Business development.

[kopkings]

Evening All,

Being rather new to the forum, I wanted to ask you experienced guys for some advice. I've been self employed for nearly 2 years and so far, pretty good in terms of workload. I've been looking into 2 areas where I could develop the business, but not entirely sure how to go about it. These are:

1. How to become a recommended tradesman for Home Insurance Companies like Aviva, Direct line etc. My in-laws recently had an emergency call out for plumbing, and the plumber told them he is constantly busy through the home insurance business - so how does a self employed electrician register with the likes of Direct line and Aviva as one of their recommended tradesmen? I've looked at their websites and got a complete blank.......

2. I've been thinking of providing domestic clients with something more in terms of services then what I do now as an electrician and was thinking along the lines of how to develop properties so they become more greener, use less energy and reduce there bills. I'm pondering PV and have researched training courses etc, Green Deal Adviser training and Voltage Optimization on top of the low energy lighting I'm constantly recommending and getting a lot of work in. Basically, I want to be able to go to clients and suggest a range of ideas, either singularly or collectively, that will help them reduce there own bills and even generate their own power. Any advice, thoughts etc would be welcome.

Thanks all and happy new year.

Kopking.

 

[Arnold Layne]

Kopkings, I have little experience of the domestic sector but for what it is worth a couple of thoughts are as follows:

On Insurance companies it is likely that they have a list of Approved Companies, so call them up or e mail them and ask how to get on to their Approved lists. That said be aware that they may require companies of a certain size who can deliver a fast response service and that the ones you have named are very likely to drive a hard bargain on pricing as they are mass market providers. There are some specialists who only deal with Premium properties and if you have enough of this property type in your area they may be worth considering as they will be less price sensitive than the mass market insurers.

Adding more in terms of green technologies/low energy usage is definitely a strategy that should work. As bills get higher customers will be more interested in this approach. Some of your local Architects may be Energy Assessors and if possible it might help to talk to one of them, as they could be a good source of leads for work for you.

Good luck and I hope it all works out for you.