Help Finding Electrical Work

[ian]

I know this has been mentioned previously in this post, but I joined a local BNI group. Although it was initially slow I made loads of contacts and still get a lot of work from it.

There is a fee to join, then an annual fee these come to around £600, then there is a monthly fee which is the cost of your breakfast and the hire of the meeting room. In total it will cost around £1k PA. The first year I got just over £8k, This year, I should make around £15k.

Ian

 

[Sparky83]

suggestiond??

I think your well aware what that should say and that it is a mistake. But a BIG thanks for the constructive critism

 

[lee sandland]

thanks dan i've been looking for this tread ,and was only talking about this today , nice one, lee

 

[Stu Too]

I know this has been mentioned previously in this post, but I joined a local BNI group. Although it was initially slow I made loads of contacts and still get a lot of work from it.

There is a fee to join, then an annual fee these come to around £600, then there is a monthly fee which is the cost of your breakfast and the hire of the meeting room. In total it will cost around £1k PA. The first year I got just over £8k, This year, I should make around £15k.

Ian

hi Ian - What is BNI?

Thanks

 

[wade88]

Hi lads,

Ive heard that dropping flyers and leaflets is a bit of a long shot and you might be lucky to get a return 1 in 2000! Was going to get some done myself, but when i looked at the cost of having them made up and printed etc, the return may not be great enough to defray the cost of having them printed and delivered in the first place?

Like many other guys in the same boat as me, im having a nightmare trying to drum up any business, and being only 23, havnt got the peer group so to speak who are on the property ladder initially that i pose as quick and immediate starter jobs, that i can go to and destroy their homes . I figure the best thing for people like me is to start off working alongside someone for 6 months or so to really get an idea of how things are done and get my eye in a bit, but do people still employ "mates" or is the current financial climate not so appropriate for hiring irritating sidekicks?

Ben

 

[sparky1502]

the streets are paved with gold..you just have to want to go and get it

 

[chris0python]

Hello all i wonder if i am in the right place if not can someone point me in the right direction? i am 22 years old with a driving licence I currently have no on site practical experience but I do currently have my City & Guilds 2330 level 2 certificates in Electrical Installation and I am currently working towards my level 3 Certificate at Trafford College in which I am attending the evening course. i am willing to work for any wage in a company or perhaps if no positions are available, on the weekend I will work for free to gain experience and prove that i am enthusiastic and eager to become an electrician. I do have a CV if anyone is interested

 

[Danbo]

Some really good ideas in these posts especially the first one. I only do yell.com and some local rags but will give leaflets a good go i think.

 

[matthewsinglet]

www.wedotrades.co.uk try these guys, i signed up with them 6months ago and ive had **** loads of work from them, a guy called yaz came to see me on site and watched me work, he did me a sound price and ive already made a nice profit, didnt take off too well at the start but it rang him back and told him and then hes been sending me more work than i can handle. pretty good and would advise it. not sure how they get all this work but im not botherd, all the jobs have been local to me so it pretty good. thumbs up!

 

[matthewsinglet]

Hi lads,

Ive heard that dropping flyers and leaflets is a bit of a long shot and you might be lucky to get a return 1 in 2000! Was going to get some done myself, but when i looked at the cost of having them made up and printed etc, the return may not be great enough to defray the cost of having them printed and delivered in the first place?

Like many other guys in the same boat as me, im having a nightmare trying to drum up any business, and being only 23, havnt got the peer group so to speak who are on the property ladder initially that i pose as quick and immediate starter jobs, that i can go to and destroy their homes . I figure the best thing for people like me is to start off working alongside someone for 6 months or so to really get an idea of how things are done and get my eye in a bit, but do people still employ "mates" or is the current financial climate not so appropriate for hiring irritating sidekicks?

Ben

How much did you get quoted? my sister owns a graphics company and will probabbly beat any price youve been quoted!

 

[wade88]

Hi mate,

I cant remember now it was some months ago when i first looked into it! However i will need to put together some packages for advertising so will need some printing done most certainly. Does your sister have a website or any catalogues of her pricing and products etc?

 

[swissjohn]

Hi Guys


I came across this thread while searching Google, it was interesting to read the first post by Dan/Ed in which there were some very valid, tried and tested methods of getting new business but I was amazed to see there was no mention of getting clients online.


These days it’s not enough to put an ad in the Yellow Pages and expect the phone to ring off the hook, you need to have a presence on the web and also need to engage social media to develop a strong marketing strategy.
Recent research by the prestigious BIA/Kelsey Group shows that in the USA (with the UK not far behind) that 97% of all consumers use digital media to shop locally!


The figures below are from Google and show how many people are searching for an Electrician a month online in different towns around the UK.


Location Number of Local Searches
electrician london

9900​

domestic electricians

6600​

electrician sheffield

3600​

electricians belfast

2900​

electrician manchester

2400​

electricians in leeds

2400​

electricians surrey

2400​

electricians essex

1900​

electricians in nottingham

1900​

electrician glasgow

1600​

So in today’s marketplace having a website is no longer an option it’s absolutely essential as a major part of your marketing strategy.


But it doesn’t stop there, you also need a social media presence, customers these days want some kind of interaction and as a business you want to be in front of your potential customers.


Having a website, Google Places page and a Facebook Fan page tied together will help you bring in a ton of new business and a lot cheaper than either Yellow pages or Flyers.


