As part of an ongoing series of blogs, we interview suppliers from the UK Trade and Construction Industry
In our industry there are a lot of suppliers, merchants, tool manufacturers, sometimes it can be quite hard to keep up with who does what. So, we decided it would be a good idea to introduce some of these interesting companies!
First up on the blog is the great team from Book A Builder UK.
Tell us a little about Book A Builder and what makes it unique.
We were the first online marketplace in our space to offer our members and homeowners a secure way of transacting with each other, SafePay. Most other lead gen website also operate a pay per lead model, our model is unique where trades have the benefit of paying a one of annual fee and don’t get charged for every job they want to be shortlisted for.
What impact have you’ve seen from COVID to both the trade and consumer sides of the business?
COVID has led to a dramatic increase in both site users looking for trades to quote their jobs and trades signing up.
What business are eligible to join Book A Builder?
We welcome all trades to join us on a free listing, our internal vetting team will then offer full memberships to trades in areas where we have more demand than the current members can handle.
Can you explain your vetting standards and why vetting is an important part of your business?
Naturally we do not want to advertise any “rogue” tradesmen and we want to ensure that homeowners that use our site get a decent experience. Vetting is a big pat of that, our checks include;
- Identity Checked
- Proof of Address
- 2 Stage Interview
- Public Liability
- Qualifications & Accreditations
- Signed Code of Conduct
You can learn more information on these checks can be found on the Book A Builder UK website.
However, any jobs that go through our SafePay scheme then occur a whole different set of checks on top. KYC, KYB, source of funds, anti-money laundering etc. This really is a market leading solution and from the feedback we have had from both trades and homeowners they would never use anything other than SafePay in the future.
What are the main benefits that a trade business can expect from Book A Builder membership?
- Unlimited jobs leads throughout the year with no charge per lead
- Less competition to quote against
- Access to use SafePay for all their projects, not just ones that we have sent them
How many trade businesses are using Book A Builder today?
c.40,000 trades registered to our platform.
What are your plans for the remainder of the year, anything interesting you would like to announce?
We have some huge plans for Q2 of this year, they are highly confidential at the moment, but I can assure you that these will be disruptive offerings, just like SafePay was. I would like to be able to say more but unfortunately there are too many copycats out there.
Any advice for anyone thinking about joining Book A Builder?
Do it, what have you got to lose? It’s a free listing with no obligations so even if you decide that a paid membership isn’t for you, you are still getting some great online exposure for your business and we will even accredit you with the vetting checks that you pass, for free!
How can someone contact you?
info@bookabuilderuk.com or call 0203 817 8467
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