So today we will be proceeding to part 2 of the Chains vs Independents and discussing the pros and con's of using independents over the chains, so let's take a look.
Independents pros
* The personal touch - The independents have this because there small and usually have the owner on site, they offer a service that feels like your business really does mean something to them, a close community of staff and every sale matters, If they can't compete on price they will pull out the service card.
* Company policy's - All chains have company policy's and sometimes they get in the way of offering good service or galvanising the professional bond between customer and company, My work place (which is a national chain) wont let a customer run home to get his card if he has forgot it one morning when he wanted to buy goods, it doesn't matter if he has given over £100,000 the previous year and has £100 worth of goods on his truck and we have known him for years, its a rule that can't be broken and if he does try to take off it would be classed as theft, Independents have policy's but can rely on a bit of common sense to bend rules on occasion, i know they wouldn't let someone unknown take the goods with the promise they will come back to pay but if they know a long standing customer is good for it whats the harm.
* Company credit card - I'm going out on a limb here as i don't 100% know that this is a universal rule through all independents but the two I've worked for and a supplier took on this system, it basically means whatever you need it can be bought, if it's on amazon it can be brought in, ebay? no problem! Chinese dog curling practise kit from Chinese dog curling .com? as long as they take credit card it's yours! The system they take on is that basically they pay for it and then book it to your account, the only down side to this is that your paying over the odds as they buy in at whatever price it's selling for and add a percentage on.
* Reliable - It's written in stone as every sale matters to the independents, there around to make money and keep afloat, that means when they promise something they will move heaven and earth to deliver, it's simply really because if they let you down or waste your time you move on but unlike chains where another branch in the area can pick up the slack they are on there own, they have one shot and there aware of this.
* Understanding - Tough times have hit all some more than others and chains have the system of don't pay, no goods on credit accounts. It's kind of understandable but what if you needed to finish off a job so you could pay your merchant? try explaining this to a national chain, the person you speak to in branch may understand but unfortunately it's not his decision to make but the independents have the common sense factor, they may be reluctant to do so but at least they will take all factors into account before making a decision.
* Management - They are still grounded even if they hold a management position and on most occasions there the owner, they see the benefits of knowing there customers and being involved with all aspects, they come into work not just for the same pay day month after month, the two independents i worked for left there respected management roles with other national chains and started up there own because they saw huge gaping holes in service and the system they worked with, they prey on the chains because they know there weaknesses and it's easy to manoeuvre a small independent merchant to attack those weaknesses, in terms of size and bringing in new directions it's easier to spin round a tiny power boat than a cruise ship.
* Buying options - They have the ability to buy from who they want, they don't have huge contracts tying them down to just one particular supplier, if you need a cheaper option on a particular item then it's something your independents can offer, huge contracts are often struck between leading merchants and suppliers so suppliers are "sole" suppliers, they may have an excellent deal when buying from said supplier but what if there is a product that does the same job from a different supplier that's a lot cheaper?
* Product range - There a bit more in touch I've found with items that sell well, chains have there products broken up into categories of fast to slow moving lines nationally but it's different for every area, your independents tailor there business to bring in stock that sells well in your area.
* Trading on everything - They trade on everything you see from shop floor to the yard, it's not a case of overcharging on shop items because head office have put restrictions on price reductions, they are trading on all items which is a huge plus when you want to really give customers a great deal on the WHOLE order.
* Staff Levels - They are in touch with how there branch runs, its not a case of "they will cope" because boss's aren't aware of how stretched staff are, so even though they have staff busy there aware of the staff they need to run the operation.
Independents cons
* Buying power - Unfortunately this is a big weakness for the independents, they could claw back some of the gap between the chains buying power by joining a buying group like LIMA but they will never be able to compete when the chains when they want to win the quote.
* Resources - Independents don't have the resources of the chains, advertising, marketing, bulk deals struck with suppliers, trade days, celebrity appearance's, the list is endless when it comes to how a chain can get there name out there and the independents who are local can really only rely on local advertising, maybe the local newspaper or a radio advert but there both pricey avenues to get the name out there.
* Stability - If an independent does make it in a local market and are a pillar in a good community of builders then the chances are eventually one of the chains will buy them out, it's a typical ploy of the chains and the reason that they spread so quickly, some of the branches are greenfield and are brand new but a lot of them are previous companies that have been bought out. Some independents will have the business plan to cause a thorn in the side of big chains to a point of getting bought out, a risky bet when your public records are there for anyone to see on the net.
* Fighting there corner - If a chain moves into the area they have to have an extremely loyal customer base who have money to burn, well that's none existent now a days, money is money and if anyone can save they will, it's not a malicious statement towards customers, if someone offered me a much cheaper deal i wouldn't need to think twice about switching to save my money, it's my money that i take home, chains when they move into an area are a wrecking crew, they have done there homework on there competitors and will sell high moving items like cement, blocks, aggregates, timber close to cost to get there customer base up, what chance do independents have when a chain is offering there customers to save thousands within a year?
To summarise the two posts it's all down to the independent or chain your comfortable using, a chain may come into the area but it doesn't guarantee the same service that your independent offers, yes you may get a great deal with the chain but if they let you down on service any savings go out the window with the delay on getting your goods, if a chain does offer great deals when they move into the area that wont last, I'm bias towards the independents because they still have the integrity and care more than chains ever will about your business but unfortunately they can only offer service and with how things are at the moment great service and a slightly more expensive price gets beat by average service and a great temporary price.
My advice to you all is give them both a chance and if possible use both, if your independent goes under your left with the chain and if the chain is standing alone at the end your pocket will suffer.
Monday 25 February 2013
Thursday 21 February 2013
Chains VS Independents, Part 1 the chains....
Today i wanted to talk about your suppliers and the pro's and con's of dealing with the big chains against the smaller independents.
Big Chains Pro's:-
* Buying in large quantities - Big chains have the strongest buying power, if there is a large job and the big chain wants to beat the independent they will, if the items are like for like there is no chance for the little merchant.
* Suppliers Service - With the big chains they have a very strong and powerful relationship with suppliers when a contract is struck between the two, the big chains would have negotiated the best turn around and price and have separate and dedicated departments to negotiate these deals, i worked for a company where i wanted to order an item, minimum order value was £200 and if it was under there order value it would be a £15 carriage charge and would take 3 working days, i moved to a different and bigger company and the same supplier didn't have a minimum order value and delivery was next day if the order was placed before 3pm.
* Stock Levels - Stock levels in bigger merchants are usually better, the national merchants have an automatic ordering system, if an item runs out there system will generate a purchase order to replenish the stock, this isn't on every item but on the large majority.
* Larger base of suppliers - You can bet that the national merchant will have accounts with almost everyone, it means that they can get hold of almost anything you can think of.
* Complaint procedures - Company appearance is everything to the big chains, bad press hurts them more than most and if word gets out that it's not a great company to deal with, it costs them alot of money, this is why they invest alot of time and money into combating this, if a complaint is made and it's brought to the attention of there head office, it's taken very seriously and gets rectified within certain parameters.
* Locations - These guys are everywhere, all cities and most big town's, if there is a market and they can make money in the area they will build or lease a property to start up.
Material sourcing - It's always ethical, could you imagine the flak they would get if they used a company who didn't conform? It wouldn't surprise me with the size of these companies that they don't investigate each other, if it got out that they brought from India and the raw materials were mined by a one armed 4 year old child who gets 10 pence a day, well it's the image companies don't want to have.
Management - Most not all branch managers have had to have thorough training to get to there respected positions and it takes years, they have made presentations, sales plans, margin reports, man management training, they have been through the mill to get ready to run a branch.
Big Chains Con's:-
* Service - I was told when i worked for a large chain that the small to medium builders were bread and butter, they make there real money from huge sites such as the Olympic stadium and projects of a similar size, the branches don't even factor in these developments, all items are delivered direct, when a company has this attitude it's hard to trust them with your business, i wouldn't if i heard this statement but it all depends on who you deal with in the branch. Many times I've taken business off of other merchants because they have let the customer down, it may be down to deliveries not being done when they have been promised or just prices being inconsistent.
* Unorganised - This is down to the staff once again but it always seems to be the same story, when a national chain has a very busy and profitable branch it's very difficult for them to keep on top of everything, this causes many problems, overcharges on goods, credits not being done, terms not being set, site visits not being conducted, the list is endless but the large chains will never turn away business and this leads to them biting off way more than what they can chew.
* Greed - Always looking for more, targets to hit, bonuses to be had and it's all down to margins and sales, so many items within the shop floor are ridiculously priced and the unsuspecting customer just picks it up and books it out without batting an eyelid, well most items have a mark up of 60-80% sales margin and it's mostly the silicone's, screws, nails, ironmongery, building chemicals, dpc's, etc... a very broad range of items and the worst part? staff can't change the price, head office have put restrictions on the price so staff cant drop it.
