CH 01
Checkatrade & Platforms
3 videosCheckatrade creates dependency — one tradesman spent £10,000 over 4 years, built 255+ reviews, left, lost ALL reviews, phone stopped ringing entirely
Checkatrade made £55.6M last year from tradespeople. Their ads brand tradesmen as untrustworthy — you're paying them while they undermine your reputation
Google Business Profile is the #1 platform — "everyone trusts Google. If you get high up in Google, Google trusts you and they trust Google. You're flying."
MyBuilder = race to the bottom. Multiple tradespeople bidding on same lead = price compression and dead leads you've already paid for
Google ranking factors: short videos on profile, packed services with keyword variations, consistent 5-star reviews, respond to every review
"I've got one lad who spent 10 grand over a four-year period with Checkatrade. He built up over 255 star reviews and when he left, he lost all of his reviews. And his phone just completely stopped ringing."
— IS CHECKATRADE WORTH IT?
What ERL Should Do
01
Treat Checkatrade as a short-term bridge (6-12 months max), never a foundation
02
Track lead source in CRM from day one — if Checkatrade exceeds 50% of leads, you're in danger
03
Invest real effort into Google Business Profile — every service keyword, photos/videos, chase every review
04
Direct customers to leave reviews on Google, not Checkatrade — own your reviews
05
Avoid MyBuilder and pay-per-lead platforms for emergency work — they commoditize your service
CH 02
Lead Generation & Getting Work
10 videosGoogle Business Profile is the single highest-ROI lead gen action across every video — free, compounds over time
Cold email outreach works — one new business owner emailed local contacts, within 1 hour secured a job with 50% deposit AND a meeting with a construction company
Generic Facebook posts are useless — do active outreach instead of passive posting
Build service-specific landing pages targeting local searches — "burst pipe repair London", "emergency electrician [borough]"
Marketing done 3 months ago pays off now — start immediately, don't wait for quiet periods
Winter = burst pipes, heating failures, storm damage — ERL's structural advantage over seasonal trades
Competitors plateau at ~25 reviews — catching up is very achievable with consistent effort
Review collection tactic: do a small freebie, ask for 5-star review instead of charging (reciprocity psychology)
Top 7 Strategies for ERL
01
Dominate Google Business Profile — pack with keywords, collect reviews obsessively after every job
02
Build service-specific landing pages on the website for each emergency type + London borough
03
Double down on cold outreach to property managers — it's already working, systematize it
04
Multi-platform organic presence — Google, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok (all free)
05
Lean into seasonal/emergency demand — market winter services aggressively from October
06
Differentiate through speed — respond faster than any competitor, every time
07
Own your pipeline — phase out paid directories as organic presence grows
CH 03
Marketing & Visibility
10 videosVideo content condenses trust-building — customers who watch 4-7 of your videos arrive pre-sold. The call becomes "how much and when" not "convince me"
Use WhatsApp for remote assessment: customer sends video of their leak, you assess without driving across London
Automated follow-ups recover lost jobs — customers often just forgot, not rejected. One auto follow-up email won a job the customer had simply been busy to respond to
TikTok has massive organic reach for trades content — short emergency repair clips with built-in editor removes all barriers
Phone script matters — for emergency services, the caller is stressed at 2am. The first 30 seconds ARE the sale
Review collection: mention at START of job, ask at END, send link immediately, follow up in 3-5 days if no review
Marketing Priority Tiers
T1
This week: GBP review system (text link after every job) + automated quote follow-ups + phone script for emergency calls
T2
This month: WhatsApp Business integration + website SEO audit for emergency keywords + update GBP weekly with job photos
T3
This quarter: Video content (film repairs, post YouTube/TikTok/Facebook) + intake form with photo upload + over-deliver strategy for reviews
CH 04
Pricing & Quoting
15 videos"Don't change your price, change your customer." — the core principle repeated across every pricing video
Start with desired annual income, reverse-engineer the day rate. If you pay a worker £200/day, price them out at £400/day minimum (2x rule). Emergency/out-of-hours: 2.5-3x
Never disclose your day rate or break down the price. "The price is the price. It's a fixed price." Like a barber — no per-snip breakdown
Price by solution/package, not hourly. Emergency boiler repair at 2am is worth what it's worth to the panicking customer
Vet before visiting: request photos via WhatsApp, give ballpark on phone within 5-10 min. Only dispatch with "amber light" (budget alignment confirmed)
Automate quote follow-ups — many customers simply forgot, not rejected. CRM with auto-follow-up recovers lost jobs
Send quotes via WhatsApp (read receipts), not email — quotes land in spam and you never know if they saw it
"We can generate our own leads organically using Google. That's where Checkatrade gets all their fucking leads from, is the internet."
