securing letting agency work

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rins

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afternoon lads

writing the perfect ass kissing letter to gain work is not my strong point so i was wondering if any of you guys could give me some tips on how best to sell myself to letting agencies.

how would i begin a fantastic letter that will make them think, i know money is generally the key issue and i wouldnt dream of undercutting but if i can gain atleast 2 small contracts it would hopefully be a step out of my minimum wage factory maintenance job, i now do all the electrics in this factory i feel they taking the p### out of me so i want out, sorry about the rant any help greatly appriciated

 
3 steps of getting in with them.

1. Arrange a meeting with the manager at his local pub.

2. Go to your bank and fill an envelope with cash.

3. Give envelope to agency manager.

A lot of that still goes on I'm afraid and with some its the only way of getting in.

Seriously, make yourself available at all hours and all areas. They want to here you say yes every time and not most of the time. You may end up bending over backwards for them some times but its worth it in the long run, good luck.

 
Cheers lads theres over 100 letting agencies in my area if i could get in with 1 or 2 life would be better i already work with one spark but its all his work we do id like to gain us more work if possible just wondered what would make me stand out abit from the rest, have been thinking about offering a monthly payment scheme with a same day guaranteed service free call out free estimates and discounts on parts anyone do anything similar

 
personally I think letting agency work just isnt worth it,

24/7-365 , not for me, and they want it all doing for next to free!

I do have a few private landlords though, I find them much more amenable.

 
Who you know rather than what you know, is still the greater factor in gaining any employment or securing any contract. A face to face meeting will generally always beat an anonymous letter,

Doc H.

.

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 15:29 ---------- Previous post was made at 15:18 ----------

Cheers lads theres over 100 letting agencies in my area if i could get in with 1 or 2 life would be better i already work with one spark but its all his work we do id like to gain us more work if possible just wondered what would make me stand out abit from the rest, have been thinking about offering a monthly payment scheme with a same day guaranteed service free call out free estimates and discounts on parts anyone do anything similar
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Most people especially other businesses are aware that there is no such thing a free lunch, discounts in reality are only normally feasible on bulk purchases, if your initial clients are only wanting small jobs done then any significant discounting would not be a sustainable business model. Guaranteed same day call out can be difficult for a small business, if all your staff are busy on other jobs what penalties clauses may the customer want built in if you fail to meet your commitment? I doubt any trader advertises a chargeable estimate service, so writing free estimates is just a waste of ink.

Doc H.

 
Things are different up here. Just ONE letting agent in our small town. They happen to be the agent who lets our 2 rental properties, so I know them well anyway, so it just became logical that I do most of their electrical repairs.

As Steps says, usually it's small jobs like broken light switches or sockets. This week I've got to go and fix (replace) a broken shower pull cord switch. This suits my needs as I never intended to be fully employed 8 hours a day 5 days a week, so steady small jobs when there's nothing else on is good for me. but if you need to get lots of work and earn lots of money, then fixing light switches for an estate agent is not the way to do it.

 
Am up in county durham, iam willing to work 24/7 i actually love grafting my b#####ks i enjoy the different work each day brings thing is i want more of my own work or to sub for more clients but its getting your foot in the door, theres no way id get

 
Am just stating the facts research tells me up here that price seems the norm oviously its not great but am just saying what am reading up on

 
U are right steptoe this is why i was after as much input into securing as many letting agencies as i could i know it could be a hard slog but am up for it cheers for advice its much appriciated

 
Beware of Property Management deductions.

I have just ceased doing work for a National company who deduct 15% from all payments made to Contractors expecting you to cover it by increasing your charges up front.

It is just a hidden surcharge of Landords that they do not want them to know about!

 
afternoon ladswriting the perfect ass kissing letter to gain work is not my strong point so i was wondering if any of you guys could give me some tips on how best to sell myself to letting agencies.

how would i begin a fantastic letter that will make them think, i know money is generally the key issue and i wouldnt dream of undercutting but if i can gain atleast 2 small contracts it would hopefully be a step out of my minimum wage factory maintenance job, i now do all the electrics in this factory i feel they taking the p### out of me so i want out, sorry about the rant any help greatly appriciated
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Basic letter writing skills required IMHO...

These are very similar (or the same) skills as when you need to write a report or an assessment of a problem / potential hazard you may encounter on any job...

All electricians capable of working for themselves need the ability to write all kinds of letters, reports etc...

Marketing and promoting yourself, your abilities and strong points, is not much different from trying to explain in layman's terms the pro's and cons of some options to resolve an electrical requirement.

In marketing and sales terms you need to know what your U.S.P. (unique selling point) is???

i.e. what have you got to offer that you competitors haven't got?

Price, Qualifications, No of years experience, Location, Response times, Existing client portfolio, Customer tesimonies... etc.. etc..

are all factors that can make you stand out from someone else..

But only you will know that?

its hard for anyone else to tell you what you are good at! :|

and remember Price is only a useful point if you are still making a profit yourself..

any idiot can undercut others.. and themselves... so you don't remain in business long!

Also no mater how much marketing and promotion you do..

Word of mouth recommendation is still No#1 reference.

How did you progress with this one??? :C

http://www.talk.electricianforum.co.uk/electrician-talk-forum/18794-thoughts-please.html

 
I get mrs streetlighter to do all our admin work shes bloody good at it too. We have written to several local letting agents with no response from any.

 
Problem is, companies get these letters all the time. Does anyone else get letters through the post offering CCTV, lighting, ISO9001, etc? Where do they all go, in the bin!

Reccomendations are the key, but these take time!

Face to face is second best, but going into businesses touting for business seems desperate to me, have you ever had those wholesaler reps ring you up to try and visit you out on site to have an awkward conversation about cable prices and distribution boards. Boring!

What I tend to go for is, if you get yourself into a situation with a potential customer don't waste time and don't overload them, just go over and introduce yourself, give them a card and maybe crack a bit of small talk. Maybe next time you see a builder in the wholesalers (should be banned IMO) or if your picking up for car from the local garage etc.

Its all about putting your name about.

 
Thanks fellas all cracking advice like its been said it takes time, it will come, id say 50% of work ive done so far has come from word of mouth so its progression maybe am just feeling desperate to get out this flaming factory cheers lads

 
Here's how you make money from letting agent agent small jobs:

I've done two this morning, in the same town half a mile from each other.

First one was "make safe some bare wires" on a house being prepared for sale. The bare wires turned out to be the old redundant tails from when the economy 7 supply was removed. they weren't dangerous, just looked so to the eyes of a surveyor. 5 minutes to disconnect and remove them. That's a minimum charge 1 hour to the agent.

Second one was replace that faulty shower switch. Took about 30 minutes in total. Again another hour bill plus the cost of the new switch.

And by doing them on the same day, only one (15 mile round trip) travelling expense to absorb.

I think the message I am trying to give, is you are not on 24/7 emergency call out, and most jobs can wait a few days to fit in with your schedule. that way you can do small jobs efficiently and make money on them.

the further I have to travel, the more I like to bunch up jobs in the same town for the same day.

 
I've always said that there is more money to be made in the small jobs than in the larger jobs generally speaking. Doesn't take much to make a days pay and more often than not for less than a days work.

 

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