Conversations are a two-way process. If you're truly keen on getting people to talk about your business and recommend you as a great tradesperson, it helps to come across as friendly and likeable.

If a potential client calls you wanting home renovations, give them a moment of your time to reinforce why your service is the best.

This primes them to consider you more seriously as well as recommending you to others. After all, no-one wants to contract a tradesperson who brings a negative vibe into their home.

2. Give them your business card

Giving a homeowner your business card when you've completed a job for them – from painting their fence to hanging curtains – gives them the perfect opportunity to talk about you.

After all, if they're going to recommend you to their friends, it helps for them to know how to contact you.

You can get business cards custom-made online and the more you order, the cheaper each unit costs. Just be sure to proof your final design for spelling mistakes!

3. Local flyers

You might be a whiz at hanging wallpaper – so why not promote your business and hang some flyers around local building supply stores, supermarkets and public libraries?

Hanging flyers might seem like an old school tactic, but if your message is clear and locals see the message frequently enough, they'll start to associate your name with the thought of home renovations.

Make sure your name and a contact number is listed on the flyer, too.

4. Be funny

If you've got a social media presence, don't just add to the noise. Instead, you need to create valuable posts and offer interesting commentary to engage people.

Using humour is one way to reel people in. If your own comedy skills are a bit sub-par, put the task in the hands of your client base.

Ask clients to submit their best building, painting or home renovation joke on your social media page and provide a service discount to the best of the lot.

This tactic gets people laughing – even if the jokes are terrible – while engaging with your business. Better yet, the real-time tracker on Facebook will show your client's Facebook friends that they're interacting with your page, which may encourage them to investigate your business.

5. Offer insight

Another way to get people talking about your business is if they see your service as more valuable than that of your competition.

Having a website with maintenance tips for homeowners gives them information that's actually useful and practical.

When they need more serious work done, they're more inclined to turn to you as an expert in the industry.

It's also a great chance for those who come across the information to tell fellow homeowners about it and say "well, I found it on this website – you should check it out".

If you've got a personal website as well as social media pages, make sure the tone of the content is consistent across all these channels.

6. Be known

To get people talking about your business, you need to achieve top of mind awareness (TOMA) among your potential and existing client base.

Being known as the best local wallpaper hanger or the best builder for kitchen renovations requires you to provide a great service that people can't help but talk about among themselves. You want to be the first tradesperson that comes to their minds.

Existing customers will have evidence of this in their own homes. When it comes to potential customers, having a gallery of your past projects on your website, listing your service in local newspapers and dropping brochures in local letterboxes all works in tandem to create TOMA.

March 29, 2014

---