For many people who own and run trade businesses, the business side of everything is the toughest part. A lot of people with trade skills are great at what they do when it comes to delivering the services they offer, but it’s often a different story when it comes to actually running a business. Business skills aren’t necessarily something you pick up at trade school or while on the job, particularly when it comes to things like marketing, managing appointments, and handling invoices.

 

However, this means that if you run a trade business, you could get ahead of your competition by being a smart business person. Even just improving how you manage leads could put you a cut above the rest. But what should you be doing to manage and grow your business better?

 

Get Help with Marketing

 

Promoting your business is one of the key concerns that any trade business has. Some don’t have much trouble getting work through word of mouth, but you often have to put more effort into promotion if you want high-value jobs. However, you probably don’t want to spend all of your time on marketing when you have other things to do. Fortunately, you can outsource your marketing to someone who knows what they’re doing. There are even agencies specializing in plumbing marketing and other trades. They understand the unique needs of trade businesses and the best ways to generate leads for your business.

 

Use the Right Tools to Manage Your Business

 

You don’t have to be a tech genius to make use of tools and software to help you run your business. While some older trade workers might be set in their ways, many newer businesses are taking advantage of useful tools that make everything easier. From accounting software to mobile payments and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, there are lots of options out there. One possibility might be to look for all-in-one software suites designed for your trade. They can offer all of the tools you need in one place.

 

Automate Some Key Tasks

 

It’s really hard to stay on top of everything when you’re trying to juggle a lot of different tasks. You can end up spending a great deal of time doing things like calculating quotes or doing your accounts instead of actually being on the job. But if you’re not so keen on office work, there are some things you can automate. For example, some of your marketing can be automated so you don’t have to do it yourself. You can automate quotes and proposals using quotation software so you don’t have to spend so much time doing it manually. These things will save you a lot of time.

 

 

Organize Your Time

 

One of the major problems many people running businesses have is that they struggle to organize their time. If you’re both running your business and still working your trade, you have to balance the two things. It’s difficult to find to sort out leads, quotes, invoices, sourcing materials, and other things when you’ve spent all day on the job. But there are many ways to get on top of things and be more organized. You can use calendars, to-do lists, and other tools to organize your time. Being more organized means you can be more attentive to customers and avoid leaving them hanging.

 

Improve Your Customer Service

 

Customer service skills are essential for anyone working in a trade. How to behave on-site or in people’s homes or businesses is something you pick up while working. But when you own a business, you also need to be able to handle other customer service concerns. You need to be able to offer friendly, helpful service and give your clients a good customer experience. Thinking about how you want to present your brand to your customers and what your values as can help you to make improvements to your customer service.

 

Set Standards for Staff

 

If you hire other people, you need to make sure they represent your business in the right way too. Setting high standards for your staff ensures your business can deliver the service that you want to provide. You might start by considering the training, experience, and qualifications or certifications you expect your staff to have. You can also think about the standards you have for them when it comes to customer service and how to behave when working.

Of course, you might not be able to fulfill every single skillful role you need to use, which is where growing your business with outsourcing can be such a worthwhile strategy. Here you can onboard temporary, project-oriented staff for a temporary amount of time, or allow a professional or other service to complete it without your direct oversight and report back for approval. This saves time and energy, but grants you the excellent service you need.

 

You can get ahead in your trade by improving the way you run your business. Creating a good reputation for your business will generate more leads.