How to Win More Profitable Work
Written for the UK tradesperson, but the principles apply in most English-speaking countries.
Plenty of tradespeople are busy all week and still short of money at the end of the month. The problem isn't a lack of work. It's the wrong work: jobs priced too low, customers who haggle and pay late, and long drives for small jobs that barely cover the fuel.
More work is not the goal. More profitable work is. That means knowing which jobs make you money, going after more of them, and turning down or re-pricing the ones that don't. This post sets out how to do it, step by step.
Step 1: Find out which jobs actually make you money
You can't win more profitable work until you know which work is profitable. Most tradespeople judge a job by its total price. That tells you very little. What matters is how much you keep for every hour you spend on it.
Here's an example. Two jobs are both priced at £1,200:
• Job A: £400 of materials, 20 hours of labour. £800 left over, which is £40 per hour.
• Job B: £200 of materials, 12.5 hours of labour. £1,000 left over, which is £80 per hour.
Both jobs look the same on paper. Job B earns twice as much for every hour you work. If you could replace Job A with another Job B, you'd earn more while working fewer hours.
Go back through your jobs from the last six to twelve months and work out what each type of job earned per hour. You may be surprised which ones are carrying your business and which ones are dragging it down. TradeProfit's forecast vs actual feature does this for you on every job, so you can see which job types make you money and which don't.
Step 2: Decide what work you want
Once you know which jobs pay best, decide what you want more of. Be specific:
• Which types of job?
• Which areas? Travel time is unpaid time, so jobs close to home are usually worth more.
• Which type of customer? Homeowners, landlords, letting agents, builders or commercial clients?
• What minimum job size makes a visit worthwhile?
Then point your marketing at that work. Your website, van signage, social media posts and the photos you share should all show the jobs you want to win, not the jobs you'd rather avoid.
Step 3: Qualify enquiries before you visit
Every site visit costs you time and fuel. If you visit every enquiry, you'll spend a lot of unpaid hours quoting for jobs you were never going to win or never wanted.
Ask a few questions on the phone first:
• What exactly needs doing?
• When do they want it done?
• Have they got a budget in mind?
• Are they getting other quotes, and how many?
• Are they the person who makes the decision?
• How did they hear about you?
The answers tell you whether the job fits the work you want and whether the customer is serious. If someone is getting six quotes and choosing the cheapest, you can politely decline and save yourself half a day.
Step 4: Respond quickly and turn up on time
Many customers choose the first tradesperson who calls back, turns up when they said they would and sends a quote promptly. These things cost you nothing, and a surprising number of your competitors don't do them.
Reply to enquiries the same day. Confirm appointments in advance. Arrive on time, or call if you're running late. Send your quote within the time you promised. Customers who see that you're reliable before the job starts will pay more for that reliability.
Step 5: Price properly and don't compete on price
If you win work by being the cheapest, you'll attract customers who only care about price. They're usually the ones who haggle, add extras without paying for them and pay late.
Work out your price from your real costs and the profit you need, not from what you think the customer will accept. Our guide on how to price a job properly shows you how. The two biggest parts of most prices are labour and materials, so make sure you're estimating labour times accurately and pricing materials correctly.
A properly worked-out price is also easier to defend. If a customer questions it, you can explain what it covers instead of cutting it.
Step 6: Send quotes that sell your value
A price on its own invites comparison with the cheapest quote. A professional quote shows the customer what they're getting for their money. Include:
• A clear description of the work and what's included
• What's not included, so there are no arguments later
• The timescale and start date
• Payment terms and stages
• How long the quote is valid for
• Guarantees, certification and insurance
• Your qualifications and trade memberships
On larger jobs, consider offering two or three options, such as a standard specification and an upgraded one. Many customers choose the middle option, and it changes their question from "should I use this tradesperson?" to "which option do I want?"
Step 7: Follow up every quote
Most tradespeople send a quote and wait. Many customers simply haven't got round to deciding, and a polite follow-up is often all it takes to win the job.
Contact the customer three to five days after sending the quote to check they received it and ask if they have any questions. If there's no decision, follow up again a week or so later. Keep it friendly and helpful, never pushy.
Step 8: Build repeat work and referrals
The most profitable customer is one you already have. There's no marketing cost, no competition from other quotes, and they already trust you. Referrals from happy customers come with most of that trust built in.
• Ask every satisfied customer for an online review, while the job is fresh.
• Ask directly for referrals to friends, family and neighbours.
• Keep in touch with past customers, for example with a reminder when a service or inspection is due.
• Build relationships with landlords, letting agents and builders who can give you regular work.
Step 9: Consider commercial and contract work
Contracts with housing associations, schools, councils and commercial clients can give you a steady flow of work, larger jobs and less time spent chasing individual customers. Many of these contracts are awarded through tenders.
Tendering takes preparation. You'll need policies, method statements, risk assessments, insurance and evidence of past work. Payment terms on commercial work can also be longer, and some contracts hold back a retention, so check the terms carefully and price for them. Done properly, contract work can become one of the most reliable parts of your business.
Step 10: Track your win rate and your profit
Keep a simple record of every quote you send and whether you won it. Your win rate tells you a lot:
• If you win almost every quote, your prices are probably too low.
• If you win very few, look at the type of enquiries you're quoting for, how quickly you respond and how your quotes look, before you cut your prices.
Then check the profit on the jobs you win. Winning more work only helps if the work you win actually makes money.
The short version
Find out which jobs earn the most per hour. Decide what work you want and market for it. Qualify enquiries before you visit. Be quick and reliable. Price properly and don't compete on price. Send professional quotes and follow them up. Look after past customers and ask for referrals. Consider contract work. Track your win rate and your profit, and adjust.
See which jobs are really worth winning
You can't choose more profitable work until you know which work is profitable. TradeProfit shows you the real profit on every job after labour, materials, van, travel and labourer costs. Compare your forecast with what the job actually earned, and see at a glance which types of work make you money and which don't. It's free for your first 10 jobs, and no credit card is needed.
Know your real profit on every job.
Thinking about contract work? Winning Work: The Tradesman's Complete Guide to Tendering takes you through the whole tendering process, from finding contracts to writing winning bids. Its free tendering toolkit includes business forms, method statement templates, policy documents and a Commercial Contractor Pack.