Getting Construction Leads
This is a concise guide for getting leads in the construction business.
Here's the short answer: Do excellent work and impress your clients. Get them to refer friends and family to you. Have a good website and a good Google Maps listing so people can contact you. That Google Maps rating is 99% of what people care about, so treat each job like the future of your business counts on it.
Lead Services
You may want to consider a lead service when you're getting started, but it's not recommended to rely on it into the future. The leads cost you money whether or not you land the gig. The costs can add up, and many contractors have reported not getting very profitable jobs from these services.
Instead, you can treat these services as a way to get started, but you'll want to move to client referrals as soon as possible.
People particularly disliked their experience with Angi's List, so it's not listed here.
Directory Listings
There are a number of directories you'll want to be a part of if you want maximum exposure online:
Client Referrals
Whatever business you're in, a client referral (aka word of mouth) is the best way to score new business. First, you don't pay for the lead. Second, the lead has already been sold by whoever referred them to you. It's free money, just walking in your door. The real cost was already paid when you did an absolute bang-up job for your last client. You went in with a good attitude and you communicated clearly with the client. You did solid work, but added a cherry on top with a "We'll also throw in ______ for free." Follow these few simple guidelines, and leave a good business card.
Make sure you have an easy to use website with a contact form. This will help you collect those leads that maybe aren't motivated enough to pick up the phone. Then—and I can't stress this enough—actually check the emails you get from the website. Personal experience here, but worth knowing: I needed some work done on a car. I filled out at least 5 forms from local mechanics, and I got ZERO response. They all had websites with various types of "Request a Quote" buttons. I followed the instructions and gave them detailed information, but they all ghosted me. They didn't pay a dime for me to find them on Google Maps. I was a free lead, and they let me get away. Money left on the table.
Lead Exchange
You do drywall and your buddy does plumbing. Perfect. Refer business to each other. You worked with a sub you really liked? Great. Tell him you'll send referrals his way and he can send some your way. It doesn't cost anything to ask. Plus, those leads are already warmed.
Social Media
You can grab attention on social media by sharing your work. Take pride in what you do, and then take some nice glamour shots. Someone may see a beautiful new floor you've installed, or skylight, a driveway, etc. and say, "I've been thinking about doing that too." Make sure you leave a URL or phone number so interested clients can get a quote right when they're still curious.
Your enthusiasm for what you do will attract new clientele. People want the job done by someone who really cares, and your involvement in social media will show that you have passion for your trade.
What if I don't like social media? That's fine. You're busy doing your job. You don't always have time to post about it online. Consider interns in this case. Even after they've moved on to another job, it will be easier to throw the occasional post up now that they've gotten some accounts established.
If you're hesitant to get that involved in social media, even though you recognize its benefits, you can streamline the process a bit. If your employees occasionally upload some beauty shots of their work and dump them into a Google Drive folder, you'll have a great pool to pull from. Don't know what to say on each post? Some AI can come up with an appropriate title and description for you. Just be sure to mention which platform you're using, as they each have their own nuances.