JH Building Services

Who is JH Building Services?

Federation of Master Builders member, JH Building Services has been trading since June 2015, working across West Sussex and into Surrey and Kent on extensions, refurbishments and new builds. Rather than subcontracting out each stage of a project, the team project manages everything in-house, bringing in every trade themselves, right down to landscaping and driveways once the main build is finished. For the client, it means one company managing the whole job, start to finish.

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Office Manager Tina, who runs the day-to-day lead management, has been with the business through its first full year on Buildscout, having signed up over 12 months ago.

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The problem: plenty of leg work, no certainty

Before Buildscout, JH Building Services found work the way most local builders do: recommendations, Google reviews, general job-listing sites, and word of mouth from boards outside live projects. It kept the business ticking over, but it took a lot of effort for an uncertain return, and there was no way to control who they were reaching or when.

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Tina was cautious about lead generation before trying Buildscout, having seen how other services in the space can work. What changed her mind was straightforward: the simplicity of the platform itself, and the people behind it. "Any questions, they're never silly. There's always so much support from everyone at Buildscout that it just makes it a really easy choice." Getting started was easy too, with the Buildscout team talking the business through setup and staying on hand for early questions.

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Proof it was working, within three months

The turning point came quickly. Within the first three months, responses started coming back from the letters, and it was clear straight away that this was worth doing. "It was very quickly it seemed that it was a worthwhile thing to be doing," Tina says. Now, a full year on since signing up, the figures back that up.

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That early momentum has turned into real, tangible projects: tree preservation work is under way ahead of a new build, a chimney build and stove installation has just been completed with an extension to follow in September, and another extension and refurbishment starts in August. One client, after receiving after revcieving a letter from Buildscout, was given a quote for their project and simply said yes on the spot! no negotiation required.

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Off the back of Buildscout enquiries, they got 10 quotes out, of those 10, 9 converted into projects won, totalling over half a million pounds worth of work in 1 year!

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Lead quality that's genuinely worth having

For Tina, the quality of the leads is what stands out most. "They are already on the planning portal applying for it," she explains. Where the team once visited homeowners who hadn't drawn up plans or thought about planning permission, leads now arrive with the groundwork already done, serious about the project and often wanting a start date. Most people are upfront that they're getting other quotes too, but JH Building Services wins the majority of them, in part because a Buildscout letter reaches homeowners early, before other builders are even on their radar.

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That seriousness also means far less chasing. All of Buildscout leads are in a position to commit, so once the initial meetings happen, the back-and-forth is largely limited to variations on the quote rather than convincing someone to go ahead at all.

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So simple, it barely feels like work

Tina logs on every morning to review new leads. It's simple enough that James, the owner, can run it himself when she's away. Day to day it takes around 10 minutes, longer around the start of each month when a batch of new planning submissions comes through. As Tina puts it: "It's done and dusted over a cup of tea and a biscuit."

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The wider impact

The return has reached well beyond the pipeline. Tina is unequivocal that Buildscout has paid for itself: "The return for what we pay has been fantastic. It's a no-brainer." Beyond the numbers, she describes a real sense of security in knowing what work is coming, rather than spending time finding it. JH Building Services has taken on new team members, is looking at a new work vehicle, and has visibility on bookings running into September and October.

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Would they recommend Buildscout?

Without hesitation. "A hundred percent recommend Buildscout to anyone that asks" Tina says. "I think every building firm would benefit from using this, because it's easy, it's simple, and it works."