* Staff levels - The big chains are always looking how to cut costs, the first thing to go is staff, labour costs in any field are the biggest budget eaters and it's no different in the merchants, think back if you have been dealing with your merchant for a while at what the staff levels were like when you first stepped into the place, My last merchant had 10 staff when i first joined by the time i moved to another company it was down to 6 within 18 months, sales hadn't dropped and margins were still high but because we were coping well the higher ups thought that we could cope with less, we did but boy did our service drop, i went from a confident, composed, organised and dependable salesman to a shaking, stress raged, bumbling mess, always letting people down and running around like a headless chicken doing hours that would make Henry Ford proud, it took its toll and i moved on, i couldn't deliver what i first promised anymore and i took most customers with me, luckily my customers knew the crack and still had faith in me when i went to pastures new, it's one of the reasons I'm doing this blog.
* Upper Management - Upper management loses touch with the customer and it becomes more about figures than the customer, branch managers get stuck between a rock and a hard place, they want to take care of there customer base but the guys up top want more, this takes it's toll on the branches, it's a cascade of bonuses and bollockings, there all chasing a big fat bonus but if there figures drop for there area someone is going to get a firm telling off, well if this happens the next guy under him gets it in the neck until eventually it runs through right to the bottom.
* No "I" in team - I spoke to another manager a few years back and he said this year was going to be tough as a branch had opened less than a 100 metres away "The company had bought out another company and changed it into the chain" i had never been in this situation but he told me that they were basically on opposite sides of the road from each other on a one way system and even though they were both the same company they were separate branches, customers used to go one side get a quote then run across the road to the new branch and ask if they could beat it....which they did! He was getting annoyed with this and contacted his area sales manager who looked after all the branches in the area and proceeded to say "Why are the other branch under cutting me?! were in the same area! it all goes into the same pot so why give it away for less?" his manager replied saying it was a grey area and that the new branch needed to become established.
First off apologies on just posting part 1, I've decided to break this into two parts as it's a long post and it would be easier to read it in two separate posts.
Part 2 will follow and will have the independents.
Big Chains Pro's:-
* Buying in large quantities - Big chains have the strongest buying power, if there is a large job and the big chain wants to beat the independent they will, if the items are like for like there is no chance for the little merchant.
* Suppliers Service - With the big chains they have a very strong and powerful relationship with suppliers when a contract is struck between the two, the big chains would have negotiated the best turn around and price and have separate and dedicated departments to negotiate these deals, i worked for a company where i wanted to order an item, minimum order value was £200 and if it was under there order value it would be a £15 carriage charge and would take 3 working days, i moved to a different and bigger company and the same supplier didn't have a minimum order value and delivery was next day if the order was placed before 3pm.
* Stock Levels - Stock levels in bigger merchants are usually better, the national merchants have an automatic ordering system, if an item runs out there system will generate a purchase order to replenish the stock, this isn't on every item but on the large majority.
* Larger base of suppliers - You can bet that the national merchant will have accounts with almost everyone, it means that they can get hold of almost anything you can think of.
* Complaint procedures - Company appearance is everything to the big chains, bad press hurts them more than most and if word gets out that it's not a great company to deal with, it costs them alot of money, this is why they invest alot of time and money into combating this, if a complaint is made and it's brought to the attention of there head office, it's taken very seriously and gets rectified within certain parameters.
* Locations - These guys are everywhere, all cities and most big town's, if there is a market and they can make money in the area they will build or lease a property to start up.
Material sourcing - It's always ethical, could you imagine the flak they would get if they used a company who didn't conform? It wouldn't surprise me with the size of these companies that they don't investigate each other, if it got out that they brought from India and the raw materials were mined by a one armed 4 year old child who gets 10 pence a day, well it's the image companies don't want to have.
Management - Most not all branch managers have had to have thorough training to get to there respected positions and it takes years, they have made presentations, sales plans, margin reports, man management training, they have been through the mill to get ready to run a branch.
Big Chains Con's:-
* Service - I was told when i worked for a large chain that the small to medium builders were bread and butter, they make there real money from huge sites such as the Olympic stadium and projects of a similar size, the branches don't even factor in these developments, all items are delivered direct, when a company has this attitude it's hard to trust them with your business, i wouldn't if i heard this statement but it all depends on who you deal with in the branch. Many times I've taken business off of other merchants because they have let the customer down, it may be down to deliveries not being done when they have been promised or just prices being inconsistent.
* Unorganised - This is down to the staff once again but it always seems to be the same story, when a national chain has a very busy and profitable branch it's very difficult for them to keep on top of everything, this causes many problems, overcharges on goods, credits not being done, terms not being set, site visits not being conducted, the list is endless but the large chains will never turn away business and this leads to them biting off way more than what they can chew.
* Greed - Always looking for more, targets to hit, bonuses to be had and it's all down to margins and sales, so many items within the shop floor are ridiculously priced and the unsuspecting customer just picks it up and books it out without batting an eyelid, well most items have a mark up of 60-80% sales margin and it's mostly the silicone's, screws, nails, ironmongery, building chemicals, dpc's, etc... a very broad range of items and the worst part? staff can't change the price, head office have put restrictions on the price so staff cant drop it.
* Staff levels - The big chains are always looking how to cut costs, the first thing to go is staff, labour costs in any field are the biggest budget eaters and it's no different in the merchants, think back if you have been dealing with your merchant for a while at what the staff levels were like when you first stepped into the place, My last merchant had 10 staff when i first joined by the time i moved to another company it was down to 6 within 18 months, sales hadn't dropped and margins were still high but because we were coping well the higher ups thought that we could cope with less, we did but boy did our service drop, i went from a confident, composed, organised and dependable salesman to a shaking, stress raged, bumbling mess, always letting people down and running around like a headless chicken doing hours that would make Henry Ford proud, it took its toll and i moved on, i couldn't deliver what i first promised anymore and i took most customers with me, luckily my customers knew the crack and still had faith in me when i went to pastures new, it's one of the reasons I'm doing this blog.
* Upper Management - Upper management loses touch with the customer and it becomes more about figures than the customer, branch managers get stuck between a rock and a hard place, they want to take care of there customer base but the guys up top want more, this takes it's toll on the branches, it's a cascade of bonuses and bollockings, there all chasing a big fat bonus but if there figures drop for there area someone is going to get a firm telling off, well if this happens the next guy under him gets it in the neck until eventually it runs through right to the bottom.
* No "I" in team - I spoke to another manager a few years back and he said this year was going to be tough as a branch had opened less than a 100 metres away "The company had bought out another company and changed it into the chain" i had never been in this situation but he told me that they were basically on opposite sides of the road from each other on a one way system and even though they were both the same company they were separate branches, customers used to go one side get a quote then run across the road to the new branch and ask if they could beat it....which they did! He was getting annoyed with this and contacted his area sales manager who looked after all the branches in the area and proceeded to say "Why are the other branch under cutting me?! were in the same area! it all goes into the same pot so why give it away for less?" his manager replied saying it was a grey area and that the new branch needed to become established.
First off apologies on just posting part 1, I've decided to break this into two parts as it's a long post and it would be easier to read it in two separate posts.
Part 2 will follow and will have the independents.
Sunday 17 February 2013
All under one roof.
Today i wanted to talk about buying everything in one place, I know not everyone does this because it doesn't really save you money but a lot of people don't take into account time and petrol.
The one thing that usually brings in the crowds is a special promotion, now nine times out of ten the marketing team for a big company don't have the slightest clue, they have never sold anything to a customer, they don't know what the needs are and read from a book what products are actually used for, along with this there information for promotions is done on a national scale (tarring every area with the same brush) There fresh out of university or college and they have a nice shiny bit of paper to say in there interview process "i have studied marketing" and this gets them a nice cushy job, i think you may have gathered i don't have a lot of time for the marketing field with the experiences i have had so far in my professional career (that's not to say that ALL marketing people are the same, just the ones i have come across).
So you come in from a hard days work, your post is on the side with your invoices and within the invoices is a flier that says *Multi finish plaster - £1.50 a bag* so you think this is a cracking deal! well your right and wrong depending on what action you take, the first thing i would advise to do is get together the rest of the prices you need, it's all well and good if your skimming plaster is £1.50 a bag but what if your paying well over the odds for skim beads, joint tape, plasterboard and Adhesive then any savings on the multi finish goes out the door.
You have your list now and you price it up, with the multi finish offer overall the price is cheaper than the other merchant down the road but the only thing that is cheaper compared to the other merchant is the multi finish, so what do you do?
Do you just buy the multi finish and go to the other merchant for the rest? or do you buy it all from the one merchant with the overall cheapest price?
This is where you need to weigh up your options and take into account the following factors:-
How much time and petrol is it going to take to buy from both merchants?
Will the second merchant hold there price if you say your buying the multi finish else where?
Can you ask the first merchant who has the multi finish offer on to match the second merchant?
