Credit Crunch – The Trade’s Top Tips
If you’re finding it more difficult to get work at the moment, you’re not alone. Our recent survey showed that 40% of builders have less or no work and many described business as “slow”.
Builders are feeling other effects of the credit crunch including:
- Customers are taking longer to pay up.
- It takes longer between jobs.
- Customers want to spend less on a job or haggle more over the price.
- Smaller jobs.
- Fewer opportunities to quote.
- People doing it themselves rather than using trade.
- More difficult to plan.
- Work being cancelled.
But it’s not all gloom and doom, there is still some work around. We asked builders for their top tips for surviving the credit crunch. Here are some of their ideas:
Getting Work
- Consider taking on different types of work and sizes of jobs.
- Some say that “any job is a good job”; but make sure you cover your costs.
- Build up your reputation by doing a great job. Being recommended to other people is the best form of advertising and it’s cheap.
- Keep in touch with your customer, talking to them is key to make sure you’re doing what they want you to do and when.
- Be reliable.
- Clean up after yourself, the customer is always really impressed.
- Trade on your reputation.
- Ask for recommendations from satisfied clients.
- Ask your customers if they have any friends who want work doing.
- Use the contacts that you’ve made over the years – link with other tradespeople.
- Be proactive / advertise more.
- Keep in contact with regular / good customers.
- Sub contract for other companies.
- Firm up lined up work.
- Be prepared to work outside your normal areal, but remember to consider the time and cost of travelling.
- Provide 2 costs for jobs – one based on branded, more expensive products and one based on cheaper products to give your customers a choice.
Manage Your Costs
- Cut back everywhere possible; watch what you spend, get rid of all unnecessary costs; reduce overheads.
- Check bank charges – change banks if need be.
- Reduce your prices where you need to, keep very competitive.
- Keep on top of your invoices and make sure you’re not being over charged by your suppliers.
- Ask your merchant if there are lower cost alternatives to some of the products you buy – many own label products are really good quality and will do the job just as well.
Control Your Cashflow
- Get your money in quickly.
- Don’t get into debt.
- Keep your paperwork up to date so you know where to make savings and you know what you are owed.
- Credit check the people you are working for.
- Get your customers to pay for the materials and just charge for labour.
If you have any credit crunch beating tips to share, email them to toptips@travisperkins.co.uk.