— Checkatrade are c%#t's
Objection Scripts
Customer says: "You're too expensive"
"Our price includes 24/7 availability, fully insured tradesmen, warranty on the repair, and no hidden charges. I'd be concerned if someone quotes significantly less for emergency work — it often means corners are being cut."
Customer says: "Can you do it cheaper?"
"This is our best price. It covers everything — diagnostics, repair, materials, and cleanup. Our Google reviews speak for themselves."
Customer goes silent after quote
Auto follow-up at 48h: "Hi [name], just checking you received our estimate for [job]. If you have any questions or would like to go ahead, we're here to help. We currently have availability this week."
CH 05
Business Systems & Operations
13 videosSingle-funnel lead intake: every lead source routes to one intake form with photo upload — vets tire-kickers automatically
Missed call automation: voicemail + immediate SMS with intake form link. Professional AND a vetting filter
CRM is the single source of truth: all customer data, comms, quotes, invoices in one place. One tradesman reduced site visits by 80%
Mandatory 25-50% deposit on booking — vets the customer, prevents cancellations, builds working capital. "If they dispute the deposit, walk away"
Written T&Cs: payment of deposit = acceptance of terms = binding agreement. Protects in small claims court
MTD launches April 2026 for sole traders £50k+ — need compatible accounting software now. Fines: £200 per missed submission
Customer red flags: disputes deposit, talks down to you, dictates pricing, ghosts on deposit = walk away immediately
Priority Implementation Order
01
Deposit & payment terms system — biggest lever against revenue leakage
02
Written T&Cs document — prevents disputes, scope creep, legal exposure
03
Lead intake form with photo upload + missed-call SMS automation via Twilio
04
Invoice automation from CRM — professional, immediate, trackable
05
Cloud accounting with bank feed — check if bank offers free software (Barclays=FreshBooks, NatWest=FreeAgent)
06
Automated review request flow — post-job SMS requesting Google review
07
Per-job profitability tracking — reveals which job types to pursue vs avoid
CH 06
Business Growth & Mindset
17 videosJoel Cooke grew from zero to tendering £1.4M by writing down top 30 target companies, contacting every one, sending info even when rejected
LinkedIn was hugely effective for B2B — he was one of the only tradesmen posting there. Barely any competition
Most profitable period was 5 guys, not 16+ — small teams closely managed are the sweet spot. Scaling too fast = £50K+ unpaid invoices
90% of running a business is sales, marketing, bookkeeping — trade skills are necessary but insufficient
One tradesman: zero to 83 five-star reviews, booked months in advance, most profitable year ever — combining Google ranking + reviews + specialist niche
Responsiveness is the #1 thing customers praise — same-day response with a ballpark figure differentiates from 80% of competitors
Keep costs brutally low early — don't pay for VAs, expensive CRM, social media managers, Google Ads. Free tools first
Checkatrade member spent £3,000/year and got only scrappy leads nobody else wanted
"One brick at a time: do one job perfectly, get a five-star review, repeat. Over 2 years you'll have seriously strong foundations."
— 3 GRAND WASTED
ERL's Structural Advantage
★
Most tradesmen are brilliant on the tools but terrible at marketing, CRM, automation, SEO, and analytics. ERL has all of this built in from day one.
★
Valentin handles the digital infrastructure that 95% of competitors can't build. Ionut delivers quality emergency work.
★
The flywheel: great work → reviews → Google ranking → more leads → more great work → more reviews. The gap widens every month.