It's an extremely difficult situation that needs to be addressed whenever there is a promotion, marketing make my life difficult because if a offer comes along that's cheaper than what my customer has been paying for years they ask the question:- " have you been ripping me off all this time?!" fair question and one i would ask if i was in there shoe's! the truth is merchants and there staff aren't given the true cost on a huge scale of there items, what we see as an amazing deal because were making 10% margin on an item may not be that great if the company is getting a 30% rebate from the supplier at the end of the year, so were in the dark as much as you, a cold truth but the truth non the less.
Another post will address this as it needs more depth.
To summarise, when you get your quote realise that the job your taking on isn't just about the materials and your payday, there are a lot of other factors and if there addressed it brings you to what I'm trying to do for you all.......saving you money.
As always tradesmen connect get there links posted as they have helped me with referrals and get the blog up and running. If you wish for a similar deal please contact me.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
The one thing that usually brings in the crowds is a special promotion, now nine times out of ten the marketing team for a big company don't have the slightest clue, they have never sold anything to a customer, they don't know what the needs are and read from a book what products are actually used for, along with this there information for promotions is done on a national scale (tarring every area with the same brush) There fresh out of university or college and they have a nice shiny bit of paper to say in there interview process "i have studied marketing" and this gets them a nice cushy job, i think you may have gathered i don't have a lot of time for the marketing field with the experiences i have had so far in my professional career (that's not to say that ALL marketing people are the same, just the ones i have come across).
So you come in from a hard days work, your post is on the side with your invoices and within the invoices is a flier that says *Multi finish plaster - £1.50 a bag* so you think this is a cracking deal! well your right and wrong depending on what action you take, the first thing i would advise to do is get together the rest of the prices you need, it's all well and good if your skimming plaster is £1.50 a bag but what if your paying well over the odds for skim beads, joint tape, plasterboard and Adhesive then any savings on the multi finish goes out the door.
You have your list now and you price it up, with the multi finish offer overall the price is cheaper than the other merchant down the road but the only thing that is cheaper compared to the other merchant is the multi finish, so what do you do?
Do you just buy the multi finish and go to the other merchant for the rest? or do you buy it all from the one merchant with the overall cheapest price?
This is where you need to weigh up your options and take into account the following factors:-
How much time and petrol is it going to take to buy from both merchants?
Will the second merchant hold there price if you say your buying the multi finish else where?
Can you ask the first merchant who has the multi finish offer on to match the second merchant?
It's an extremely difficult situation that needs to be addressed whenever there is a promotion, marketing make my life difficult because if a offer comes along that's cheaper than what my customer has been paying for years they ask the question:- " have you been ripping me off all this time?!" fair question and one i would ask if i was in there shoe's! the truth is merchants and there staff aren't given the true cost on a huge scale of there items, what we see as an amazing deal because were making 10% margin on an item may not be that great if the company is getting a 30% rebate from the supplier at the end of the year, so were in the dark as much as you, a cold truth but the truth non the less.
Another post will address this as it needs more depth.
To summarise, when you get your quote realise that the job your taking on isn't just about the materials and your payday, there are a lot of other factors and if there addressed it brings you to what I'm trying to do for you all.......saving you money.
As always tradesmen connect get there links posted as they have helped me with referrals and get the blog up and running. If you wish for a similar deal please contact me.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
Wednesday 13 February 2013
Your merchants supplier and how they can help you?
Today i wanted to talk about your merchants suppliers and how they can help you in a number of ways.
I've stated before that your merchant wants your business and there's no getting around that fact but it runs a little deeper than you think, the order you place with your merchant (unless they manufacture the product your buying) comes from there supplier, there maybe a few middle men from the manufacturer to your merchant but the bulk supplier you can rely on them for help for many different things, some examples:-
Kitchens:- Most occasions your merchant will have someone that comes out and does the measuring and design for you, you can request what you want and they will give you what your customer desires, a simple one really and hardly a secret.
Stairs:- Some of the big guys actually offer an online service where you can drag and drop what you want, get your customer to do the same and it will give you the list price with the components you need to build the staircase and the codes for each item, take this into your merchant and they can price it up, in some instances where the ground and first floor are a little more unconventional your merchants supplier will come out and measure for you.
Metal Lintels:- Every metal lintel company i have come across offer the service that will work out what lintels you need. If you send your architects drawings off to the lintel company they will come back with what lintels you need and where they need to be used, this really does go into great detail from load bearings to size and description, try this one out and you will be very impressed. Your drawings can be sent across by e-mail also.
Bricks:- Brick matching is offered by all merchants, if it doesn't offer this service then it isn't a merchant but if you send a picture to the brick companies they will come back with there nearest equivalent, they can send samples direct and if they don't offer this service they will send it to your nearest stockist.
Drainage:- All big suppliers for underground drainage offer a service where they will work out what you need for your job and give you detailed drawings, you will have a list of all the items but it will also come with a list price attached, don't pay any attention to this as your merchant will then discount it accordingly.
Trusses:- Another simple one, i would advise your merchant to organise this one, If you require measurements to be taken and your not comfortable then the truss supplier will send someone out to measure for you, once this is done they will work out the price and any further components you require (ladders, treatment, braces...etc).
Insulation:- All insulation suppliers will help when your trying to achieve a certain 'U' Value, all you need is what your trying to achieve the materials your using and the specifications of said materials, if your having trouble and need the spec for the materials ask your merchant, they have data sheets for all of this.
Roof tiles:- It's something that your merchant should be able to work out but don't hold it against them if there not really a supplier of tiles, contact one of the big suppliers once again and give them the pitch of the roof, the width and height and they will work it out for you, again like the brick companies if you need to match a particular tile send a picture and they will come back with an exact match or there equivalent.
To summarise the list really is endless, your business is more important than ever and customer service is being offered in abundance, suppliers and merchants will basically do everything aside from build your project, it's fine getting advice from others but manufactures are the best to get the advice from because they become liable if the advice you take goes wrong.
Sometimes when drawings are involved for instance Block & Beam flooring or trusses you may have to sign the drawings just to confirm your happy with what's been worked out, always check everything, your signature puts the blame on you if there wrong, it's a rare occasion when it does happen but it does happen.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
I've stated before that your merchant wants your business and there's no getting around that fact but it runs a little deeper than you think, the order you place with your merchant (unless they manufacture the product your buying) comes from there supplier, there maybe a few middle men from the manufacturer to your merchant but the bulk supplier you can rely on them for help for many different things, some examples:-
Kitchens:- Most occasions your merchant will have someone that comes out and does the measuring and design for you, you can request what you want and they will give you what your customer desires, a simple one really and hardly a secret.
Stairs:- Some of the big guys actually offer an online service where you can drag and drop what you want, get your customer to do the same and it will give you the list price with the components you need to build the staircase and the codes for each item, take this into your merchant and they can price it up, in some instances where the ground and first floor are a little more unconventional your merchants supplier will come out and measure for you.
Metal Lintels:- Every metal lintel company i have come across offer the service that will work out what lintels you need. If you send your architects drawings off to the lintel company they will come back with what lintels you need and where they need to be used, this really does go into great detail from load bearings to size and description, try this one out and you will be very impressed. Your drawings can be sent across by e-mail also.
Bricks:- Brick matching is offered by all merchants, if it doesn't offer this service then it isn't a merchant but if you send a picture to the brick companies they will come back with there nearest equivalent, they can send samples direct and if they don't offer this service they will send it to your nearest stockist.
Drainage:- All big suppliers for underground drainage offer a service where they will work out what you need for your job and give you detailed drawings, you will have a list of all the items but it will also come with a list price attached, don't pay any attention to this as your merchant will then discount it accordingly.
Trusses:- Another simple one, i would advise your merchant to organise this one, If you require measurements to be taken and your not comfortable then the truss supplier will send someone out to measure for you, once this is done they will work out the price and any further components you require (ladders, treatment, braces...etc).
Insulation:- All insulation suppliers will help when your trying to achieve a certain 'U' Value, all you need is what your trying to achieve the materials your using and the specifications of said materials, if your having trouble and need the spec for the materials ask your merchant, they have data sheets for all of this.
Roof tiles:- It's something that your merchant should be able to work out but don't hold it against them if there not really a supplier of tiles, contact one of the big suppliers once again and give them the pitch of the roof, the width and height and they will work it out for you, again like the brick companies if you need to match a particular tile send a picture and they will come back with an exact match or there equivalent.
To summarise the list really is endless, your business is more important than ever and customer service is being offered in abundance, suppliers and merchants will basically do everything aside from build your project, it's fine getting advice from others but manufactures are the best to get the advice from because they become liable if the advice you take goes wrong.
Sometimes when drawings are involved for instance Block & Beam flooring or trusses you may have to sign the drawings just to confirm your happy with what's been worked out, always check everything, your signature puts the blame on you if there wrong, it's a rare occasion when it does happen but it does happen.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
Monday 11 February 2013
Ordering in special items and Brick enquiries!
Today i wanted to talk about ordering in special and none stocked items from your merchants and suppliers.
