Help Finding Electrical Work

[wade88]

Hi mate,

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

 

[swissjohn]

Hi Guys


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


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


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


Location Number of Local Searches
electrician london

9900​

domestic electricians

6600​

electrician sheffield

3600​

electricians belfast

2900​

electrician manchester

2400​

electricians in leeds

2400​

electricians surrey

2400​

electricians essex

1900​

electricians in nottingham

1900​

electrician glasgow

1600​

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


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


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


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


Kind regards


John
Lead Generation | FastGrowth.co.uk

 

[johnosman]

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


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

 

[IrishSparks]

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

 

[kung]

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

 

[IrishSparks]

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

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

 

[kung]

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

 

[sparkyeis]

Hi all,

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

Cheers

 

[HSEGovJobs]

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

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

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

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

hope that helps.

 

[virgil]

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

 

[nigpow3]

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

 

[maper1]

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

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

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

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

Hope that helps.

 

[D E P Northeast]

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

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

 

[D E P Northeast]

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

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

 

[Plonker 3]

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

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

 

[D E P Northeast]

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

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

 

[dave30]

great post man very handy food for thought

 

[11kstanton]

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

 

[jharrington]

Thanks dan that has helped alot

 

[Jamie-E]

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

 

[Brit5works]

Interesting reading about ways to bring in work. Have any of you guys found half decent website based work? Ive been buying leads on Rated People for just over 1 month and although ive had 4 jobs and 3 good ratings the last 4 leads i purchased were a waste of money as the "customer" wants a cheap quote and some of them dont really want the work done?
Got my own back on RP today as i rated their service and gave them 3 out of 10! Which i felt was about right.
Has anyone used Service Magic or Trust a Trader? I would be interested to hear of any similar experiences from other electricians.

 

[markc123]

Interesting reading about ways to bring in work. Have any of you guys found half decent website based work? Ive been buying leads on Rated People for just over 1 month and although ive had 4 jobs and 3 good ratings the last 4 leads i purchased were a waste of money as the "customer" wants a cheap quote and some of them dont really want the work done?
Got my own back on RP today as i rated their service and gave them 3 out of 10! Which i felt was about right.
Has anyone used Service Magic or Trust a Trader? I would be interested to hear of any similar experiences from other electricians.

Not used any of them. But, someone on here a few weeks ago was saying that one of these websites doesn't hold your personal details very securely...can't remember which out of them 3 it was - but apparantly, anyone can ring up pretending to be you and get whatever they want.

Not had any experience personally but from what i've heard....be very careful.

 

[Jay Sparks]

Not used any of them. But, someone on here a few weeks ago was saying that one of these websites doesn't hold your personal details very securely...can't remember which out of them 3 it was - but apparantly, anyone can ring up pretending to be you and get whatever they want.

Not had any experience personally but from what i've heard....be very careful.

It was Rated people.com. I am with them for another month, then im sacking it!!!

 

[RobMorg]

Do not whatever you do sign up with service magic, I was with them for about 8 months, felt obliged to stay because of the 40 quid joining fee! But after being charged 24 quid last month for a job I didn't even get and 18 quid for another one the month before, I rung them up and told them where to shove it.
You pay the joining fee and then tell them what kind of jobs u want to be sent and how far you want to travel etc. Then they txt and email the jobs 2 u. Then for every job they send u they charge u. I think i was charged about 8 quid for a lighting fault but a rewire was around 30 quid!! Not so bad if u get the job but they send the same job to four different tradesmen in the same area so only a 1 in 4 chance of getting it!! The only winners here are service magic!!!

 

[lowey_02]

I like this a lot...thanks Dan :thumbup:

 

[TheMunk]

Great post will be trying some of these out this week, thanks Dan