To get more of the work you want as a tradesperson, decide exactly which jobs you want more of, then make sure those customers can find you, trust you and reach you quickly: a complete Google Business Profile, plenty of recent reviews, a website with a page for each of those jobs, fast replies to every enquiry, and adverts aimed at that work in the towns you cover.

Most trades we speak to aren’t short of work. They’re short of the right work. Here’s how to change that.

1. Decide what “the right work” is

Be specific. Which jobs do you enjoy, do well and make the money you want on? Which ones do you take because they come in, then regret? Which towns are worth the drive?

Write it down. Everything else on this list is about getting more of the first kind and less of the second.

2. Answer fast

A customer with a problem rings two or three trades. The one who picks up, or rings back first, usually gets the job. If you can’t answer on a job, make sure missed calls and web enquiries reach your phone straight away, and call back within the hour where you can.

3. Get your Google Business Profile right

When someone searches “roofer near me” or “electrician in” their town, the first thing they see is often a map with three local businesses. That’s your Google Business Profile. Fill in every part of it, list the services you want, and add photos of your own work. Our guide to getting your business on Google Maps walks through it.

4. Get reviews, all the time

Reviews are what customers read before they ring. Ask every customer, straight after the job, with a link that opens the review box in one tap. See how to get more Google reviews.

5. Give each job you want its own page

If you want more of a particular job, have a page on your website about exactly that job: what it involves, photos of ones you’ve done, rough timings, the areas you cover and how to get in touch. A customer searching for that job lands on a page that’s clearly about it, not a general homepage.

6. Show your work

Before-and-after photos, short videos of a finished job, a tidy van. Put them on your Google profile, your website and your social media. Proof beats promises.

7. Follow up your quotes

Plenty of work is lost simply because nobody followed up. A friendly text a few days after a quote (“Any questions on the quote?”) wins jobs that would otherwise go quiet.

8. Ask for referrals

Happy customers know people with the same kind of house and the same kind of problems. Ask them to pass your name on, and leave a card or leaflet behind.

9. Run adverts aimed at the work you want

Word of mouth is great, but you can’t turn it up when the diary’s thin. Google Ads put you at the top of Google when someone searches for the job. Meta ads show your work to homeowners near you on Facebook and Instagram. Both can be aimed at particular jobs and particular towns, so you’re paying to reach the customers you want rather than everyone.

Adverts need looking after. Set up badly they waste money fast, so either learn them properly or get someone who does it every day.

10. Track where your jobs come from

Ask every customer how they found you, or better, track calls and enquiries automatically. After a few months you’ll know which of the above brings in the work you want, and you can put more into it.

Want the phone ringing with the right jobs?

That’s what RareBear does for UK tradespeople. We run your Google and Facebook adverts aimed at the jobs you want, the form your customers fill in screens out the work you don’t, and every enquiry is texted straight to your phone. We look after your website, your Google profile and your social media too.

See marketing for trades for what’s included and how pricing works.