On a previous post i said that this was a minefield if not done correctly so here's a few tips on what to do when ordering in a non stocked/special item:-
a) When you are ready to order your special item always ask about the returns policy, you maybe 100% confident when you order that you wont be returning it but if the job ceases to exist or your customer has a cash flow problem your stuck with the item.
b) Inform your customer about the importance of getting their order correct, it's a simple comment, sometimes the general public think that all items are easily sourced and that returns are done without batting an eyelid, after asking the returns policy from your merchant make sure your customer knows that if it's not to their liking it may cost them if they want something else.
c) Always order in samples, this obviously doesn't relate to a garage door or anything along those lines but if it's a brick or something that is style or colour orientated then ask your merchant to order in a sample that you can show the customer, your covering your own back, it may put the lead time back on the order by 2-3 days but if it's going to make the customer 100% sure on there choice it's worth taking the hit on time.
d) Be careful who you make the purchase from, this relates to which of your merchants gets the best price, put the enquiry around and see who comes back with the best price.
e) ***IMPORTANT*** When it comes to bricks and you need a very large amount, choose your merchant very carefully!!! This goes to who you put the enquiry towards not ordering.
Example:- You have a site where you need a large amount of bricks, you have the idea that your going to put your enquiry round to every single merchant in town, you know there is two merchants on the way to your main merchant, the two merchants that are on the way don't know you that well and you use them on the odd occasion to spread your credit or to pick up the odd item if your in the area, so you proceed to drop the enquiry to both merchants and then you go to your main merchant.
All three merchants come back to you with a price, now you would think that your main merchant that you spend thousands of pounds with would wipe the floor with the other two, well they end up 2nd in the price war with the first merchant you went into beating them by about 5%, you ring your main merchant asking can't you do better? this order is worth a lot of money, they reply no it's the very best they can do. so why is this?
Brick companies offer a register the site option, the first merchant you put the enquiry forward to rang up the brick company and said "can i register this site, they are going to need X amount of bricks" once the site is registered by a merchant they alone get the best price, there offered a better discount than anyone other merchant who rings up there after, worse still it's first come, first serve! your main merchant would have offered you a much better price if you had only gone to them first.
You can try every trick in the book to get this reversed, even as far as ringing up the brick companies sales Representative and asking if your main merchant can have the discount but believe me you wont get what you want, they stand firm and they are loyal to the first company that comes forward.
To summarise this post, be careful when ordering in any special goods, cover yourself on all angles because if you don't your last resort maybe trying to flog it at a loss on eBay.
As always my friends who gave me a helping hand to start this blog a get there links posted, if like tradesmen connect you wish for a referral please contact me.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
On a previous post i said that this was a minefield if not done correctly so here's a few tips on what to do when ordering in a non stocked/special item:-
a) When you are ready to order your special item always ask about the returns policy, you maybe 100% confident when you order that you wont be returning it but if the job ceases to exist or your customer has a cash flow problem your stuck with the item.
b) Inform your customer about the importance of getting their order correct, it's a simple comment, sometimes the general public think that all items are easily sourced and that returns are done without batting an eyelid, after asking the returns policy from your merchant make sure your customer knows that if it's not to their liking it may cost them if they want something else.
c) Always order in samples, this obviously doesn't relate to a garage door or anything along those lines but if it's a brick or something that is style or colour orientated then ask your merchant to order in a sample that you can show the customer, your covering your own back, it may put the lead time back on the order by 2-3 days but if it's going to make the customer 100% sure on there choice it's worth taking the hit on time.
d) Be careful who you make the purchase from, this relates to which of your merchants gets the best price, put the enquiry around and see who comes back with the best price.
e) ***IMPORTANT*** When it comes to bricks and you need a very large amount, choose your merchant very carefully!!! This goes to who you put the enquiry towards not ordering.
Example:- You have a site where you need a large amount of bricks, you have the idea that your going to put your enquiry round to every single merchant in town, you know there is two merchants on the way to your main merchant, the two merchants that are on the way don't know you that well and you use them on the odd occasion to spread your credit or to pick up the odd item if your in the area, so you proceed to drop the enquiry to both merchants and then you go to your main merchant.
All three merchants come back to you with a price, now you would think that your main merchant that you spend thousands of pounds with would wipe the floor with the other two, well they end up 2nd in the price war with the first merchant you went into beating them by about 5%, you ring your main merchant asking can't you do better? this order is worth a lot of money, they reply no it's the very best they can do. so why is this?
Brick companies offer a register the site option, the first merchant you put the enquiry forward to rang up the brick company and said "can i register this site, they are going to need X amount of bricks" once the site is registered by a merchant they alone get the best price, there offered a better discount than anyone other merchant who rings up there after, worse still it's first come, first serve! your main merchant would have offered you a much better price if you had only gone to them first.
You can try every trick in the book to get this reversed, even as far as ringing up the brick companies sales Representative and asking if your main merchant can have the discount but believe me you wont get what you want, they stand firm and they are loyal to the first company that comes forward.
To summarise this post, be careful when ordering in any special goods, cover yourself on all angles because if you don't your last resort maybe trying to flog it at a loss on eBay.
As always my friends who gave me a helping hand to start this blog a get there links posted, if like tradesmen connect you wish for a referral please contact me.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
Sunday 10 February 2013
What makes a price go up on your day to day items?
Today i wanted to talk about what items temporally increase in price and why?
1) Rock salt:- Simple one really, if it snows you need rock salt, everyone needs rock salt, the companies know this and put the price up as soon as the word hits that snow is coming, the marketing department process Point of sale banners and so it starts.
Solution:- Buy in the summer months, store it in your garage, chances are you will only need 5-10 bags but what would you rather pay £15-£30 or £50-£75 for the salt you need?
2) Fence Panels:- Like the rock salt this is mostly weather orientated, get a very windy spell in your area and you can bet a lot of fence panels are going to fall like domino's, if it's in a localised area the price doesn't fluctuate to much but if it's national and it's lasting a few days then the prices will fly through the roof, this is mostly down to main suppliers being unable to cope with demand.
Solution:- This may sound drastic but if you know the wind is coming buy as many fence panels that you can store, if your merchant runs out and you have 15 stored in your lock up/garage and a customer rings you and another builder/landscaper saying that they can see every garden down a terrace street and they need it doing as fast as possible. who gets the job if the other builder can't source the materials for 2-3 weeks? who is to stop you once you have finished the job posting a card through every door down that street saying your in the area and are able to replace fence panels?
3) Timber Lengths & Grades:- First off it doesn't matter when you buy the goods the price increases when you go over 6.4m lengths it's a universal rule, it's a lot harder for your supplier to source these lengths and longer, now forgive me as i only know the grades in the uk but I'm sure that if it was translated to your own location the same rule would apply, when your job requires a higher grade of timber (C24) it's going to cost more.
Solution:- unfortunately unless you join the timbers to make the length you need you will pay an excess charge it's not a great deal but if it's in large quantities it will sting a little, as for a higher grade of timber ask your merchant if they have it in stock, now some merchants actually have C24 timber buried in with the C16 packs, it's down to there supplier not separating it but it's good news for you.
4) Lead:- The rollar coaster item, the price for this rises and falls almost on a monthly basis, always ask the price before you buy, with the recent trend of criminals stealing this off churches and your roof top, it's a simple case of supply and demand.
Solution:- There's only one thing i can think of.....Don't buy lead! there are numerous companies now who do an equivalent, it's cheaper, lighter and people for some reason don't want to steal it, if your dead set on buying lead there is also a 50% tin based version but my comments here aren't promoting this item, it's an alternative if you wanted to look into it.
To summarise it's all down to supply and demand, timing is an important factor along with organisation and please refer to previous posts for more hints and tips on how to get the best price.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect?fref=ts
1) Rock salt:- Simple one really, if it snows you need rock salt, everyone needs rock salt, the companies know this and put the price up as soon as the word hits that snow is coming, the marketing department process Point of sale banners and so it starts.
Solution:- Buy in the summer months, store it in your garage, chances are you will only need 5-10 bags but what would you rather pay £15-£30 or £50-£75 for the salt you need?
2) Fence Panels:- Like the rock salt this is mostly weather orientated, get a very windy spell in your area and you can bet a lot of fence panels are going to fall like domino's, if it's in a localised area the price doesn't fluctuate to much but if it's national and it's lasting a few days then the prices will fly through the roof, this is mostly down to main suppliers being unable to cope with demand.
Solution:- This may sound drastic but if you know the wind is coming buy as many fence panels that you can store, if your merchant runs out and you have 15 stored in your lock up/garage and a customer rings you and another builder/landscaper saying that they can see every garden down a terrace street and they need it doing as fast as possible. who gets the job if the other builder can't source the materials for 2-3 weeks? who is to stop you once you have finished the job posting a card through every door down that street saying your in the area and are able to replace fence panels?
3) Timber Lengths & Grades:- First off it doesn't matter when you buy the goods the price increases when you go over 6.4m lengths it's a universal rule, it's a lot harder for your supplier to source these lengths and longer, now forgive me as i only know the grades in the uk but I'm sure that if it was translated to your own location the same rule would apply, when your job requires a higher grade of timber (C24) it's going to cost more.
