Pricing For Profit

A Business with Strong Foundations — And Hidden Limiters

The client was a technically strong team with deep expertise in their specialised industrial services field. Customers trusted them. Their reputation was excellent. But none of that translated into meaningful financial progress.

Every element of the back office—operations, systems, workflow, pricing—was designed around the founder. He was involved in everything. And because everything flowed through him, nothing could scale beyond him.

As seen in many SMEs in our wider experience, the pattern was familiar:

• Processes grew organically, not intentionally
• Administrative systems were paper based
• Everything depended on individual memory and goodwill
• Pricing was cost-plus guesswork, not strategic commercial decision-making
• Gross margin was whatever happened, not a target

This echoed a recurring finding across our research with UK SMEs: many lack structured pricing methods and do not monitor gross margin consistently across jobs or customers. These weaknesses suppress profitability long before a business realises it.

The challenge was not demand. It was capability. The business needed to professionalise, create systems that worked without the owner, and build a foundation for scalable profitable growth.

2. Quotes Built Without Any Reference to Gross Profit Margin

The surveyor would return from site with a list of equipment, labour, vehicles, days required, and other needs. The office team would price it out mechanically—item by item—using fixed list prices.

What margin would the job generate? They simply didn’t know.

This is an extraordinarily common SME issue. In our broader work, under-potentialised SMEs typically have no systematic way of linking cost inputs to commercial pricing decisions, meaning margin erosion happens quietly, job by job.

4. Founder-Dominated, Non-Scalable Workflow

Everything was done “the way it had always been done,” which meant:

• No opportunity for delegation
• No centralised data
• No resilience
• No capacity to grow

The biggest risk? The pricing process wasn’t wrong—it was simply unplanned.

2. The Creation of A Bespoke Pricing Calculator

This calculator, which was initially built using a spreadsheet, allowing it to be easily adapted and improved, incorporated:

• Drop-down menus for all labour types, vehicle categories, equipment and extras
• Preloaded cost and selling price for every item
• Automatic calculation of gross margin per item and per job
• Reliability that removed human error
• A single professional output for customer quotes

It became really quick and simple to put a quote together once the surveyor had provided the list of requirements.

4. Quotes Delivered Within 20–30 Minutes, Not 7–14 Days

Speed of providing the quote became a competitive weapon.

Surveyor leaves site → calls office → coordinator keys details → quote emailed before they reached the motorway.

Customers were astonished. Competitors were nowhere close.

Speed became a differentiator—and when coupled with quality, customers stopped questioning price.

3. The Dramatic Increase In Speed Created Perceived Value

Being first with a professional quote builds confidence.

Speed = competence.
Competence = trust.
Trust = price resilience.

It ultimately led to an increase in orders.

4. The Work Itself Was Excellent

High technical standards underpin higher margins. A premium service deserves a premium price.

Why This Case Study Matters to UK SME Owners

This pricing transformation is not unusual. In fact, it is typical.

Across our wider SME experience, under-potentialised businesses typically:

• price using legacy assumptions, not current cost structures
• lack robust margin monitoring at quote level
• do not carry out margin analysis by customer, product/service etc
• cannot produce a quote quickly due to manual processes
• rely on one person’s knowledge rather than structured pricing systems

These are not failings—they are symptoms of running a business that grows faster than its internal infrastructure.

But they can be fixed. And when they are fixed, the financial impact is immediate and extensive.

Final Thought: Pricing For Profit Is One of the Fastest Wins In SME Growth

This case study shows what is possible when pricing becomes deliberate and commercially informed.

A business stuck at £3m for years gained control, confidence, and momentum.

Margins rose.

Win rates improved.

The back office professionalised.

The owner finally had space to lead, not firefight.

At Secantor, we see this pattern every week. Pricing for profit is a key lever available to SMEs yet often not optimised.

When you combine structured pricing, clear margin targets, operational discipline, and excellent customer service, you create a business that earns the profit it deserves.