Use KBB companies to get extra profit and time – Opinion

Paul Da Silva gives his advice to KBB installers who are looking to gain extra profit and streamline their jobs:

Are you an installer or fitter who spends their evenings visiting customers to measure for new jobs, then quoting and ordering products? I see many people working very hard to take on as much work as possible, but it isn’t always friendly to your work-life balance.

More and more clients are asking me to help them get more hours in the day, not just profits.

On social media, there are a lot of companies telling you to start selling your own products to make more profit and in an ideal world, that’s exactly what you could be doing.

But again, this isn’t saving you time, it’s making you busier.

My best piece of advice would be to use the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom companies to gain extra profit on the project.

The majority of KBB companies are there to help you sell more, win more business, and they want you to keep returning to them, so they need to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

So let’s say that Mr and Mrs Smith approach you to source and install a kitchen for them.

For me, you have two options:

Firstly, you can go after work one evening, measure the kitchen, design the space either in front of the customer or later that evening, quote the materials and then quote the installation costs.

Now some installers do use the sheds at this time. They will send them the measurements and then ask them to do a design and then send them the quote back.

This quote for the materials then gets added to the total quote and presented to the customer.

Any changes then need to be communicated back to the supplier and then you have the back and forth until everything is confirmed.

Then there is the second option.

You ring the KBB company, give them the name and contact details of the customer and then let them deal directly.

You can tell them how much profit you want in the job, whether it be a percentage or a fixed amount, and then sit back and relax.

Many of the main retailers much prefer this way of working as they will be able to upsell their products, work directly with the end user rather than going through yourself, and make you and them more profit.

The salespeople at these companies have the latest training on all of their products and will be able to explain to the customer why the top-of-the-range induction hob is so much better than the standard ceramic hob.

And don’t forget, you still control this process. If you want to source your own granite, then they will simply take it off your quote and carry on. But don’t forget, ordering through them also means they will help with the templating and installation dates.

I know some installers have a trust issue when handing a customer over, but it is in the supplier’s interest to support you.

They will benefit more in the long term dealing with you, who buys ten kitchens per year, than a retail customer who buys one kitchen every ten years.

If you want to gain more hours in the day, as well as more profit in your bank, please get in touch to see how I can support you and your business.

You can find out more about me at www.pauldasilvaassociates.com.