BUILDING FOR SUCCESS
The FMB promotes your business in many ways:
There are quick, easy and effective ways that YOU can promote your own business. This is especially important in times of recession – jobs are fewer and when they are being awarded, you want to be at the top of the list. Getting your promotional activity right is crucial but is often outside the skill-set of many small construction companies. But you have already done one of the most important bits – you joined the FMB:
- Don’t hide your FMB membership – make sure the logo is on your vehicles, your stationery, all your advertising and your website
- The FMB provides you with pages on the Find A Builder website and it’s easy to keep your details up to date – make sure that you use these pages to show off your work and to say more about your skills and business
- Use your vehicles as an advertising billboard. Get them signwritten with your company name, phone number and web address
- Advertise while you work. Put up a sign with your company details and FMB logo outside your jobs
- First impressions count. When you first visit a potential client leave them with copy of the new FMB Essential Guide to Home Improvement
- Once you’ve got the job, be sure to use the FMB Plain English Contracts. You can download them FREE.
- When you design flyers or brochures, always proof read them very carefully, a spelling error will jump off the page to readers and you certainly don’t want any errors in your contact details!
- Print out your documents before proofing. Don’t read them on the computer screen as you are more likely to miss errors this way
- Don’t rely on spellcheckers
- Double check numbers
- Check that you are legally entitled to use any images on your website in order to avoid potential claims from copyright holders
- Always get a fresh set of eyes to read your document - someone else is far more likely to spot errors
- Ask to see a final proof of any literature before it goes to print
- Maintain a current portfolio of your work on the FMB Find A Builder website so that people can readily see photos of projects you were involved with and see a list of past clients you’ve worked for
- Highlight your particular strengths in promotional material.
CONVERTING LEADS INTO ORDERS
The purpose of promoting your business is to generate job leads, then you have to convert leads into orders.
- Generate as many leads as you can to put the odds in your favour
- Act quickly
- Present concise, accurate quotations leaving no room for misunderstanding (look at HBXL’s EstimatorXpress software at www.hbxl.co.uk)
- Prepare a neat folder for the client containing your quotation, literature about your company and a copy of the FMB Essential Guide
- Be honest about when you can fit work in
- Overcome objections and emphasise the particular added value that you will bring to their project
- If you lose a job, always make a point of finding out why
- Always keep appointments
- Be smart and consider wearing badged work wear that will help to make you stand out from the other builders that may be tendering for the work.
UP-SELLING
Clients are often suspicious of builders who appear to be attempting to add more to the bill, so try to back up your suggestions with evidence of the value of any improvements you are suggesting, such as added insulation or replacement of the boiler.
HBXL
The FMB has a partnership with HBXL, developers of estimating, CAD and health and safety software packages which can help you to present concise, accurate quotations leaving no room for misunderstanding
Visit website: www.hbxl.co.uk
STATIONERY
The FMB has a partnership with Qubic Print Direct, the UK’s leading supplier of mail order print to the construction industry. As an FMB member you receive significant discounts on a selected range of products, helping you save on everyday items such as purchase orders and invoices.
Visit website: www.qubicprint.co.uk
MAKE THE MOST OF THE FMB ESSENTIAL GUIDE
The Essential Guide carries FMB branding - you only get one chance to make a good first impression to a potential client, so when you fi rst visit them, take a copy of the FMB Essential Guide and leave it with them.
This will help to distinguish you from other builders, add to your professional approach and help to encourage potential clients to consider YOU for their building projects.
Obtain extra copies of the FMB Essential Guide to Home Improvement, at the FMB Shop at www.fmbshop.co.uk. They are available in packs of 15 for £15.00.
THE FMB IS NOT JUST PROMOTING YOU ON THE WEBSITE
Like the ‘rest of the world’ the FMB is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
