and accessory is made to exceed DIN standards so quality is assured – and with this confidence, Draper continues to offer its Lifetime Warranty on all of the products. Consisting of


over 600 new products that cover everything from individual Draper Hi-Torq sockets to Draper Expert and Draper Socket sets, large and small, most of the market is catered for. Light users will find that ¼ inch square drive sockets are aplenty, while heavier duty users will find drives in ½ inch and 1 inch for more demanding applications. Quality You Can Actually See and Feel With the likes of power tools sometimes you can’t actually see the quality of


the tool you are using, but with socketry, users, especially experienced users, can feel and see the quality of the tools before they buy. I was impressed with the finish, fit and detail that is obvious, and Draper has made sure that buyers will feel confident of their purchase. The range comes in three finishes – micro-satin, polished and satin with some additional details like knurled sections and cross knurling for extra grip for greasy fingers. I also appreciated the larger sized markings both on the tools, and in most of the cases, for identifying different sizes of sockets. I was able to examine sets and individual pieces in the smallest detail. What


struck me about the sets, large and small, was the thought that had gone into creating them. This was reflected in the choice not only of the individual pieces in


Ben Dyer


Intelligent Pricing Competing on price is the main thing that people tend to think of when they


are considering starting a business. But that’s is a big mistake. Benjamin Dyer of Powered Now unpacks the reasons why and suggests another way. You might wonder what ‘smart pricing’ is. Competing on price feels very


natural, but for many trade businesses, it is the road to ruin. That’s what we need to look at. Avoiding price competition doesn’t


mean that you can charge what you like. It simply means that price shouldn’t be the main reason for winning business. And never say that you will beat any price – there are some crazy people out there! Fussy customers In my experience, customers who think


that price is the most important thing are usually the worst customers. People mega keen on a ‘deal’ also tend to be unreasonable. There’s a saying for this - knowing the price of everything but the value of nothing. So why not pass them to your competitors? Poverty calls When just starting out, there is a


temptation to undercut everyone. Maybe that might be right for a short while. But that’s not a good reason for making it part of your business strategy. You can win on price by paying yourself (and any staff) virtually nothing. You can


cut every corner on the job to keep the effort low. The first approach makes you poor immediately, the second a bit later. That’s after you disappear under a mountain of unpaid invoices and trading standards investigations, plus never getting any customer recommendations. Since recommendations are what lead to uncontested quotes you will be competing on price forever and having a horrible time. Being smarter There are a lot of better ways of running your business.


telephone 01444 450071 The first is to be known for the quality of your work. Mark Goodchild of


Electric-call.net says “The aim is always to do a quality job and be highly responsive to the customer, and in the last 12 months we haven’t received a single complaint. However, don’t try to compete on price as you can’t do that at the same time as providing a great service”. It’s also always important to reinforce the quality point whenever


communicating with prospects. You can do that by showing pictures of previous work, mentioning your qualifications and ensuring that they know you have done similar jobs. Offering the chance to speak to previous happy customers can also help a lot. Another approach is to give a service level


nobody else provides. One electrical contractor I know responds to emergency call outs within one hour, 24x7 and however small the job. This generates work as it builds trust. Often an installation with an immediate problem is an installation that needs a lot of remedial work shortly afterwards. Some companies don’t quote if they are


competing with others. The key is to generate enough leads so that they can afford to turn away work. By always doing a great job they get plenty of recommendations anyway. Everybody needs to find their own


approach or specialisation that means they don’t need to compete on price. Avoid the stress


Competing on price is the easiest way to fail, after poor workmanship. Of


course, rip-off pricing won’t work either, but quoting reasonable prices and delivering quality work is always a winning formula. Once you have started competing on price, it can be hard to stop. However,


once you have weaned yourself off, you will never look back. I just wish you all the best of luck in giving it a try. About the author: Benjamin Dyer is CEO and co-founder of Powered Now.


Powered Now’s mobile app aims to make it easier for plumbers, gas engineers, builders and other trades to run their businesses. www.powerednow.com


ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 15


each set, but also the way in which they were packaged. An entirely new range of cases has been designed to ensure that the sets can be easily moved and stored, but also that they are easy to organise and keep together. It is easy to


spot a missing piece and what size it is for example. Small cases are made of robust plastic, the larger of these have good grippy


handles and strong metal latches too. But the largest cases are made of metal with dense closed cell foam inserts to ensure that the relatively heavy contents will be well protected. Along with the obvious quality of the socket sets, Draper has ensured that the


socket sets will have as broad a range of appeal as possible, so there are a range of Multi-Drive sets, Go Through sets and even some VDE sets that will help engineers working with the increasing number of electric and hybrid vehicles on the roads. Quality in the Marketing too Draper has a reputation for looking after its dealers, and they will certainly be


helped by the number of new product stands, printed materials and other marketing paraphernalia that have been designed to accompany the launch and carry it through right to the floor of a retail space. I could add ‘comprehensive’ to ‘strength’ and ‘quality’ I think. I look forward to having a chance to test some of these new products soon. My fingers are already itching.


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