Solution:- unfortunately unless you join the timbers to make the length you need you will pay an excess charge it's not a great deal but if it's in large quantities it will sting a little, as for a higher grade of timber ask your merchant if they have it in stock, now some merchants actually have C24 timber buried in with the C16 packs, it's down to there supplier not separating it but it's good news for you.
4) Lead:- The rollar coaster item, the price for this rises and falls almost on a monthly basis, always ask the price before you buy, with the recent trend of criminals stealing this off churches and your roof top, it's a simple case of supply and demand.
Solution:- There's only one thing i can think of.....Don't buy lead! there are numerous companies now who do an equivalent, it's cheaper, lighter and people for some reason don't want to steal it, if your dead set on buying lead there is also a 50% tin based version but my comments here aren't promoting this item, it's an alternative if you wanted to look into it.
To summarise it's all down to supply and demand, timing is an important factor along with organisation and please refer to previous posts for more hints and tips on how to get the best price.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect?fref=ts
Saturday 9 February 2013
Discounts, What do they mean?
Today i wanted to share with you what discounts really mean.
I've had in the past on a number of occasions customers asking me "what discount am i getting?" it's a fair question but one i despise being asked, in my mind it's a question that if i answered correctly (from a companies point of view) i could make alot more money out of your sale, so lets put a situation forward:-
Customer approaches me with 10 items of underground drainage, i start a ticket to process the order, half way through he asks what discount is he getting?
So to this i answer "your getting 65% off list" now a few maybe raising there eyebrows thinking that's a good discount and again a few maybe thinking that's rubbish but if your doing this your making a very dangerous assumption.
List prices vary greatly! If you assume there all the same then you won't get the best price, yes you may have a higher discount than the place down the road but if your paying more what's the point?
No two companies have the same list price, and that's not just plumbing materials.
I had a customer once when i first got into working within the building merchant sector and he asked for a large job to be priced, now my supplier gave me the list price for all underground drainage and offered 80% off list, the customer came back to me after to say another merchant had offered 83% he placed the order with them.
Afterwards i spoke to my manager at the time and i had made the same assumption as my customer, even though he was getting 83% off he would still be paying £500 more than what i had quoted, the list price with my competitors was higher than mine which meant i was cheaper yet like my customer i just looked at the discount figure, to this day i have never made the same mistake.
To summarise this post, always look at the price not the discount, it may seem like a fantastic deal but looks can be deceiving, i could offer you 99.9% off an item and my fellow merchant could be offering 10% off but what if his list price was £10 and mine was £100,000? Don't assume.
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
I've had in the past on a number of occasions customers asking me "what discount am i getting?" it's a fair question but one i despise being asked, in my mind it's a question that if i answered correctly (from a companies point of view) i could make alot more money out of your sale, so lets put a situation forward:-
Customer approaches me with 10 items of underground drainage, i start a ticket to process the order, half way through he asks what discount is he getting?
So to this i answer "your getting 65% off list" now a few maybe raising there eyebrows thinking that's a good discount and again a few maybe thinking that's rubbish but if your doing this your making a very dangerous assumption.
List prices vary greatly! If you assume there all the same then you won't get the best price, yes you may have a higher discount than the place down the road but if your paying more what's the point?
No two companies have the same list price, and that's not just plumbing materials.
I had a customer once when i first got into working within the building merchant sector and he asked for a large job to be priced, now my supplier gave me the list price for all underground drainage and offered 80% off list, the customer came back to me after to say another merchant had offered 83% he placed the order with them.
Afterwards i spoke to my manager at the time and i had made the same assumption as my customer, even though he was getting 83% off he would still be paying £500 more than what i had quoted, the list price with my competitors was higher than mine which meant i was cheaper yet like my customer i just looked at the discount figure, to this day i have never made the same mistake.
To summarise this post, always look at the price not the discount, it may seem like a fantastic deal but looks can be deceiving, i could offer you 99.9% off an item and my fellow merchant could be offering 10% off but what if his list price was £10 and mine was £100,000? Don't assume.
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
Friday 8 February 2013
Pricing up your job and the Christmas period.
Today i wanted to talk about how to go about pricing up a job and how to get the best price's possible.
The first thing you want to do is work out the materials list, this will give an indication of how valuable this job would be to your merchant, don't think of this as your job and what you need to complete it, think of this materials list as a bargaining chip because you need to buy your materials and your merchant will want to be the supplier for this.
They are there for a reason and that reason is to make money same as everyone in business, without having a shot at pricing that list they may as well close up shop so don't underestimate how much they want the sale, times are tough.
A few years back merchants could pick and choose who they dealt with, if you were a pain they could steer you towards the door and wait for the next tradesman to come along but now this is far away from the current situation they find themselves in, you maybe a pain but that luxury your merchant did have is long gone, they want your business!
I spoke briefly about how to go about setting the prices on your account but when a large job comes along the terms on your account become mostly obsolete, your day to day purchases are set but a large job may need for your merchants supplier to get involved, this may lead to a special price agreement depending on the products and this will give you substantial savings.
We can state the obvious that when you buy in bulk you get things cheaper, it's common knowledge, what isn't common knowledge is how far you can push for a better price, your merchant contact might not be aware that this action is needed and this is the reason why you should put your price list to a few merchants, following this ask for there suppliers area sales Representatives contact details.
Please don't assume that all merchants are in the same boat in terms of who they buy from, for instance:-
You need trusses so you put the enquiry to three different merchants:-
Merchant A comes back with a price and its the most expensive with a long lead time.
Merchant B comes back with a price and it's slightly cheaper than merchant A but the same lead time.
Merchant C comes back with the best price and the lead time is half of the other two.
Why?
Merchant A deals with an outside truss company, on a similar contract as the one you hold with your merchant, they order the goods for you, the truss company delivers, the truss company charges your merchant and the merchant charges you.
Merchant B deals with the same company but merchant B deals with this company alot more and the professional bond the two hold is stronger than merchant A, they spend more so they get the better price.
Merchant C is owned by a very large parent company and the parent company happens to own a truss company, the price they get charged is cheaper and the lead time is cut considerable.
The point of this is find out what situation your merchant is in when putting an enquiry forward, ask where there getting the price? who is the company and what relationship do they hold with them? but don't put your eggs in one basket, assume that merchant C is the only place to go for trusses and the situation changes it means you lose, worse still if your merchant finds out that you only put your enquiry for trusses through them it gives them the green light to make that little bit extra out of your business, that little bit extra comes out of your pocket and into there bank account.
Be very careful around the times of Christmas/new year and a couple of months after, a price increase for a job that you priced before Christmas could be a large chunk of change out of your profits, i will go into more detail on this subject at a later date as again it's a common trap that alot of people fall into.
To summarise the post, explore your avenues when pricing your job, the bigger the job the more power you hold when it comes to pricing, push the extra mile to get the best price, your business can be moved else where but your merchants targets and sales figures can't. You hold the power in this situation and your merchant knows this.
As always my friends at Tradesmen Connect get there links posted, Please visit the site if your not aware of these guys, they offer just as much help to you guys as I do.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
The first thing you want to do is work out the materials list, this will give an indication of how valuable this job would be to your merchant, don't think of this as your job and what you need to complete it, think of this materials list as a bargaining chip because you need to buy your materials and your merchant will want to be the supplier for this.
They are there for a reason and that reason is to make money same as everyone in business, without having a shot at pricing that list they may as well close up shop so don't underestimate how much they want the sale, times are tough.
A few years back merchants could pick and choose who they dealt with, if you were a pain they could steer you towards the door and wait for the next tradesman to come along but now this is far away from the current situation they find themselves in, you maybe a pain but that luxury your merchant did have is long gone, they want your business!
I spoke briefly about how to go about setting the prices on your account but when a large job comes along the terms on your account become mostly obsolete, your day to day purchases are set but a large job may need for your merchants supplier to get involved, this may lead to a special price agreement depending on the products and this will give you substantial savings.
We can state the obvious that when you buy in bulk you get things cheaper, it's common knowledge, what isn't common knowledge is how far you can push for a better price, your merchant contact might not be aware that this action is needed and this is the reason why you should put your price list to a few merchants, following this ask for there suppliers area sales Representatives contact details.
Please don't assume that all merchants are in the same boat in terms of who they buy from, for instance:-
You need trusses so you put the enquiry to three different merchants:-
Merchant A comes back with a price and its the most expensive with a long lead time.
Merchant B comes back with a price and it's slightly cheaper than merchant A but the same lead time.
Merchant C comes back with the best price and the lead time is half of the other two.
Why?
Merchant A deals with an outside truss company, on a similar contract as the one you hold with your merchant, they order the goods for you, the truss company delivers, the truss company charges your merchant and the merchant charges you.
Merchant B deals with the same company but merchant B deals with this company alot more and the professional bond the two hold is stronger than merchant A, they spend more so they get the better price.