I have taken the liberty of putting up a free guide on how to do your Google places for anyone that’s interested. http://www.fastgrowth.co.uk/Adapt or Die.pdf


Kind regards


John
Lead Generation | FastGrowth.co.uk

 

[johnosman]

Great post John, if you want to know what people are searching for in your area use googles keyword tool https://adwords.google.co.uk/select/KeywordToolExternal


Put electrician followed by the name of the city or town where you live and it will give you an idea of how many people are looking for electrical companies in your area. After you've done the search go down the left hand side of the browser and set it to exact match.
You should build your homepage of your website around the most searched keywords you find such as "Manchester Electrician"
Hope this helps some of you guys who are looking to build your own websites, its about using the keywords people are searching in the copy of your site, maybe abit more complex than that but thats it in laymans terms.

 

[IrishSparks]

Some great tips lads. Like everyone else I am finding it really hard to get work here in Dublin.
This is the first time in my 5 years in business that things are really tough.
I've just set up a website and hopefully that will bring in some work.
One tactic I am going to use is to offer a free inspection of someones house,this wouldn't be a full periodic test but more a visual inspection.
I'm hoping once I can get my foot in the door by offering something for free that I will then hopefully find some faults in these houses to get work out of it.

 

[kung]

Good idea Irishsparks anythings worth a try ! Half my family come Dublin ! ballyfermot Avenue, ballyfermot, Dublin nice place buddy.

 

[IrishSparks]

Good idea Irishsparks anythings worth a try ! Half my family come Dublin ! ballyfermot Avenue, ballyfermot, Dublin nice place buddy.

Small world! I only live approx 5 mins from Ballyfermot in a town called Lucan.

 

[kung]

Phew that is close buddy my 2nd name is Carey lol

 

[sparkyeis]

Hi all,

whats your thoughts on sub contract (labour only) on a price? might have the possibility of a fair bit of work, the contractor wants me to quote off drawings which I am yet to see???

Cheers

 

[HSEGovJobs]

Some great tips lads. Like everyone else I am finding it really hard to get work here in Dublin.
This is the first time in my 5 years in business that things are really tough.
I've just set up a website and hopefully that will bring in some work.
One tactic I am going to use is to offer a free inspection of someones house,this wouldn't be a full periodic test but more a visual inspection.
I'm hoping once I can get my foot in the door by offering something for free that I will then hopefully find some faults in these houses to get work out of it.

Hope that tactic works for you as it sounds innovative but i think people may be getting more reliant on leads from credible sources rather than what turns up at the door. Drag leads through your site. Add recommendations on your site so that people in your area get a clear view of your credibility.

Your web site should have a page where you can show photos and reviews from happy customers. Advertise your free inspection here. Get some SEO done. Add words to the page that target your locality like place names e.g. free inspection of your home dublin. Finally, add a phone number and a form to capture email addresses.

Leads that come through that funnel on your site for a free inspection will be already very interested and more likely to convert.

hope that helps.

 

[virgil]

so werw can we advertise to get some work(price work)?

 

[nigpow3]

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. It has been very helpful in finding ideas to draw in the business.

 

[maper1]

wow, there's some great advice here, especially the original post from Dan.

One thing that helped us a lot has been to optimise our web site. I know this can seem a little daunting at first but with some simple techniques it isn't too hard to get a good ranking on Google, especially if you only want good results in a particular geographic area. We use 'landing pages' these pages can be optimised for a particular subject area (e.g. you could have several landing pages and on each page expand the content and key words for that topic - ex: on one page talk a lot about one location like Bristol and electricians, and make it interesting - Google will pick up on it - customers will often search using the location and then subject like "bristol eletricians". Having a content page focused on a more defined area, you can also better develop the content towards niche topics.

Once the visitor has landed you can then have links from your landing page directing them to your main site. Landing Pages can also make it easier to track and analyse visitor actions, and then used to adapt the site as required.

There's quite a few good articles on SEO sites about landing pages and with a bit effort can drive customers to you.

Hope that helps.

 

[D E P Northeast]

all i get from yell.com is there sales team trying to get me to pay for a listing rather than the free listing i have with them. i think she just rings me to hear my lovely yorkshire accent lol.

im pants with these things how do you get a free listing with yell i have looked but i cant seem to find out how to do it ?

 

[D E P Northeast]

all i get from yell.com is there sales team trying to get me to pay for a listing rather than the free listing i have with them. i think she just rings me to hear my lovely yorkshire accent lol.

im pants with these things how do you get a free listing with yell i have looked but i cant seem to find out how to do it ?

 

[Plonker 3]

Not difficult, just use google and it will lead you there

Help: Your business and Yell.com: Get listed on Yell.com » Yell.com

 

[D E P Northeast]

not done any good with yellow pages .we monitor all our advertising and found this has come out bottom.google has been the best,rated people is very good

my problem with google i dont no how to get near the top im pants with things like that

 

[dave30]

great post man very handy food for thought

 

[11kstanton]

some good info on here, I am currently self employed working for a company but will sooner or later be setting up my own company and there is some good tips on here

 

[jharrington]

Thanks dan that has helped alot

 

[Jamie-E]

Yell are just a shambles at the moment. Try a company called sole trader websites.. My dad got a website from them earlier this year for just over £100, it brings him loads of work and hes on the first page of google. I goinf to get mine set up with them in the new year.