How to get more enquiries as a tradesperson

Finding more trade work

Whether you’re a brand-new plumber or an experienced electrician, every tradesperson wants more business. So, it’s a good thing that the trade sector is currently booming.

More and more people are looking for reputable tradespeople in their area. And that means more potential leads for your business.

However, even with a busy market, you might be finding it hard to get additional leads to fill your schedule. Fortunately, you can rectify this by becoming a Checkatrade member and setting up a profile.

Unsure how to do this? Don’t worry! We’re going to walk you through everything you need to know about using your Checkatrade profile to generate more leads.

What should be included on your Checkatrade profile?

At Checkatrade, we have plenty of experts on hand ready to offer you their advice.

Our Membership Advisors seen it all, what works and what doesn’t. This means they’re in the perfect position to provide you with tips on creating your profile.

Below are their top tips to consider:

• Engage with your profile consistently and regularly. Get into the habit of logging in every day to check for new leads
• Make sure you’re getting recent reviews, around 1-3 every two weeks if possible
• Upload 1-3 new photos to your profile every other week at least and create a feature album with your three best pictures for new customers to see
• Treat your profile as a shop – the search text is your shop window, and if customers like what they see, they’ll come in and look for more
• If you’re booked up, leave a message on your profile so people know your availability
• Providing as much information as possible is key
• Link your Checkatrade profile with your business website and social media accounts so people can see the work you’ve been doing
• Make use of the Checkatrade app for easy profile editing

As you can see, there’s a lot to bear in mind. Fortunately, once you get into the habit of using your profile, it’ll become one of your go-to work feeds.

The more you put in the more you get out!

Staying active on your profile

You may have noticed that there is a consistent theme with all of our expert’s advice. And that’s to be as active as you can be on your profile.

It’s all about staying up to date and keeping your profile fresh. When you do, you’re giving a nod to our Checkatrade search algorithm that you’re an active member.

And more importantly, customers can see that your profile is up to date with recent reviews and new photos. So, just how can you go about doing this?

1. Clean up your image

First things first, you need to bring your profile page up to scratch. Simply put, the state of your page can greatly impact whether customers choose you or your competitors.

It goes without saying that every business needs a consistent brand, so customers see what makes your company unique. But this doesn’t mean you need to invest a lot in your image.

All you really need is:

• A clean logo
• Pictures of you and your team
• Evidence of previous work
• Reviews
• Summary of what makes you different from your competitors

Remember, standing out from the crowd isn’t really about paying for an expensive website and extensive advertising.

You just need to show customers what you can offer them that your competitors can’t. So, be sure to focus on your unique selling points.

2. Declutter your text

Next up, you need to make sure that your profile is easy to look at and read. Long passages of text can be overwhelming for customers, so you ideally need to keep things short and sweet.

Reduce your sentences by picking out key points that will let potential customers know why they should choose your company. List these in bullet-points, or in one concise paragraph.

To make this process even easier, why not try writing your profile using the SHORT method? Here’s how to do it:

• Write a brief introduction about your company, who you are, and what you offer
• Highlight your top skills, such as experience, qualifications, accreditations, and certifications
• Outline your unique selling points that make you stand out from your competitors
• Review your profile by checking for spelling mistakes and errors, and make sure to update any important information that is outdated
• Tidy up your page by using clear and to-the-point language, ideally using no more than 150 words

And that’s it! Setting up your Checkatrade profile is really that simple!

Putting your Checkatrade profile to work

Now that you’ve got your Checkatrade profile established, it’s time to put it to work. Your member profile provides the ideal place to market your business as a whole.

This means you need to be:

• Regularly uploading pictures of finished projects
• Asking for new reviews

Before and after pictures are the ultimate inspiration for potential customers, so show off what you can do! And don’t forget to interact with those who leave reviews to show you care about your customers.

Why not think about expanding your Checkatrade profile to show your trade business to the right people?

Pass our vetting process to join Checkatrade

By now you’ll hopefully see that having a member profile on Checkatrade is a fantastic way to boost your business. However, in order to become a Checkatrade member, you’ll need to pass our 12-point vetting process.

We want potential customers to be satisfied with their choice of tradesperson. That’s why only the best and most reputable businesses can join Checkatrade.

Speak with our team today to learn more about becoming a member. Our fixed membership option lets you build the plan that’s perfect for you and your business needs.

Content disclaimer: This content has been created for general information purposes and should not be taken as formal advice. Read our full disclaimer here.