Any Advice ?

[kensplace]

i suppose, so it should be 'buy cheap buy 3 times' then ?

or buy cheap, and risk buying all your belongings again that got stolen due to the cheap alarm not working properly.

[Guest anguscanplay]

One point being overlooked is the 'reputable' companies that vastly overcharge an unsuspecting customer - then wonder why they ultimately end up with a dissatisfied customer.

Has someone already pointed out. Easy to lose a customer, damned difficult to retain.

nah - everybody says "price isn`t important............"

[arfur mo]

One point being overlooked is the 'reputable' companies that vastly overcharge an unsuspecting customer - then wonder why they ultimately end up with a dissatisfied customer.

Has someone already pointed out. Easy to lose a customer, damned difficult to retain.

from post 9

"..........it takes forever to get a good name, takes but seconds to get a bad one, a good reputation is forever 'work in progress' or you have already lost it."

well it got close me thinks

regs

alan

[Cubit]

from post 9

"..........it takes forever to get a good name, takes but seconds to get a bad one, a good reputation is forever 'work in progress' or you have already lost it."

well it got close me thinks

regs

alan

Right sentiment Arf, but coming from a slightly different angle.

There are instances where perceived reputable companies vastly overcharge - for reasons known only to themsselves - get rumbled then ruin it for everyone. Public perception becomes something on the lines of " a friend of mine once got a .....", well, you know the rest.

[NitroN]

Dont agrre about the cheap thing. People want Value for money and Quality not cheap. Or at least our customers do, else we would all be in the cheapest cars, with the cheapest pc's, homes etc.

I dont want cheap when i buy anything i want good. Security systems are more than equipment the way they are designed/installed and serviced if more important than than the manufacturer brand. I accept there is a large market that want cheap now, dont care about later but i myself avoid that market as the only way to make money is to do it short term then dissappear when the problems start.

Buy cheap buy twice

I agree with redbull completely in terms of "value for money" over mere price!

A mate of mine decided to change his strategy and go for bulk installation sales instead of quality. He moved to a cheaper product and halved his teams install time. He looked back after three months and while he had doubled his sales, his net profit remained the same, as he made less profit per job, had many more call-backs from his jobs (because of shortcuts taken, product problems, etc,) had worked twice as hard and had adversely affected his reputation. He swapped straight back to his old style, was less stressed and made the same profit and gets plenty of referrals again.

You must remember that if you work in the "cheap or budget" market, your leads and referrals are going to come from this market

[whistle]

I agree with redbull completely in terms of "value for money" over mere price!

A mate of mine decided to change his strategy and go for bulk installation sales instead of quality. He moved to a cheaper product and halved his teams install time. He looked back after three months and while he had doubled his sales, his net profit remained the same, as he made less profit per job, had many more call-backs from his jobs (because of shortcuts taken, product problems, etc,) had worked twice as hard and had adversely affected his reputation. He swapped straight back to his old style, was less stressed and made the same profit and gets plenty of referrals again.

You must remember that if you work in the "cheap or budget" market, your leads and referrals are going to come from this market

[Guest anguscanplay]

Top post 100% agree with you.

you would do - your not trying to start a new company

[NitroN]

you would do - your not trying to start a new company

In the present economy, I would be hesitant to start my own business in the UK now, unless I had a good potential client base that knew me and trusted me. But I would even be more hesistant to start a company based on price over quality.

My contacts tell me that residential sales are down but corporate sales are still booming, especially in CCTV and Access Control. But its hard to get into commercial business, right away, unless you have contacts or a reputation.

Is there ever a right time to start your own business? You need to be prepared, have sufficient capital, know the risks, have good contacts and lots of courage.

My previous advice assumes all this, and tries to give some ideas, I'm sorry you don't approve.

You seem to give conflicting advice, you seem to advocate price versus quality for new businesses, but according to you, if you don't do quality, you will be out of business in 6 years anyway, due to callouts. You also state that you can afford to do installations at no profit, why would you want to? The only reason I can see anyone wanting to do this is if they own an ARC, where the recuring revenue, is the most important factor.

