How to get construction leads, by the kind of customer you want

Marketing For Construction is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency or lead seller. If you send the form, your details go to an independent agency that prepares any proposal.

Homeowners

Homeowners usually start with a search, a map and the opinions of people they know. To be found and chosen, you need a clear website with a page for each job you sell, a complete Google Business Profile with your real address and service areas, and honest reviews. Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity, and that there is no way to pay for a better local ranking, so the profile and the reviews are the work.

• Search ads for the jobs you want most, on a daily budget you set.
• Local Services Ads, where you pay for leads rather than clicks, if your trade is eligible in your area.
• Signs on jobs, lettered vehicles and referrals from past customers.
• Lead sellers, used carefully, with the terms read first.

Property managers and landlords

Property managers want contractors who are reliable, responsive and easy to work with across many units. They find them through other managers, through searches when a regular contractor lets them down, and through direct contact. Have a page on your website for property management and multifamily work, keep your documents ready to send, and follow up after the first job. A manager who trusts you can send steady repeat work.

General contractors, for subcontractors

If you are a sub, your customers are general contractors. They invite subs they know to bid, and they look for new ones when they win work in a new area or lose a sub. Make sure your company is easy to check: a website that lists your trade, the size of work you take on and real projects, and a complete Google profile. Then get on their bid lists, deliver on the first job and stay in touch.

Commercial and public owners

Commercial and public work is often found through bid databases and planning information, which are what many searches for construction leads return. Compare those services on coverage, how current the data is and their terms. Beyond them, relationships with owners, developers and architects count most. Our page on commercial construction marketing goes further.

Past customers and the people around them

Whatever your trade, the people you have already worked for are the closest source of new work. They need you again, they know people who need you, and they can say so in a review. Keep a simple list of past customers with the job you did and when. Get in touch when you add a service or when the work you did for them will need attention again. Ask for referrals plainly, and thank people who send them.

The people around a job count too. Real estate agents, insurance adjusters, property managers, suppliers and other trades are asked for contractor names all the time. Do good work on their jobs, be easy to reach, and give them a website they can send people to with confidence.

What every lead source needs from you

1. A fast answer. Google notes that regularly failing to answer calls or messages may affect a Local Services Ad’s ranking, and customers notice too.
2. A website that backs up what the ad, sign or referral promised.
3. A record of where each lead came from, so you can keep what works.
4. Honest reviews: ask every customer, offer nothing for it. Google’s Maps policy bans incentives for reviews, and the FTC’s rule bans fake ones.

For the difference between leads you own and leads you rent, and how to judge a lead seller, read lead generation for contractors.

Questions owners ask