Locksmith Contracting

[Rickthepick]

Things are going well and im looking to take things to the next level.

I am thinking of advertising out of my area and sub-contracting the work out to local locksmiths.

I have no idea how this is going to work and its all a bit experimental.

Most contractors such as Reactfast, Able etc are run poorly and have no interest in the trade, all about the money.

I want to create something that is run by locksmiths and works for everyone involved, Not just the fat cats at the top of the food chain.

Once my new sites are optimized and adverts have been published I will be looking for quality locksmiths within those areas to complete the work at a negotiated percentage rate.

By quality i mean; Own tools, good range of stock, own transport and insurance.

I will have no objections to customer stealing as long as jobs originating from me arent stolen.

...

I know im not going to get much of a response from established lockies as they will neither need nor want this work but it will be a good opportunity for newcomers to meet new customers.

Im about to trial the idea in Stoke on Trent and all districts so we'l see how it goes.

Anyone interested feel free to get in touch

[globallockytoo]

Are you hoping to be a National Service Provider? NSP's dont have a great name in the USA. They are notoriously slow payers, require too much paperwork and often charge significant mark-ups to customers, often far more than if the local subbie did the work themselves and charged the customer themselves.

If you manage to convince a national chain to use you over another provider, often the main reason they will choose you is because of price.

But, many NSP's factor in many facility management trades (not just locksmiths) into the overall package for the customer, hence why they have become successful over the years.

I get calls regularly from NSP's and Insurance companies wanting me to do work for them, usually at their own pre-determined pricings and they all want to operate on 30 day accounts.

I point blank refuse, telling them, that is what credit cards are for, so I get my money NOW...and they can pay off the credit card at their convenience. I dont need to have open accounts or money owing to me and they have less liability on the books too.

I worked for national locksmith companies in Australia and they pretty much had many of the national chains sewn up. NSP's and facilities management companies were required to use them because the key systems were mostly restricted on protected profiles. Where the company didnt have a contractor, they looked for someone local to represent them and sent the parts for each job to them.

Because labor rates vary in different towns, pre-determined prices need to be established in advance of sub-contracting contracts. So careful pricing structures need to worked out way in advance.

Good Luck - but I think you might be biting off more than you can chew and swallow.