Truesecurity still has an income, so he has already minimised his risks, and the original post was about whether to get registered. He is already in the trade (16 years), so he should know the risks, the capital requirements, etc. I just thought he might need some sales advice.

My only other advice to Truesecurity is that he writes a comprehensive business plan before starting, if he has not done so already.

Regards

NitroN

[Guest anguscanplay]

In the present economy, I would be hesitant to start my own business in the UK now, unless I had a good potential client base that knew me and trusted me. But I would even be more hesistant to start a company based on price over quality. quite rightly too, unfortunaly that is the ONLY way your going to get started in the current climate

My contacts tell me that residential sales are down not IMO but corporate sales are still booming,for the established firms especially in CCTV and Access Control. But its hard to get into commercial business, right away, unless you have contacts or a reputation. and approved

Is there ever a right time to start your own business? You need to be prepared, have sufficient capital, know the risks, have good contacts and lots of courage.

My previous advice assumes all this, and tries to give some ideas, I'm sorry you don't approve.I havn`t said anything to make you assume that

You seem to give conflicting advice, you seem to advocate price versus quality for new businesses, but according to you, if you don't do quality, you will be out of business in 6 years anyway, due to callouts. You also state that you can afford to do installations at no profit, why would you want to? er? because he isnt going to be poaching any of my customers and I have bigger pockets than him.The only reason I can see anyone wanting to do this is if they own an ARC, ARC doesnt come into it, any security firm gets its real income from recuring not install where the recuring revenue, is the most important factor. sorry you misread - most guys leave the trade through choice in year 6 (in my experiance) due to the pressure of callouts not the cost of doing them.

Truesecurity still has an income, so he has already minimised his risks, and the original post was about whether to get registered. He is already in the trade (16 years), so he should know the risks, the capital requirements, etc. I just thought he might need some sales advice. unfortunaltly thats where me and total fall out, if he`s left work then fair enough otherwise he`s just leeching (non intended Ross)

My only other advice to Truesecurity is that he writes a comprehensive business plan before starting, if he has not done so already.very true

Regards

NitroN

point I`m trying to make is he`s getting advice from people WITH trading alarm firms who are comparing the situation to when they started, it isnt the same today.

The quality market was tied up years ago.

look at what the reletavly new start up`s have posted from the last few years - fitting comms to 20 year old garbage. offering to drive 3hrs for a service visit and getting stuffed by contracting firms

There again if your based near me then go for it - I`t will increase my customer base nicely by the end of the decade LOL

[arfur mo]

point I`m trying to make is he`s getting advice from people WITH trading alarm firms who are comparing the situation to when they started, it isnt the same today.

The quality market was tied up years ago.

look at what the reletavly new start up`s have posted from the last few years - fitting comms to 20 year old garbage. offering to drive 3hrs for a service visit and getting stuffed by contracting firms

There again if your based near me then go for it - I`t will increase my customer base nicely by the end of the decade LOL

Gus, excercising caution (as you have done) is always good advice, i don't paint such a black picture for a start we can't say as to Ross's ability to generate sales or where his sales feeds will come from.

i wonder has he ever worked in sales? has he for that matter worked on service where you get far more chance to see what actually go's wrong with systems, not often so obvious during installation? the results of poor design and poor kit chosen, what clients really care about is not always price, how to deal with difficult clients and smooth the waters if a bollVck is dropped.

thats not all to be concidered when the buck stops with you, lets face it anyone can handle systems which don't play up, with 16 years in he should know what to do, but dealing with people is in your own right is a different kettle of fish as he will surely find out.

biggest thing he should do is get a deposit which covers the capital outlay, if you not paid in full at least you can pay the supplier - and do so promptly within the terms for the 'cash flow' times you can't

i personally wish him all the best, but advise don't just keep to alarm systems or you will likely flounder imo, offer other services such as networking, telephones and CCTv which then generate enquieries into bigger companies, and you become a 'one stop' phone number.

regs

alan