Construction leads are a critical part of any construction company. They offer the opportunity to present your business to potential customers to get them on board. However, contractors can find it difficult when it comes to getting more traffic and potential clients. No matter how long they have been in this industry, it isn’t easy to pinpoint the best method to generate them in today’s changing economy.
You should also be searching for the best ways to generate those construction leads besides deciding to use some services that could quickly bring them to you (if the people you hire for it are genuinely qualified).
Although it may take more effort to go over all the alternatives available instead of just leaving the task to someone else, the savings you will obtain thanks to it will be worth it.
Here are some of the easiest and best ways available that can help you to finally find construction leads without spending a single penny with lead generation professionals or experts.
Make Sure to Build a Website
A website is essential for any business. After all, this is how customers find pros to work with and a way to generate more deals and construction projects.
If you do a quick search for professionals in your area, your website will be displayed with all the details they need about the project.
This method is even better if you have your Google My Business account set up for your website so that you can utilize their hyperlocal targeting.
Your contact information should be prominently displayed on it to guarantee potential clients are able to contact you easily.
Your website can also be a showcase of your talents. Past projects are a great way to show potential customers what you can do, and including testimonials from clients you have worked with and continue to do so can help you build your reputation and stay in the thoughts of potential clients.
Now, you’re probably wondering if building a website is actually that simple. It didn’t use to, but now you have several options until you’re able to afford a better choice and work around a more professional look.
Just keep in mind that a business requires work and effort, and when it comes to generating commercial or residential construction leads for free, you might need to put a bit more from both.
Optimize the Website
Whenever someone tells you that your website is the most powerful tool for converting leads to your construction business, you better believe them (including us).
Most people will think that word-of-mouth referrals are the most valuable assets they have. However, where do those referrals go when someone recommends your company to someone who requires your services?
Spoiler: your website.
Well, we kind of spoiled that in the previous option since we talked about how important a website is, but this is an addition we wanted to make sure is clear.
To begin with, people will try to find information about you, even if it is for an email, call, or any other action.
If we follow this logic, they will also run a search on your business to determine if you are worth their time and consideration. If you think about it, any 21st-century consumer will Google you before anything else.
This is why they must make it to your site and are given plenty of opportunities so you can convert them without much investment or struggle.
This is when you should optimize your website to convert visitors from the internet and not only rely on word-of-mouth referrals.
Word-of-mouth referrals can’t be the only source of leads if you want to increase your clients and deals. Otherwise, you will lose to your competitors, and regardless of the effort you invest, the result will be disappointing.
Optimizing your website and marketing strategy should help draw more traffic. Once new visitors have arrived at your site, you should use conversion tools to help generate leads.
Not sure about which conversion tools you should use? Most marketers will recommend these three for construction companies and several professionals:
Calls to Action
Call-to-action refers to any page or button on your website that encourages someone to take action. In other words, you are encouraging people to do something specific during their visit.
Like what? Following, liking, commenting, requesting a free quote, getting a project bid, and so on.
Calls-to-action on your website makes it easier for qualified leads to convert, and they are easily visible.
Remember, you’re interested in future clients that are actually worth your time and effort. Not in anyone that comes to your website and barely spends 2 minutes or 15 seconds.
Those that are worth your time will be the ones actually looking for construction services.
Content offers
Calls to action are a great way for qualified leads to be converted into purchasing decisions.
But if you think about it, whenever someone starts to research construction companies, asking for a quote may seem too much since they are not entirely compromised (most of them) to find the company or experts right away.
However, this doesn’t mean they are not potential leads.
Those visitors need a soft conversion opportunity, and you will encourage them for that since this is where content offers are made.
You can offer content as pieces on your website in a specific section. This section is often a contact form or inclusion that allows you to receive information about your visitors and potential clients.
Your sales team doesn’t have to do anything except offer qualified conversion opportunities through content offers.
These are a great soft-conversion opportunity to increase the lead generation for your construction company without adding too much work to your sales team.
Conversational marketing
Most people underestimate or forget about this method, and we understand that it is a bit eclipsed when you consider the previous ones. However, it is one of the best you can use to convert leads and bring more visitors that could be leads and then clients.
But what is conversation marketing? Basically, just establish a conversation with your leads through some tools or support or provide answers to their questions and queries.
