Complaints registered with the Trading Standards Office about cowboy builders increased to 106,000 way back in 2002 and has increased at 5% a year ever since. Correcting botched work costs British homeowners £1.5 billion a year. So what can you do to help relieve a potential customers fears?
Couple those figures with the resulting bad publicity from TV programs such as "Builders from hell" and "Rogue Traders" and its easy to see why people are worried about having any home improvement work done. The D.T.I. say these worries are now so bad that its costing the industry £4 billion a year in lost business.
Clients no longer regard the price as the be all and end all. Although obviously still a major factor, you are much more likely to get the job if the client has full confidence in you even if you are not the cheapest quote.
So what can you do to ease a potential customers fears? I've listed a few ideas below that can swing the balance in your favour when handing in your quote.
Insurance certificates. Adding the policy number of your public liability insurance plus any other cover you have to your headed paper gets you off to a good start.
References. If you don't already, start to build a portfolio of your finished jobs. Photographs of before and after work can be quite dramatic. Ask all your customers if you can use them for future references. Producing a folder full of photo's, architects drawings, names and phone numbers of happy clients at the first meeting is another sure fire way of helping relieve any worries from the potential client.
Building Contracts. This is by far the best method of gaining confidence from potential clients. A legally binding writtn building contract completely puts to rest any fears they have. It does of course protect you as well as the client. By listing stages at which payments are due, exactly what work you are doing etc. ensures any future upsets or disagreements are settled quickly and amicably.
Attitude. You have seen and done it all before but remember, to the customer this project is their baby! They've discussed, argued, saved up etc. for months and now they've finally got to the stage of getting in the quotes the excitement levels are rising.
Federations. If you are an established firm, joining a federation such as the Federation of Master Builders is a way of stepping up to the next level. It can be expensive but sets you apart from the rest.
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