AROUND THE REGIONS —
Andrew Macdonald Business Development Manager – Auckland
Message from our Auckland BDM
AUCKLAND
Over the COVID-19 lockdown period, like many others, I was faced with new challenges. Working from my home office meant adapting my acquisition process liaising with potential members by phone and email only. As restrictions eased it felt great to be back meeting potential members face-to-face. It has been encouraging to see an increase in enquiry from both our experienced builders and those builders wanting to take the next step in their careers, stepping out on their own and starting their own building company. Good on them and I wish them all the best in their new ventures.
New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) offers a Mentoring Programme that helps match some of our more experienced members with other members who are either new to business or looking to expand and may need support, guidance or sometimes just a sounding board. For those new business owners who do not have experience managing a company, New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) offers a Mentoring Programme. This programme helps match some of our more experienced members with other members who are either new to business or looking to expand and may need support, guidance or sometimes just a sounding board – ensuring a wealth of knowledge, skill and good practice is passed on before our more experienced members hang up their toolbelts. If you are interested in joining the Mentoring Programme, either as a mentor or a mentee, please email Trudi at NZCB National Support Office on trudi@nzcb.nz.
A question I am often asked, is “how do I market my new business?”. After some banter I discover most builders often do not do any marketing/advertising and their contracts come via word-of-mouth. Although this is free advertising triggered by customer experience, there are other avenues such as social media with Facebook and Instagram pages. Both options offer cheap and more affordable marketing opportunities, however it is important to keep these pages up-to-date with good quality photos and include current testimonials and referrals received from homeowners upon completion of work. Postcard and flyer drops around the neighbourhood where you are working may also be an effective way of promoting your business and one I have observed. And, given neighbours are generally nosey, if they see a postcard from you, they are more likely to respond after seeing you work on the neighbour’s property than contact somebody unknown to them. For further information on marketing refer to The Power of a Brand article on page 10 of the last InHouse magazine (June/July 2020 issue) or contact Karla at NZCB National Support Office karla@nzcb.nz. I also hear a lot about a local networking group called BNI New Zealand, who are known as world leaders in ‘referral marketing’. BNI helps you grow your business by teaching you how to network with other quality business professionals and provide an opportunity for you to develop a network of colleagues for ideas and advice helping improve your personal and professional skills. For more information visit www.bni.co.nz. Looking forward into the future, the general feedback I am receiving from members is that they are positive with the amount of incoming work they have in the pipeline which is reassuring to hear. Bye for now from (as I like to say) “Just Another Aucklander”.
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