your enquiry .” Also , you must respond both quickly and prioritise a visit if it ’ s required .

Thinking about this first impression is vital . Yes , if you ’ re a sole trader and are happy with your status and have more than enough business it may not matter . But when you are getting started , are ambitious or times get hard , it matters a great deal . First impressions can lead to trust . And trust leads to sales .

Visit your prospect

For any substantial job a visit to the prospect will always be in order and this represents an opportunity . When you visit , try to turn up at the exact time that you arranged . You might think this doesn ’ t matter that much , but it is your first opportunity to show that you can be taken at your word .

When Powered Now surveyed more than 1,000 homeowners , we found that 83 % said their biggest annoyance was trade companies not showing up when they said they would and being slow at producing quotes . So , these are two open goals for gaining trust . Straining every neve to answer calls quickly , arriving on time and getting the quote to them within a day will immediately put you in the lead for winning new business .

Establish your credibility

Once you see your prospect face to face there is a chance to convince them that you can do the job competently . Some of the things that you can work into your conversation include :

• Discuss all of the statutory requirements such as local authority notices and what has to be reported to Gas Safe . Homeowners don ’ t want to learn any complex procedures so this helps to head off any thought that they might do it themselves or use a cowboy

• Talk about similar jobs that you ’ ve done before

• Mention the standards that you work to including quality coming top for you ( then of course you will need to deliver on that )

• Talk around the issues that you have overcome in the past

• Inform them of your qualifications , trade body membership and insurance . Make sure that they know how onerous the Gas Safe training and exams are if applicable

• I know that this largely comes from your personality , but try to exude confidence . People who sound hesitant are much less convincing than those who are positive . Before a prospect buys , they need lots of reassurance . Make sure that you give it to them

• People buy from people like them . So , if you can find a common interest , it helps . This could be football , a wellknown TV program or anything else . Just don ’ t stretch it too far

• Practise weaving all of this seamlessly into your conversation but remember that nobody likes a clever dick

• Looking smart is always helpful , it exudes a professional aura

Just casually mentioning these things is the key . In British culture people don ’ t like the hard sell . You might say “ This is similar to the job I did last month in Cyprus Road , that turned out beautifully and my customer was

really pleased .” Then you could say “ I ’ ve been in this game for more than 20 years and been able to do lots of these jobs successfully .” You get the picture .

Don ’ t shoot yourself in the foot

One tradesman we dealt with was somewhat over-friendly with my wife . She didn ’ t like it and nor did I . They got in touch a number of times after that , but we never used them . I wonder if it ever dawned on them why .

There are other simple things you can do which all help . Installers I have known offer to take their boots off when coming into the house and always ask politely before using the toilet .

All of this creates the impression that you are a nice person who will be easy to deal with .

As you build trust and credibility you will be increasing the chance of winning the business and also reducing the chance of having to compete on price .

Discuss the job

If you let them , your customer will tell you a lot about what they want or the problem that needs fixing . It ’ s critical that you understand what they tell you by listening carefully .

There ’ s an old business saying that the word “ assume ” makes an ass out of u and me . This is true . You certainly shouldn ’ t assume that you will win the job . But you