Use conversational marketing tools like a chatbot to increase traffic to your most popular website pages. It is great to have a home page and pages that highlight your past work.
A chatbot can be used to answer any questions or provide information about past projects.
You can have the chatbot answer your question according to pre-established conversations or have someone from your sales team respond directly via the chatbot.
The best part about the chatbot is that it can gather the contact information of potential leads so that your sales team can follow up.
However, if the lead isn’t qualified, your sales team can direct them to a side that provides them with answers but doesn’t make your company waste time. This will help you eliminate a lot of unqualified leads from your sales pipeline.
Although conversational marketing is still a relatively new technology, it can be a great way for visitors to convert to leads.
Studies have shown that visitors are more likely to become leads if they can quickly get the answer they need.
Conversational marketing tools make it easy to answer questions at the right time. They ensure your website is always available, even when salespeople are not there.
Consider Starting an Email Newsletter
This tactic isn’t something most people consider, but an email newsletter can really help you generate fresh leads.
Why? Because it’s a great way to keep in touch with people you have done business with, and it also serves as a reminder of the work you do.
Some services can even be free until you reach a certain number of emails, like Constant Contact or MailChimp, which means you don’t have to worry about investment but rather just dedicate some time to build the emails.
When you offer free content regularly, people are more likely to sign up on their email list than not because they know the information will be sent directly to them, and it’s of value.
You may be unsure what to include in an email. Thus, here’s some advice:
- It is always helpful to share any news or updates about your business.
- You can share helpful tips, project ideas, or the most recent trends in your trade.
- Sharing photos from your work can also be a great way to get people talking and engaging with what you have going on.
Finally, include an option if someone wants a link so that people can contact you for your services right away unless you’re planning to use the same email for this purpose (which will make them reply to one when received).
What can you include? A portion of the email can have a short paragraph like this:
“We have all types of construction services that can help you with your new projects, be it homes, apartments, renovations, remodeling, or starting a new real estate from zero. If this is something you would like assistance in or need help finding qualified professionals and contractors, contact us at [email protected].”
For some, it can be a bit too much to add this in the email, but some people need a little push to finally contact you when receiving them over time.
Of course, make sure the portion isn’t eclipsing the rest of the information but rather include it at the end of the email and in a font that doesn’t overwhelm the reader.
Don’t Forget About the Reviews & Referrals
You probably won’t believe us, but one of the best ways to get construction project leads is by using the words and mouths of your customers.
When a job is completed, ask for testimonials so that future customers can view genuine reviews of your work.
In case you didn’t know (which we believe you don’t), people are 90% more likely to trust a brand or person that a friend has recommended.
If a friend or relative is in need of similar services, you can ask them for referrals.
For us, this is probably the best way to get construction leads as long as you provide great services and leave your customers satisfied, who will give you a great referral without hesitation.
Excellent customer service is key to getting free leads for construction jobs using this method, so make sure you don’t fall behind nor forget about giving it a touch or two. Some tips you can consider to provide it are:
- Don’t be late. Focus on being on time.
- Customers will be grateful if you follow through on your promises.
- Dress and act professionally
- Always be polite and courteous with customers.
- Remember to clean up your job site and make it presentable.
We can give you a final one to boost your opportunities for referrals and testimonials by providing discounts for referrals to incentivize customers to spread the word about your business.
Your Best Tool: Social Media
Social media is part of the best ways to get free construction leads and will continue to be for a while.
Besides creating your own social media pages, you can begin listening and being a part of the conversation.
To engage with customers, you can start by sharing your ideas with them and explaining how you can assist with their projects and dreams.
This tactic is very similar to email marketing campaigns since sharing tips, ideas, and trends in your media can help you get more clients.
Community boards can be a great way to get leads for free. If you take your time to see metro areas, you’ll notice they have services dedicated to specific zip code areas, like EveryBlock.
More frequently than you think, neighbors will post information to seek advice from others about the best pros in their area.
Creating a reputation there and sharing your experience and services on those boards will lead you to have a call every few minutes without delay.
Local Networking
Networking in your local community is a cost-free and straightforward way to get your company’s name out there and generate more leads.
It’s as easy as placing a business card at your local coffee shop or restaurant; participating in community service projects is also a great way to get involved, but only if you have the time for them.
