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Which Tradesmen Lead Website?
Added: (Thu Nov 12 2009)
Which tradesmen lead site?
Need a plumber?
Recommended builders.
Find a painter.
No doubt we have all seen the Google ads like those above which take you to tradesmen lead websites and promise homeowners an easy way to find tradesmen in their area that are rated by previous customers.
Love them or hate them, lead websites are here to stay; this is a growth area on the web and every month seems to produce a new kid on the lead website block.
The reasons for the growth are clear; it really is easier for homeowners just to post the job they have in mind and wait for you to contact them. No more phoning around to tradesmen who are not in or are not available when needed etc.
Well, more sites means more competition which must be a good thing but tradesmen may now have to spend some valuable work time just trying to decide which lead site or sites to join.
How do they work?
These sites all work in more or less the same way. There are 4 steps in the process.
STEP 1
Homeowner posts his job by choosing the category and describing what has to be done.
STEP 2
Tradesmen "quote" for the job or send a message expressing interest. Visits are often still necessary to give an accurate quote.
STEP 3
The homeowner chooses a tradesman on the basis of the quote and ratings from previous customers.
STEP 4
After the work is done the homeowner logs in again to rate the tradesman's work to help future users.
Of course there are some variations on this process. Step 2 may allow limited numbers of tradesmen or not. In some the tradesmen can get the contact details of the homeowner, in others the homeowner must make the next move to contact the tradesman of their choice.
What factors should you consider in deciding which site(s) to use? We think there are just 2 important ones:
How much does it cost to use the site?
How much work is available on the site?
The costs
The service they offer is free to homeowners but not to tradesmen. The costs to tradesmen vary considerably and they use differing charging structures. There are 3 basic ways of charging tradesmen:
subscription charges
a charge per contact
success charges
Some sites use just one of the above, others use two. Lets take a look at these in more detail:
subscription charges
where there is a charge for full membership for a certain time period
If this is the only type of charge it certainly is simple and straightforward.
charges per contact
where to quote for any one job is charged at a fixed rate
Of course there is no guarantee of success on quoting. Usually the number of tradesmen who can quote for any one job is limited. This method has the problem of what happens if the homeowner has changed his mind or already found someone some other way.
success charges
where you are charged a percentage of your fee (up to a fixed maximum) if you obtain the work. This can be quite a considerable sum, usually far in excess of the other two types of charges. It also is quite expensive for the site to administer. However, of course you only pay if
you get the job!
good value
Easy Trade Quotes (www.EasyTradeQuotes.co.uk) is one of the best value for money sites around that we have found. It charges only subscription fees. Tradesmen can quote for as many jobs as they like in their area (up to 100 miles from base) at no extra cost. The subscription is also surprisingly
good value at just £20 a quarter. "The subscription may have to rise in the future" says director Peter Smith, "but tradesmen who subscribe now will keep the £20 subscription permanently (unless they cancel their subscription and join again later)."
Sign up now before the price goes up - this must be the best value lead websites around.