How to attract clients? Lead generation for tradesmen and small businesses in South Africa

The biggest problem for 48.4% of professionals and small businesses is not getting enough clients, a survey by Procompare shows. Think of every lead as a potential customer. With a steady stream of leads you will reduce down time and secure an ongoing flow of projects.

But how does a small business like a local plumber, a building contractor or a cleaning business grab more customers?

This article explores ways to draw attention to your business, ensuring that your hard work pays off. Keep reading until the end to discover a smarter approach that combines all the methods listed.

Why is lead generation so hard?

• Economy: South Africa's economic conditions affect the demand for certain services, directly impacting tradesmen's opportunities to find work. In some areas, safety issues impact the ability to work efficiently or travel to clients.
• Competition: New or small businesses may struggle to get noticed or stand out among many similar service providers. With people increasingly searching for services online, businesses face competition not only from local competitors but also from regional ones.
• Finding prospects takes time, skill and money: You have to know where to reach potential clients that are likely to convert, what their problems are and how to solve them. Mastering advertising channels is tricky, takes a lot of learning and costs precious rand.
• Changing customer behaviour: What people like and buy changes a lot. What worked before might not work now. To get new customers, businesses have to always update their plans and come up with new ideas to draw people in.

It's not just about attracting any prospect. You want to focus on getting leads that turn into profitable jobs.

“With the number of new startups coming into the industry, it is difficult to find good quality leads from small to medium businesses that are serious but also still in the market,” says Bradley Bedser, owner of Johannesburg web design and digital marketing company The Digital Difference.

Moving on from traditional to digital marketing

Word of mouth remains the best pipeline generation formula in the trades business, however the majority of people in South Africa (63%) are turning to Google to find Pros.

While it’s crucial to continue to do great work, for the good word to spread in the community, you also need to follow your customers to online platforms.

The good news? Online marketing is not only more effective but also easier to measure compared to traditional methods like radio or print ads, billboards and the like. Let’s explore different things you can do online.

Get your online business card with a website

For a tradesman, a website is where you can showcase your skills, show off the projects you've completed, and share reviews from happy customers. It's like a business card, available 24/7, making it easier for people to find you and learn about what you do.

Hourly rate of web design typically runs from R200 to R800. There are many options for a website so be sure to pick the right one.

Wondering if a website is even necessary for your small, local business? It is best to look at what your competitors are doing. If they are moving their business online, it is possible that you are losing customers to them.

Unlock your visibility with SEO

Having a website is just the beginning. Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your website appear in the search results of Google or Bing.

SEO involves using the right keywords, phrases that people type into search engines when looking for services like electrical work, carports or photographers.

By adding these keywords to their website's content, tradesmen and other professionals make their site easy to find by showing up higher in search results.

Quality, informative content is the key to success.

But, the content has to be of very good quality in the first place. And SEO is way harder and more complex than it seems. It usually pays to hire a specialist. SEO agencies charge between R3000 and R10000 per month.

Engage with potential clients on social media

Social networks like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, give you an opportunity to not just present yourself but engage directly with potential clients, answer their questions, and build a following.

You can create a personal connection with your audience, making them more likely to choose your services when they need a professional.

There’s also a possibility of running paid ads on these networks. We recommend getting some professional help, at least at the beginning.

"My skills are only limited to what I do for a living,” explains Siyanda Mthembu (right), an architect from Durban. “I have spent a combined amount of R11,367 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which failed to convert any prospects."

Lead generation is hard, it usually pays to hire a specialist.

For a small business, an initial package of 20 posts per month plus advertising would suffice. Expect to be charged from R1000 to R6500 per month.

Give your business a boost with paid advertising

While you are waiting for your SEO efforts to kick in, ads can really provide a push in generating fruitful contacts. Targeted campaigns allow you to reach potential customers based on specific demographics, interests, and their search behaviour.

When you use internet advertising properly, you can show your offer to people who are actively trying to find someone like you.

Get in front of people exactly at the moment they need you.

However, creating and running successful internet marketing campaigns requires expertise and can be costly. We cannot emphasise this enough: Hire a digital marketing specialist for lead generation.

There are many different digital marketing packages available; Google Ads marketing will cost you from R3000 to R6000 per month.

Or, you could combine everything and pick an all-in-one solution to grow your business for half the cost.

Let Procompare connect you directly with your next client

We are a lead generation company specialised in generating leads for tradesmen and companies, such as architects, painters, roofers, solar energy specialists, security guards, accounting firms, web developers and many other businesses.

When people need something done, they come to us. More than 10,000 new projects are waiting for Pros like you every month.

How Procompare makes getting new clients easier for you?

1. You'll receive verified requests only for services and locations you've selected beforehand.
2. We limit the competition and send each lead to you and no more than five other professionals.
3. You get your own presentation page with the average rating and written reviews from clients.
4. Our team of experts stays ahead of trends on Google and Facebook, measuring, analysing and optimising advertising.
5. We do it on a scale not possible for smaller businesses, so we are cheaper and more efficient than other advertising channels.

How much does a lead cost you?

Most leads cost between R40 and R150, depending on the project. You choose a monthly budget, based on the number of leads you wish to receive.

We will make sure you start getting the contacts every day on Whatsapp or email, once you choose a package and pay via direct debit or a credit card.

You can subscribe, get hired, and then pause or cancel your subscription anytime.

“I was extremely happy and surprised with the leads I received from Procompare which generated business right away,” web developer Bradley Bedser points out.

Don't believe us? Take it from the Pros

"If I get three leads, I would get confirmation from one. Which is fine. Because in the bigger scheme of things, the value of that lead far outweighs the three leads that I paid for. You are getting a huge return on investment," explains Lindsay Thomas, an interior designer from Cape Town.

"And even if you don’t end up getting any of those three leads, and you flip over to the next month, you get three more leads, and you get one out of those leads. But it’s a 40 thousand rand job. Well, what I get out is 40 thousand rand. It’s a no brainer,” adds Thomas.

It's a no brainer!

Paul Slack from Fasttrac agrees: “I am investing R1608 a month. And my return on investment is between 7 and 10 times a year. You know, if you’ve got a return on investment of 7 times your annual expense, I’m an accountant; that’s just, you know, it’s a no brainer.”

Paul Slack about the word of mouth: Once we got over that initial hurdle, we ended up getting the client’s business, him, his wife, the family trust, his mother-in-law, and from the mother-in-law we got another company and two trusts. So, that's what I talk about with second- and third-tier referrals.

“It’s not so much about getting the contact of Procompare - it is, we like that - but when they refer us, second-, third-, fourth-tier referrals, that's what counts for us,” Slack points out.

“Believe in the services of Procompare. They have helped me a lot,” joins in architect Siyanda Mthembu, another Procompare success story.

You, too, can grow your business with us.