The latter option will help others and speak volumes about your company’s values by showing that you are willing to do extra to help your community and everyone who needs it.
Another way to network is by sharing some advice with neighbors and friends as needed.
For some companies, sharing knowledge is a big “no” because they believe people will be encouraged to try to handle the project themselves instead of calling a professional.
Well, this can be true, but it all depends on how you handle the process of sharing your knowledge.
If you give them all the answers and offer your services for free, there’s no way they will want to call a professional. However, if you twist it a bit and let them know why a pro is always the best option, they will trust you to give the service a try.
This option can be a bit tricky if you aren’t an expert or good at “selling” your services, but we believe you will get a hold of it after a bit.
Engaging Content Is Key
Experts are the best source of engaging content for most people since they trust you, and if they don’t, they usually come to do it when reading or watching your content.
Keep in mind that “engaging” doesn’t mean useless. Instead, you have to create content that is truly worth your viewers’ and readers’ time unless you want the entire effort to go to waste and not generate the leads you need.
Now, you can start with this journey by creating a blog about residential or commercial construction that you can link to from your website.
Your website will rise to the top of search engine results pages if you keep adding new, engaging content.
Your prospects will feel more confident in making informed decisions about their construction solutions if you are providing information that is valuable and informative.
Engagement content could include:
- Photos about before and after the results of a project.
- Videos are a great way to keep up with the marketing curve. It’s easy to make FAQs, how-to videos, and educational videos that add value to your market.
- Case studies in which you can feature projects to show and explain to your prospects how your projects are handled and the results you deliver to them.
- Consumer awareness guidelines can be designed to educate your target market and help them through decision-making.
Partner with Other Local Businesses
It is easy to create a written agreement outlining the terms and place for both sides to sign so you can earn (and them as well) when it comes to lead generation.
It is easier to get involved in specific industries if you also focus on finding related businesses and not only those in your specific field.
You’ll have an appealing offer and a solid sales tool if you can put it in writing. You can make an offer to promote yourself to people and companies you don’t know.
Of course, a partnership is never simple since everyone wants to earn more. This is why you will have to be clear about the terms and conditions in each of the contracts you offer to other companies or businesses in the construction field or a similar niche.
Past Successes Are Equal to More Leads
Which strategies are most effective for your construction business? What failed?
You need to track your progress and identify what is working and what isn’t so that you can generate more leads in the future.
We believe a CRM is the best alternative to help you keep track of and analyze data associated with your marketing and lead generation efforts if you ask us. Still, you can also use the people you talk with every day to figure out what’s working to generate leads for your company.
Now, how does this CRM works along with the people you talk to? Here’s an overview:
Talk to your new leads and determine how they discovered you.
This will give you an even better understanding of the source of your leads and part of helping you determine which generation strategies are delivering new leads.
Ask your customers why they chose you as their construction company.
Do they like your content? What about the latest guides and posts you have shared? Are they useful? Did you appear as the first Google result? What was it that made your company stand out from the rest?
These questions will give you an insight into the lead generation strategies that work for your team.
Focus on the most effective platforms for your company.
Every day, your sales team interacts with customers and leads. From talking with them, they will know what information is most important to them and what helps to convert new customers into leads.
You will be more able to adapt your future lead generation efforts if you better understand your current efforts, their effectiveness, and how they have reached your site and company.
Is it social media? Google Ads? Do your best to get the answers you need.
Details Are Your Life
You should keep track of all details that affect your sale at all stages.
Notify all changes in design, time frames, and so on. This will make you appear professional and committed and will protect the project by ensuring that you are fully informed about everything happening.
Learn About Your Audience
Begin by looking at general demographics such as age, gender, income, and location.
It is also important to research the neighborhoods that are on the rise and the needs of the people who will be moving into them when it comes to building.
This will help you identify small things people like, such as colors and styles, which you can use in your marketing. These building blocks are the foundation for your sales and marketing efforts.
Also, remember that you work and live for them, so it is only natural to invest a lot of your time learning about them and understanding what they are looking for.
Think about it in this way: you are trying to satisfy a need, which means you have to guarantee your audience is satisfied even when they aren’t leads and even fewer clients yet.
Why? Because it isn’t only about satisfaction but also investing your effort and time in an audience that is worth it and will look forward to your products and services. Every construction lead should be the ideal client in terms of the deals you want to close.