Merchant C is owned by a very large parent company and the parent company happens to own a truss company, the price they get charged is cheaper and the lead time is cut considerable.
The point of this is find out what situation your merchant is in when putting an enquiry forward, ask where there getting the price? who is the company and what relationship do they hold with them? but don't put your eggs in one basket, assume that merchant C is the only place to go for trusses and the situation changes it means you lose, worse still if your merchant finds out that you only put your enquiry for trusses through them it gives them the green light to make that little bit extra out of your business, that little bit extra comes out of your pocket and into there bank account.
Be very careful around the times of Christmas/new year and a couple of months after, a price increase for a job that you priced before Christmas could be a large chunk of change out of your profits, i will go into more detail on this subject at a later date as again it's a common trap that alot of people fall into.
To summarise the post, explore your avenues when pricing your job, the bigger the job the more power you hold when it comes to pricing, push the extra mile to get the best price, your business can be moved else where but your merchants targets and sales figures can't. You hold the power in this situation and your merchant knows this.
As always my friends at Tradesmen Connect get there links posted, Please visit the site if your not aware of these guys, they offer just as much help to you guys as I do.
www.tradesmenconnect.com
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
Thursday 7 February 2013
Following up Leads and a few more tips.
This is following on from the last post "sell your yourself not your business" a few more pointers on winning the jobs your quoting for.
A pro-active approach can mean the difference between winning and losing the job, a simple follow up call the next day to ask how you got on could identify the reason you have lost the job or swing a decision your way if there trying to decide between a few of you, believe it or not there aren't that many people that chase a quote that was previously done they just assume that if they haven't had a call then they didn't get it, a 2 minute phone call could be securing your next pay day.
Just going back to the subject of what to try when quoting following along the lines of offering a more personal approach:-
Offer your opinion but respect the customers:- This again shows your wanting to get involved but listen to what they want, if there is a flaw in there idea that they haven't spotted then bring it to light but be cautious, they don't want to feel stupid or small so offer an alternative to what they want but state that if they do want what they've asked for, it may cause a problem in the future but it's there decision and always state your just trying to help them and prevent them from spending more than whats needed, again this looks good on you because your not just there to quote your there to give advice.
Portfolio addition :- When giving the quote ask if they wouldn't mind you taking a picture for your work portfolio, just this comment is giving them piece of mind, your willing to add it to your portfolio before you even have the job! this means your giving off the impression that your very proud of your work and this job will be no different.
To summarise were all different but when your quoting always think what is the next guy going to be offering and think long and hard about what you can do to offer the customer something better.
The next post will be getting back to pricing materials and the things to look out for when pricing over the Christmas period.
Also after everything that Tradesmen Connect have done for me in such a small space of time they will be getting a permanent link to there website and there facebook page, i can't sing these guys enough praise and the best thing about them is.......there around to help you!
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
A pro-active approach can mean the difference between winning and losing the job, a simple follow up call the next day to ask how you got on could identify the reason you have lost the job or swing a decision your way if there trying to decide between a few of you, believe it or not there aren't that many people that chase a quote that was previously done they just assume that if they haven't had a call then they didn't get it, a 2 minute phone call could be securing your next pay day.
Just going back to the subject of what to try when quoting following along the lines of offering a more personal approach:-
Offer your opinion but respect the customers:- This again shows your wanting to get involved but listen to what they want, if there is a flaw in there idea that they haven't spotted then bring it to light but be cautious, they don't want to feel stupid or small so offer an alternative to what they want but state that if they do want what they've asked for, it may cause a problem in the future but it's there decision and always state your just trying to help them and prevent them from spending more than whats needed, again this looks good on you because your not just there to quote your there to give advice.
Portfolio addition :- When giving the quote ask if they wouldn't mind you taking a picture for your work portfolio, just this comment is giving them piece of mind, your willing to add it to your portfolio before you even have the job! this means your giving off the impression that your very proud of your work and this job will be no different.
To summarise were all different but when your quoting always think what is the next guy going to be offering and think long and hard about what you can do to offer the customer something better.
The next post will be getting back to pricing materials and the things to look out for when pricing over the Christmas period.
Also after everything that Tradesmen Connect have done for me in such a small space of time they will be getting a permanent link to there website and there facebook page, i can't sing these guys enough praise and the best thing about them is.......there around to help you!
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
http://www.facebook.com/TradesmenConnect
Wednesday 6 February 2013
Sell yourself not your business & Tradesmen Connect
This is going slightly against what my blog is about but it is to help you, i have come across hundreds of tradesmen over the years and there is only a few that stand out from memory and the reason? there likable and have been around as long as i have been in this game and they spend alot.
They have been around for years because of a few reasons, there good at what they do, they have developed a word of mouth advertising within a community and the most important aspect......they know how to sell themselves.
I had a long conversation with one of the builders i mentioned and he runs around all day picking up goods for his work force (who are excellent at there job, various on site visits confirm this) and he isn't anything special in terms of a specific trade, he is pretty unorganised but i can see from a mile off why he gets the jobs he quotes for.
He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, he parades around as a tradesman but you strip away the layers and he is a salesman.
This got me thinking and as i always do when I'm doing anything for someone else, i think long and hard about what would i want if i was the customer? this advice is absolutely key.
You can bet your life savings on the fact you wont be the only one pricing up for the job, construction is a competitive market so i will put what the customers general concerns will be and how to address them.
1) Price - The price isn't as important as you think, you need to be in the same league as your fellow tradesmen because if your price is to high you wont be looked at, if your to low warning signs will pop up in your customers head, if your selling your service to cheap they may think your not going to be doing the job to a high standard and you will be cutting corners.
2) Standard of work - This for me would be a deal breaker, if I'm hiring you to do a big extension, a loft conversion or even a small area to be landscaped in the garden, the one thing that would put me at ease is proof of your work, now this may not be in the customers head so you want to bring this up, a portfolio to hand is essential or a recommendation from a previous customer if there happy to be contacted is a big boost to what your offering.
3) Don't put down your fellow tradesmen - When your pricing up the job for the customer don't try and put down your competitors, it comes across that your in bad taste. If someone asked "who else is quoting?" and started to put them down it wouldn't really come across well to me the customer.
4) Be approachable - Over the years as a salesman i always tried to be different, i would never make it all about work, i would try and strike up something personal when dealing with my customers, I'm not saying tell them your life story but when going to a customers property there house will tell you alot about them, if i had just finished 2 weeks of painting and decorating and a landscaper came to my house to price a job up and mentioned about the work I'd done, I'd be pretty chuffed and that man would stick in my head when choosing, same as seeing a football trophy on the mantle piece that there son has won in under 13's football, mention something and if it's something you have in common all the better, These things are something the customer is proud of and giving a compliment goes along way, I'm not saying to come on to strong but just be approachable, another question:- which is easier hiring a stranger or a friend?
5) Be honest - I don't really need to tell you this but don't start promising the world if you can't deliver, if you can't start on the date they want don't say you will and deal with the problem later, be completely straight with your customer and explain the reason why, I'd respect my tradesman alot more if they came straight right of the bat than tell me something and not deliver.
To summarise your customer knows what they want done, what they don't know is what they should be asking, when your pricing the job put the concerns in there head and address them before they ask, it will show them that you care and that it seems that others don't, it also puts you in a terrific light if your the last man to quote because if others before you haven't addressed the concerns you have put in there head then it makes you look like the best man for the job and again if a trademan comes after you and they can't answer the questions you answered it makes them look less professional as you.
Finally i was lucky enough after only a few days of starting this blog to be contacted by Tradesmen direct, on a similar goal as myself to help tradesmen and customers alike, Please click on the link below and find out what this website can offer you to help.
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
They have been around for years because of a few reasons, there good at what they do, they have developed a word of mouth advertising within a community and the most important aspect......they know how to sell themselves.
I had a long conversation with one of the builders i mentioned and he runs around all day picking up goods for his work force (who are excellent at there job, various on site visits confirm this) and he isn't anything special in terms of a specific trade, he is pretty unorganised but i can see from a mile off why he gets the jobs he quotes for.
He is a wolf in sheep's clothing, he parades around as a tradesman but you strip away the layers and he is a salesman.
This got me thinking and as i always do when I'm doing anything for someone else, i think long and hard about what would i want if i was the customer? this advice is absolutely key.
You can bet your life savings on the fact you wont be the only one pricing up for the job, construction is a competitive market so i will put what the customers general concerns will be and how to address them.
1) Price - The price isn't as important as you think, you need to be in the same league as your fellow tradesmen because if your price is to high you wont be looked at, if your to low warning signs will pop up in your customers head, if your selling your service to cheap they may think your not going to be doing the job to a high standard and you will be cutting corners.
2) Standard of work - This for me would be a deal breaker, if I'm hiring you to do a big extension, a loft conversion or even a small area to be landscaped in the garden, the one thing that would put me at ease is proof of your work, now this may not be in the customers head so you want to bring this up, a portfolio to hand is essential or a recommendation from a previous customer if there happy to be contacted is a big boost to what your offering.
