There’s no doubt that the construction industry is competitive. It’s the reason so many companies are willing to pay a hefty price when seeking how to get construction leads.
While this approach might be effective for lead generation in the short term, it’s not the best if you want to grow your business sustainably.
In this blog, you’ll learn how to get construction leads in eight proven ways and stay competitive without breaking the bank. Implemented properly, these strategies convert opportunities into lifelong clients.
Types of construction leads
Information qualified leads (IQL)
Information qualified leads (IQL) are potential clients who have shown interest by engaging with your content or by providing their contact information in exchange for resources (e-books, webinars).
Based on our past experiences, unguided strategies like cold calling rarely contribute to generating IQLs. Instead, you should:
- Attract potential clients with compelling content.
- Establish partnerships with local suppliers.
- Advertise in trade magazines and journals.
- Participate in local trade shows and exhibitions.
- Network at construction industry events.
Qualify leads to ensure they match the company’s ideal client profile before you follow up with potential leads promptly and professionally. You can cultivate qualified leads through targeted data and follow-ups to move them down the sales funnel more effectively.
Marketing qualified leads (MQL)
Marketing qualified leads (MQL) are a step ahead of IQLs. MQLs are prospects who have shown a more concrete interest in your construction services. For example, maybe they’ve:
- Repeatedly visited your website.
- Meaningfully engaged with your online content.
- Responded to your initial marketing efforts.
MQLs are more likely to become customers, so it’s crucial to engage with them through more personalized marketing approaches.
For some proven ways to secure MQLs, you can:
- Generate leads through online advertising.
- Build a strong online presence through SEO and PPC campaigns.
- Attend construction-related seminars and workshops to meet potential clients.
- Optimize the company website for search engines.
- Offer referral incentives to existing clients.
When learning how to get construction leads, considering these strategies is crucial as MQLs are the best, most qualified leads you can acquire.
Why is lead generation important for construction companies?
Lead generation is vital for your construction company because it provides a steady stream of potential clients.
Don’t just focus on the quantity of people that comprise your prospect list. Generating high-quality leads is crucial for sustained business growth. Effective lead generation strategies help you identify and pursue clients who are more profitable.
Proven ways to get more qualified construction leads
1. Align sales and marketing
When establishing how to get construction leads, your sales and marketing teams need to work together by sharing all the customer insights they have.
Whether it’s feedback from conversations with prospects on the phone or through customer engagements on social media, this information is critical to the development of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
For those of you new to what an ICP is, it’s a general outline that represents the traits that your best customers share. The value of an ICP is that it helps you understand what type of buyers:
- Shop most frequently with your business
- Are the cheapest to convert into customers.
- Generate the most revenue for you.
- Are the most profitable to acquire.
- Stay with you the longest.
Your ICP guides your lead generation strategy and helps you know which construction leads are worth investing your time into.
2. Use online lead generation forms
When it comes to getting free construction leads, your website is a great place to start, as visitors have already shown some interest in your services. To capitalize on this interest, you’ll want to make the most of online lead generation forms.Embedded directly onto your website, visitors who are interested in your services can share their contact information with you and request that you follow up with them. Below is an example of a web-to-lead form.
With the help of a lead generation form, finding out how to get construction leads has never been easier.
3. Automate your sales workflows
The key to building a successful sales process from lead to repeat buyer (and everything in between) is workflow automation. By automating your workflows from initial sales outreach to your final follow-up, you ensure that you’re effectively nurturing every one of your construction leads to move them down the sales funnel.
On top of this, sales workflow automation lets you put time back into your sales reps’ days, as they no longer have to perform tedious tasks like manually creating estimates or managing spreadsheets. Instead, they can use this time to complete more revenue-generating activities, such as building industry relationships and taking meetings with hot leads.
4. Leverage the power of referrals
Still not sure how to get construction leads you can count on? Try turning to your existing customers.
To start, you should think about your most satisfied customers and ask them if they know anyone looking for general contractors or construction services. This tactic is a great way to stay top of mind and drum up leads for your construction business.
To incentivize your request for referrals, you can offer customers a discounted rate on their next project or a chance to collect a prize like tickets to a concert or sports event. To generate even more construction leads, you can also launch social media and email campaigns around the giveaway to create excitement about your brand.
5. Share your success stories on social media
Here’s how to get construction leads easily without investing too much time: showcase some of your best projects on your social media platforms. This gets your brand out there and helps build trust with your social media followers about the quality of your work.
To get started, you can post before and after photos of your work to highlight the impact of your services and show audiences what’s possible with your company. This is a popular strategy on visual social platforms like Instagram.
