Now that you know what your idea customer looks like, it's time to create a battle plan and tether yourself to a marketing strategy. This is how you're going to get suitable leads and win new business.

Finding a marketing strategy that works, then repeating the same tasks every week is the key to winning new clients.

Here are some strategies that have worked for other asbestos surveying companies:‍

• Go straight to the source. Partner up with local architects, estate agents, demolition companies, etc. to get regular work
  Focus on building relationships with companies that trigger asbestos surveys rather than the building owners themselves. e.g. Partner with mortgage or construction companies for domestic properties, or insurance companies for commercial properties. By positioning yourself as the "go-to" surveyor for these ‍companies, you'll get regular work. Get on their radar by attending industry-specific networking groups, or simply dropping off a leaflet into their place of business and saying hello.
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• Want to build relationships with estate agents? Charge a small fee to collect keys from their office. It's a natural opportunity to drop off your business card and shmoos the estate agent
  Here's a neat way to build relationships with estate agents and improve your profits at the same time. When you get a domestic survey enquiry, charge a small fee to collect (and return) keys from the estate agents office. Worded right, this will sound like you're taking the stress off your client's hands. Now you have a natural reason to drop off your business card and build a relationship with the estate agent!
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• ‍Join trade directories to attract local folk searching for the services you offer
  Many people use local trade directories like Checkatrade or TrustATrader to find asbestos surveyors in their area. Register on these sites to reach people when they're actively searching for the services you offer. If you don't have too much local competition, you can usually expect a few survey enquiries per week from these platforms. Try sending a WhatsApp message to potential clients to provide a personal touch and get fast responses.‍
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• Deliver free CPD asbestos training to win new clients in your extended network
  Start with an existing client, and provide free CPD asbestos training to them and their network. You'll reach a new audience, who'll trust you more because you're offering value first, rather than trying to hard-sell your services. Many large companies use this strategy to win new clients all year round.
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• Paid ads are expensive; you may need a big budget to dominate the search results
  It's can be hard (and expensive) to get leads online from paid advertisements on Google or Facebook. Large local companies have the budget to dominate search results and easily outbid smaller companies. So unless you're a big industry player, paid ads probably aren't a great strategy.
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• If you run online ads, analysing the results is the key to getting bang for your buck
  Running online ads isn't "fire and forget". You need to constantly analyse the results and make adjustments. The holy grail is to get the most leads for the smallest amount of money possible. So every month you should be drilling down into the numbers. Which keywords performed well? Which ads had better click-rates? Were the leads high-quality, and so on.
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• ‍Create content marketing; it takes time, but its a good long-term strategy for inbound leads
  Writing high-quality content on your website or blog can attract your ideal customers when they search for similar subjects in Google. This type of inbound marketing takes time, and it could be up to a year before you start seeing results. But its a good long-term strategy. The important thing is to identify the search terms used by potential clients. You can use Ubersuggest to see what search terms are popular and easy to target.
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• ‍Partner with your competitors. Yup, you read that right. It's counter-intuitive, I know, but there's an untapped opportunity here
  It might seem counter-intuitive, but partnering with your competitors can be a good strategy to win work. You'll want to be selective here, but the busiest asbestos surveying companies often have a network of friendly contacts (some are competitors). Many give away £100,000’s of business opportunities to asbestos removal and surveying companies because they're too busy.
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• ‍Compete with the big boys. Pitch for multi-year tenders
  Tenders provide predictable work for several years, making them ideal for companies with lots of salaried employees. You can find local asbestos tenders using the Bidstats website. Or use a service like Hudson Procurement to find asbestos tenders from different sources. They can even do the bid writing for you. Note that tenders often specify that you have accreditations like UKAS accreditation.

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