Is it just me or.......

quiet in the north west ,wigan area, i use thomson local .not to expensive and can pay per month,
used to use local paper but did not seem to generate enough work to cover cost.there are around 20 to 25 adverts in each of the local papers.

oldplumb.

 

I've only been on my own for nearly a year and advertise in the local free paper which has got me the majority of my jobs. Word of mouth is beginning to grow and I'd say 1 in every 8 or 9 jobs is through this. I'm in Yellow pages which came out this month and already have had a few calls via this. I always ask how they came across my name so I can gauge what is working. Hopefully a sign written van will add impact aswell when I get round to it.

My advice is take on every job you can (that you're capable of) as small jobs often lead to building good relations and bigger jobs.

 

Hi Corky - word of mouth every time. Plumbing is still an ongoing requirement of most homes. The c**p about foreigners taking the business away is true in some ways, but not every customer goes for price alone. A clean, well presented and diligent plumber will never be short of work. It's january - folk are skint from xmas. The only work is pre-booked or emergencies. Try a few 'free' home checks - better than watching daytime tv and the chance to network and win a few potential customers. Get a dog, go for walks, engage in conversation and you'll soon be everybodies plumbing mate. When competition strikes fight back and use / learn non plumbing customer skills. Good luck, been there, got the T shirt. It'll pick up, but remember when you're down no-one picks you up except yourself. Give it the full effort - everyone every day needs to know you're a busy plumber not a quiet one. They'll clammer for busy plumbers and leave the quiet ones alone. Good luck.

 

Good points there Tightenit.

I'm really quiet at the moment, if it wasn't for the fact I've got to look after my daughter 4-days a week until we get a child minder, I'd be really worried.

I'm only picking up jobs for a Friday and Saturday at the moment. Yes, everyone is suffering from credit card overload at the moment + the interest rise won't have helped. People will start to pull their belts in soon.

Had to laugh, I took my daughter down to the local church play group and got networking with all the mums! I'll be talking them into bathroom refurbishments this Thursday!

So there's the answer, go and borrow someone's baby and network yourself at the local toddler group!!

 

Good advice 'tightenit' and Simon. But hey remember, take some nappies with you when you go 'networking' in the Park with a baby!!

 

Instead of a sign written van try buying some magnetic signs they're quite cheap and the advantage is you can take them off at night and not advertise the van has plumbing tools!

 

**** me it must be ruff in sussex

 

Instead of a sign written van try buying some
magnetic signs they're quite cheap and the advantage
is you can take them off at night and not advertise
the van has plumbing tools!

How will you find your van in the morning ???????????????

 

there aint any work!

immigrant workers are undercutting the trade and if nothing's done about it, it's only gonna get worse

 

The point is this won't get better because Plumbers
need to act to protect their trade - surely some form
of work permit to show you are qualified? The only
answer is to showe you do a good job and demonstrate
to customers what the darference between a proper
plumber and a cowboy is.

The IPHE has been saying this for years, and of course like every voluntary body, it needs more members to claim proper representation status. http://www.iphe.org.

P.S branch meets with CPD training as part of it are well worth going to. This may sound corny, but apart from standing at the coffee dispenser at the merchants when do you 'chat' with other plumbing professionals?

Patrick.

BTW, its quiet for me too right now. will be off leaflet dropping monday morning.

 

All, add a ".uk" to the end of that link.

When will sf.com allow us to edit posts?

Patrick

 

Quite right too. When it's quiet on the plumbing side it's time for advertising and marketing. Just a thought though when we're quiet - beware of those who'll spot this and take advantage. I'm thinking of builders and agents etc. if they know you're quiet you'll get their work (whatever happened to their last / regular plumber?)and then either not pay or act the goat for months.

 

Act the goat !!!!! I love that expression, my mum was always telling me to stop acting the goat ( i am 59 and i still don"t know where the expression comes from, mind you she was a geordie lass. Corky when you do a job always leave
an 4/5 cards with the customer and tell them if they are happy with the job pass the cards on to friends and relatives and if they are not happy with the job give them to their enemies, always gets a smile and more work, I never advertise,get more than enough work. cheers pete