Your company should also create a professional LinkedIn profile to show the credibility of your business and make contact information easily available. It’s a good idea to solicit testimonials and reviews from satisfied customers on Yelp or your website as well.
Don’t forget that social media engagement is an important way to connect with your customers. Engage with potential clients on social media platforms to answer questions and get users interested in your services.
6. Run paid ads on Google and Facebook
Google and Facebook are two online directories where you can target specific demographics with tailored marketing campaigns.
These platforms offer advanced targeting options, letting you reach individuals who are most likely to need construction services. Tailoring your ads to specific demographics, locations, and interests leads to higher conversion rates.
7. Search engine optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful tool for attracting qualified leads. Research keywords relevant to your services to direct online traffic to your websites and improve your ranking on key search engines like Google.
A better rank means your website shows up higher on the SERP, which is the list of results that appear after a search. One of the best ways to improve how to get construction leads is through a highly optimized website.
8. Use retargeting for paid ad campaigns
Retargeting is an effective way to recapture the attention of visitors who have shown interest in your services but haven’t become a customer. By showing ads to these people as they browse other sites, you remind them of your construction services and encourage them to return.
To this end, consider pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, where you only spend money when someone clicks your ad (rather than just views it). Make sure you establish a budget for your digital marketing strategies to stay within your financial restraints.
Which construction lead generation strategy will you use first?
When learning how to get construction leads, there are two paths you can take: free marketing channels and paid marketing channels. While a free option is always appealing, there are some things you need to keep in mind for both strategies.
Free marketing channels
Free marketing channels are an obvious choice for every construction business because they don’t have any upfront costs.
Unpaid marketing strategies include things like:
- Social media, online forums and groups.
- Cold calling.
- Networking with suppliers in the industry.
- Follow-ups to nurture relationships with past clients for repeat business.
- Volunteering and community involvement.
- Referral programs.
Local partnerships are also an easy way to obtain trust with your leads as you’re working alongside other established businesses.
You can connect with local real estate agents for potential leads — or collaborate with complementary businesses for joint ventures to capture more targeted prospects.
Because you’re investing time and not money into free marketing channels, these are easy ways to get your foot in the door. On the other hand, your leads will probably not fit your ideal customer profiles, resulting in fewer conversions.
Paid marketing channels
Paid marketing channels put you ahead of your competition because they target your leads much more effectively than an unpaid marketing strategy. That said, this means more risk if your investment doesn’t pay off.
Paid marketing channels can include:
- Networking events like construction trade shows.
- Sponsorships and local events.
- Online and offline local advertising.
- Email marketing campaigns.
- Industry associations and memberships.
You can research emerging markets and areas of growth to decide how to invest your money smartly. By establishing what works for your business, you can understand how to get construction leads in your niche for a better close rate.
Specializing in a niche sets you apart in the market so you have less competition. You can use this advantage to promote specialized services or discounts to attract new clients.
Recap: How to get and close more construction leads
At this point, you should have a better idea of how to get construction leads for your business. Drawing from our experience, the most successful construction businesses:
- Have sales and marketing work together to discover construction leads that match ICPs.
- Use lead gen forms on the company website to capitalize on online interest.
- Automate sales workflows wherever possible.
- Find new construction projects by asking for customer referrals.
- Build a social media presence by sharing examples of high-quality work.
Frequently asked questions about construction leads
Does a brand / logo matter in getting more construction leads?
Your company logo and job site branding matter — to a point. Having a recognizable brand helps your customers remember you.
Whether it’s someone who recognized the logo on your company vehicle or a previous client who wants to refer you to a new job, ensuring strong branding with a consistent logo design makes your company stick in people’s minds.
You don’t need to spend a lot of time or money on establishing a brand. A logo that is simple but unique to your business is all you need to start making your business memorable. Gather good customer reviews and testimonials to take you the rest of the way.
Do I need to hire a professional marketer to get more construction leads?
Hiring a professional marketer is beneficial, especially if you lack the expertise or resources to manage marketing efforts with an in-house team. However, it’s not entirely necessary.
If you do choose to go this route, lead generation services provide specialized skills and knowledge in areas like:
- SEO.
- Paid advertising.
- Content marketing.
A professional marketer helps you expand in each area to quickly put your business ahead of your competition.
What is B2B in construction?
B2B stands for “business to business” and refers to engagements between two businesses, rather than involving an individual customer. In the construction industry, this includes suppliers for your materials or any consulting services you use.
B2B relationships require a different marketing approach that’s focused on long-term relationships and the value of the products or services those relationships provide you.
Learn more great tips about how to get construction leads.
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Image credit: Chris Liverani via Unsplash