3) Don't put down your fellow tradesmen - When your pricing up the job for the customer don't try and put down your competitors, it comes across that your in bad taste. If someone asked "who else is quoting?" and started to put them down it wouldn't really come across well to me the customer.
4) Be approachable - Over the years as a salesman i always tried to be different, i would never make it all about work, i would try and strike up something personal when dealing with my customers, I'm not saying tell them your life story but when going to a customers property there house will tell you alot about them, if i had just finished 2 weeks of painting and decorating and a landscaper came to my house to price a job up and mentioned about the work I'd done, I'd be pretty chuffed and that man would stick in my head when choosing, same as seeing a football trophy on the mantle piece that there son has won in under 13's football, mention something and if it's something you have in common all the better, These things are something the customer is proud of and giving a compliment goes along way, I'm not saying to come on to strong but just be approachable, another question:- which is easier hiring a stranger or a friend?
5) Be honest - I don't really need to tell you this but don't start promising the world if you can't deliver, if you can't start on the date they want don't say you will and deal with the problem later, be completely straight with your customer and explain the reason why, I'd respect my tradesman alot more if they came straight right of the bat than tell me something and not deliver.
To summarise your customer knows what they want done, what they don't know is what they should be asking, when your pricing the job put the concerns in there head and address them before they ask, it will show them that you care and that it seems that others don't, it also puts you in a terrific light if your the last man to quote because if others before you haven't addressed the concerns you have put in there head then it makes you look like the best man for the job and again if a trademan comes after you and they can't answer the questions you answered it makes them look less professional as you.
Finally i was lucky enough after only a few days of starting this blog to be contacted by Tradesmen direct, on a similar goal as myself to help tradesmen and customers alike, Please click on the link below and find out what this website can offer you to help.
http://www.tradesmenconnect.com/
Knowing your supplier.
This next post is about knowing your supplier and how they work, if you familiarise yourself on how your suppliers work then it speeds up the processes of:-
a) Buying goods (when you have to pay)
b) Credits
c) Booking Deliveries
d) Ordering in stock
e) Pricing Jobs
f) Ordering in special items
Now you maybe asking how do i find out this information, well it's as simple as asking your supplier, once you have this information it means that you can make the decision on who to use for certain items, but i will break the list down on what this information will benefit you on and how it will help you save money and time.
Buying Goods:- For this cash accounts aren't really relevant as you pay as you go but credit accounts there usually attached to a 30-60 day credit agreement booking the goods at the right time could be the difference of paying for goods at the end of the month or the month after, you may not be to bothered when you pay but if you book goods on the last working day of the month you will be paying roughly 30 days earlier than if you booked them on the first day of the month after. If your waiting for a customer to pay or snagging is taking a little longer than expected then this could help you. If your account is on stop how can you start the next job or even finish the current one?
Credits:- I will be posting another page on this subject as there are many details to this but just to give you a little information make sure you know your suppliers return policy, an expensive item that can't be returned is a big lump of cash that you can't spend or use.
Booking Deliveries:- Very important to be organised on booking deliveries as asking at 16:00 for a deliver the next morning is going to be very unlikely no matter how hard you push your supplier for it, ask the question, if you booked your delivery 3 days ago for a morning drop and an unorganised builder comes in screaming and shouting for a drop the next morning and your delivery gets pushed back to the afternoon you wouldn't be particularly happy would you? so state the importance of your delivery when booking your slot, again booking deliveries is a broad subject and will have another post for this subject.
Ordering in stock:- This subject will also need another post but to give you a little information check your lead times on items, if your asking for a price then always follow up with the question "do you have it all in stock?" there's no point in organising a start date for a job if your supplier only has 70% of the goods you need.
Pricing jobs:- This goes back to the first post and who you deal with as a contact, there's nothing worse than trying to quote for a job and your contact is slow at coming back to you with prices and availability, to combat this the best option is to go into the branch and sit with your contact as they price the job it may take 1/2 an hour to do but which would you prefer, waiting a few days for them to come back to you or spending a short amount of time and walking off with a hard copy in your hand and being able to price a job confidently knowing what your items will cost.
Ordering in special items:- A minefield in no uncertain terms, be very careful on who you choose for this, just because your supplier is classed as a stockist doesn't mean they will get a good price on the item you need, you could be paying well over the odds because you didn't do your homework, a helpful tip is if the item you need is from a certain supplier and your merchant stocks alot of other items that they do then chances are they will be getting a good price, if they don't stock any of there goods then chances are they won't get a great price, of course there are exceptions to this rule but always put the enquiry forward to all your suppliers.
a) Buying goods (when you have to pay)
b) Credits
c) Booking Deliveries
d) Ordering in stock
e) Pricing Jobs
f) Ordering in special items
Now you maybe asking how do i find out this information, well it's as simple as asking your supplier, once you have this information it means that you can make the decision on who to use for certain items, but i will break the list down on what this information will benefit you on and how it will help you save money and time.
Buying Goods:- For this cash accounts aren't really relevant as you pay as you go but credit accounts there usually attached to a 30-60 day credit agreement booking the goods at the right time could be the difference of paying for goods at the end of the month or the month after, you may not be to bothered when you pay but if you book goods on the last working day of the month you will be paying roughly 30 days earlier than if you booked them on the first day of the month after. If your waiting for a customer to pay or snagging is taking a little longer than expected then this could help you. If your account is on stop how can you start the next job or even finish the current one?
Credits:- I will be posting another page on this subject as there are many details to this but just to give you a little information make sure you know your suppliers return policy, an expensive item that can't be returned is a big lump of cash that you can't spend or use.
Booking Deliveries:- Very important to be organised on booking deliveries as asking at 16:00 for a deliver the next morning is going to be very unlikely no matter how hard you push your supplier for it, ask the question, if you booked your delivery 3 days ago for a morning drop and an unorganised builder comes in screaming and shouting for a drop the next morning and your delivery gets pushed back to the afternoon you wouldn't be particularly happy would you? so state the importance of your delivery when booking your slot, again booking deliveries is a broad subject and will have another post for this subject.
Ordering in stock:- This subject will also need another post but to give you a little information check your lead times on items, if your asking for a price then always follow up with the question "do you have it all in stock?" there's no point in organising a start date for a job if your supplier only has 70% of the goods you need.
Pricing jobs:- This goes back to the first post and who you deal with as a contact, there's nothing worse than trying to quote for a job and your contact is slow at coming back to you with prices and availability, to combat this the best option is to go into the branch and sit with your contact as they price the job it may take 1/2 an hour to do but which would you prefer, waiting a few days for them to come back to you or spending a short amount of time and walking off with a hard copy in your hand and being able to price a job confidently knowing what your items will cost.
Ordering in special items:- A minefield in no uncertain terms, be very careful on who you choose for this, just because your supplier is classed as a stockist doesn't mean they will get a good price on the item you need, you could be paying well over the odds because you didn't do your homework, a helpful tip is if the item you need is from a certain supplier and your merchant stocks alot of other items that they do then chances are they will be getting a good price, if they don't stock any of there goods then chances are they won't get a great price, of course there are exceptions to this rule but always put the enquiry forward to all your suppliers.
Tuesday 5 February 2013
Account Management.
My next tip follows on from my second post, it's extremely easy to fall into a routine of just ordering goods without questioning price especially when you have a credit account.
When your in this routine your losing money, you may question this tip because of the time you think you will need to spend managing your prices but it doesn't need to be this way, it only needs doing once a year and when its done it's very easy to manage and your suppliers will have no excuses.
Once again you will need to ask for a print out of all your pricing terms that are attached to your account, once you have these please take the time to go through them, it is in your best interests.
Now as far as i know you have your invoices sent through by post or you have them sent by e-mail (e-mail is a lot easier to manage) take the time to check your items on a daily basis, if you don't have the time then do it weekly but please please please do check them, i have come across big spending accounts that other salesmen have managed and with a helpful tool with the system i use i can check what items the account has bought.
A particular customer built 3 new build houses from the ground up and the list of goods was substantial but when i went through that list of goods the variances on price was shocking worse still......the customer wasn't even aware, the salesmen in question was a manager and when i flagged this up he told me to keep it quiet as if i did bring this to light the credits we would have to do would amount to thousands over a stretch of eight months, now I'm not saying merchants and companies are devious or out to trip you up far from it, it's in there best interests also as when your account is better managed it means less work for everyone and we all know time is money in the construction industry.
so to summarise this post please do the following:-
a) Get your terms set up and ask for a hard copy yourself.
b) Check your invoices.
This maybe telling you how to suck eggs but so many customers don't do this or feel they have done it in the past and don't need to do it again but let me remind you come January of any year there are price increases and 2 of the the four companies i work for have a system that deletes the pricing term that was set the previous year, the reason? if your set on a very very competitive rate on timber and there's a price increase of between 5-15% it means that the company selling it loses money holding the price so the system deletes the term, if your dealing with a very helpful member of staff they will inform you of this and reset the term, that brings me to a question......how many of you have had a call giving you the information of a price increase and that your terms are being reset?
When your in this routine your losing money, you may question this tip because of the time you think you will need to spend managing your prices but it doesn't need to be this way, it only needs doing once a year and when its done it's very easy to manage and your suppliers will have no excuses.
Once again you will need to ask for a print out of all your pricing terms that are attached to your account, once you have these please take the time to go through them, it is in your best interests.
Now as far as i know you have your invoices sent through by post or you have them sent by e-mail (e-mail is a lot easier to manage) take the time to check your items on a daily basis, if you don't have the time then do it weekly but please please please do check them, i have come across big spending accounts that other salesmen have managed and with a helpful tool with the system i use i can check what items the account has bought.
A particular customer built 3 new build houses from the ground up and the list of goods was substantial but when i went through that list of goods the variances on price was shocking worse still......the customer wasn't even aware, the salesmen in question was a manager and when i flagged this up he told me to keep it quiet as if i did bring this to light the credits we would have to do would amount to thousands over a stretch of eight months, now I'm not saying merchants and companies are devious or out to trip you up far from it, it's in there best interests also as when your account is better managed it means less work for everyone and we all know time is money in the construction industry.
so to summarise this post please do the following:-
a) Get your terms set up and ask for a hard copy yourself.
b) Check your invoices.
This maybe telling you how to suck eggs but so many customers don't do this or feel they have done it in the past and don't need to do it again but let me remind you come January of any year there are price increases and 2 of the the four companies i work for have a system that deletes the pricing term that was set the previous year, the reason? if your set on a very very competitive rate on timber and there's a price increase of between 5-15% it means that the company selling it loses money holding the price so the system deletes the term, if your dealing with a very helpful member of staff they will inform you of this and reset the term, that brings me to a question......how many of you have had a call giving you the information of a price increase and that your terms are being reset?
New accounts.
My second post will be about starting up a new account within a merchant you haven't used before, i would highly recommend this, If your with one merchant they have the monopoly over your business so the steps you want to take for this is as follows:-
1) Speak to your current sole merchant and ask them if you can have a print out of the pricing terms set up on your account, now this will give you a very good indication on how they have been treating your account, If they say wait 2 minutes i will get it printed then it's clear they have taken the time to manage your account and the terms have been set prior to you asking this question, if they ask for a little bit of time to get it done it's clear they have let the account trade with very little or no terms (this doesn't mean they haven't given you good prices in the past, it just means they haven't taken the time to set your prices).
2) Once you have the terms go to another merchant, i would really advise you to ask for the manager at this point, explain that you have another account at "x company" and you wish to see if others can do better, give them a copy of your terms but make sure you state that 2 other merchants are going to be given the same chance, you can find a few other merchants but saying you are if your not just puts that thought in the managers mind, when pricing up he will always have in his head "what will my competitor be going in at?" this will drive down the price further.
Once this is done wait for the call, unless your dealing with a merchant that sells everything at a loss you will find alot of items will make a substantial saving to your overall purchases.
Now at this point make sure that you don't burn your bridges, just state to your current merchant that the competition have been chasing you and have come back with what they can offer, give the competitors price list to them, state that you will still use them for the cheapest items but unless they come down on price for the rest you will be forced to use there competitor, it's a win win situation for you all, it means that your terms get set on your account, your prices come down to a more competitive rate and you now have more options when pricing up jobs.
1) Speak to your current sole merchant and ask them if you can have a print out of the pricing terms set up on your account, now this will give you a very good indication on how they have been treating your account, If they say wait 2 minutes i will get it printed then it's clear they have taken the time to manage your account and the terms have been set prior to you asking this question, if they ask for a little bit of time to get it done it's clear they have let the account trade with very little or no terms (this doesn't mean they haven't given you good prices in the past, it just means they haven't taken the time to set your prices).
2) Once you have the terms go to another merchant, i would really advise you to ask for the manager at this point, explain that you have another account at "x company" and you wish to see if others can do better, give them a copy of your terms but make sure you state that 2 other merchants are going to be given the same chance, you can find a few other merchants but saying you are if your not just puts that thought in the managers mind, when pricing up he will always have in his head "what will my competitor be going in at?" this will drive down the price further.
Once this is done wait for the call, unless your dealing with a merchant that sells everything at a loss you will find alot of items will make a substantial saving to your overall purchases.
Now at this point make sure that you don't burn your bridges, just state to your current merchant that the competition have been chasing you and have come back with what they can offer, give the competitors price list to them, state that you will still use them for the cheapest items but unless they come down on price for the rest you will be forced to use there competitor, it's a win win situation for you all, it means that your terms get set on your account, your prices come down to a more competitive rate and you now have more options when pricing up jobs.
Monday 4 February 2013
The first steps & my credibility.
So you want to save money on your building materials? well stick with me and I will be able to steer you in the right direction it doesnt matter where your from these tips are universal, a few things i wanted to get out of the way first:-
1) I'm not a conman after your hard earned cash, my motives? I have had a lot of good customers go under due to the recession, after dealing with these guys for many years and to see them go under due to a customer not paying or a bad decision on buying goods it's not nice and i don't mind admitting that a lot of these guys became good friends, It doesn't matter if your the greatest tradesman in the country you will still be vulnerable if other aspects aren't addressed.
2) I work within the building sector at a merchant, I have been a manager for 4 years, before that I worked as a salesman for 8 years, I know how merchants work and I know how independents work, I have been with 4 companies that all work very differently but all with the same goal, to make as much money as possible with the highest margin.
With that out of the way lets talk about the first step you should be taking as a tradesman.
My first piece of advice when dealing with a merchant is choose a contact, now this is a bit tricky because the perfect person doesn't exist, that person is built up over a number of people:-
Sales represensative:- So the sales rep who is out in the car all day is usually the keenest on price but in my experiences they are very unreliable, they may bend over backwards to get your business but once your in the merchants web they drift off looking for the next fly to catch, there are exceptions but let me remind you it's a lottery win unless your a top 5 spending customer (I know a lot of you will nod and say "yep I'm in the top 5" but please don't be naive).
Salesman:- The range of skill, attitude, reliability, product knowledge, work ethic you get with these guys is huge, I've come across salesmen that couldn't count to ten or spell there name and again I've come across salesmen that don't have any balls and fold like paper when challenged on price, if you can get a good salesmen who has drive, passion, product knowledge and isn't too company focused then stick with him, again there difficult to find and difficult to spot.
Manager:- I would say avoid because he would be company orientated and has targets to hit within the branch and usually has a bonus scheme attached to the performance of the branch but there are rare occasions where they are the best to deal with, they have the highest authority when pricing, they have a broad product knowledge and most sales reports I've seen over the years it's always the managers that have the lowest sales margin. Added bonus if something goes wrong you know the manager will pull out the stops to rectify it.
So this is the first of many tips that will be posted on the blog, if any of you have any questions about the trade, the blog or about me then please don't hesitate to ask, I'm here to help.
1) I'm not a conman after your hard earned cash, my motives? I have had a lot of good customers go under due to the recession, after dealing with these guys for many years and to see them go under due to a customer not paying or a bad decision on buying goods it's not nice and i don't mind admitting that a lot of these guys became good friends, It doesn't matter if your the greatest tradesman in the country you will still be vulnerable if other aspects aren't addressed.
2) I work within the building sector at a merchant, I have been a manager for 4 years, before that I worked as a salesman for 8 years, I know how merchants work and I know how independents work, I have been with 4 companies that all work very differently but all with the same goal, to make as much money as possible with the highest margin.
With that out of the way lets talk about the first step you should be taking as a tradesman.
My first piece of advice when dealing with a merchant is choose a contact, now this is a bit tricky because the perfect person doesn't exist, that person is built up over a number of people:-
Sales represensative:- So the sales rep who is out in the car all day is usually the keenest on price but in my experiences they are very unreliable, they may bend over backwards to get your business but once your in the merchants web they drift off looking for the next fly to catch, there are exceptions but let me remind you it's a lottery win unless your a top 5 spending customer (I know a lot of you will nod and say "yep I'm in the top 5" but please don't be naive).
Salesman:- The range of skill, attitude, reliability, product knowledge, work ethic you get with these guys is huge, I've come across salesmen that couldn't count to ten or spell there name and again I've come across salesmen that don't have any balls and fold like paper when challenged on price, if you can get a good salesmen who has drive, passion, product knowledge and isn't too company focused then stick with him, again there difficult to find and difficult to spot.
Manager:- I would say avoid because he would be company orientated and has targets to hit within the branch and usually has a bonus scheme attached to the performance of the branch but there are rare occasions where they are the best to deal with, they have the highest authority when pricing, they have a broad product knowledge and most sales reports I've seen over the years it's always the managers that have the lowest sales margin. Added bonus if something goes wrong you know the manager will pull out the stops to rectify it.
So this is the first of many tips that will be posted on the blog, if any of you have any questions about the trade, the blog or about me then please don't hesitate to ask, I'm here to help.
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