Is It Worth Your Time?
It is fair to be worried about ending up spending your time carrying out these tactics when you could be investing it in other things.
Many people will even argue that they had tried all these options before or a few of them and failed while trying. However, as mentioned before, everything depends on how you perform each of the alternatives.
One of the biggest mistakes is to think you will bring construction leads in a matter of hours or even days. Of course, you should see some results not long after starting, but don’t think any of these methods are magic tricks that are waiting for you to say “hocus-pocus.”
It is possible to find free construction leads, but it will take some extra effort and time on your part.
Utilize an array of tactics, like lead generation services, networking, and social media marketing to gain new leads and win the deals.
Don’t worry about the company name and how not that many people know it yet. After all, you will fix this with the tips and steps we just shared, regardless of the specific project you have for your company.
The Local Lead Generation Process for Your Construction Business
All right! So, everything is about building properties and generating leads. But how does the process actually take place? Are there other steps I need to know?
The steps I mention below are what students from our local lead generation program follow to generate leads for businesses like yourself. So I’ll help you see what we do. And how if you join our program, you can simply generate leads for your own business (unless you want to start a side hustle and build a laptop lifestyle business).
Essentially, our lead generation can be divided into four steps:
The first is prospecting. You need to take the time to do market research on a niche (industry) and determine how many phone-driven businesses are there.
Keep in mind that this is local research as you need to know how many companies need leads. For example, you may search for “plumbing services Youngstown OH.”
You will find dozens or even hundreds of businesses trying to get themselves in front of the customers by ranking on Map Listings, organic results, and even Ad.
The second step, building. When you find a niche (plumbing, tree services, a software company, real estate…), you will need to start building your digital properties. You don’t need to be an expert in HTML or coding. It can be easy with the right tools.
The third step is now taking time to rank your lead gen website. With the site done, you need to work on SEO strategies and start dominating those Google search results. If you’re new to SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization.
To keep it simple, it consists of the entire process of growing a company’s visibility on search engines like Google and generating organic traffic. And remember this, local lead generation is part of the strategies.
Moving on to step four, once you rank the site, you will start getting your ROI and profits. You only need to rent it out to a local business interested in the leads the site generates. You can offer a couple of free leads to their move on with the actual pay per lead.
To review steps 1-4 above, I described it to a normal student who is building a lead gen business to help local service providers generate more calls. But replace the student with you as the business owner. And replace sending the leads to a business to simply siphoning the leads to your personal business.
By the way, fun fact, about 20% of our students in our local lead gen program are actually business owners who went through the program. And they use the skillsets we teach to generate leads for their own business.
An Example of Lead Generation: Home Advisor
You must be thinking, “if lead generation sounds so good so far, how come I haven’t seen any company?” That’s the thing; there are many out there. You just don’t know they are dedicated to it.
HomeAdvisor is one of the best examples you can find on the Internet as it is a top lead generation company that has spent millions building its brand but also earned even more zeros for this same reason.
They started small as everyone else but invested in building their brand awareness to make people who are looking for home services go to their website and find what they need. They are over 75% of people’s first choice when they need those services.
If you don’t get HomeAdvisor that much or need a refresh, users need to submit their information to request a service and get a professional or expert who can provide it.
HomeAdvisor’s job is to share your information, which makes you a lead, with local companies so they can contact you and offer the service you’re requesting. For sharing this lead information, HomeAdvisor gets paid by the companies. This happens for every single lead they send to multiple businesses.
Business owners who don’t have marketing skills or don’t even know how to have any online presence will always rely on those pages to list their services. They will save time and effort, but companies like HomeAdvisor can make them spend lots of money as leads aren’t exclusive (one lead is sent to multiple companies after all).
Using Facebook Ads aka Paid Ad Platforms: Do They Generate Leads?
They DO generate leads. If not, no one would use them.
However, you need to remember two facts:
- Paid ads or platforms can be expensive.
- They don’t generate “natural” leads.
Whenever someone sees or clicks in one of those ads, over 80% of them did it by accident or are trying to close/report it.
Why? Because they aren’t looking for those services. At least not at the moment.
What those ads do instead is interrupt their time on the platforms. Users aren’t there to find companies or businesses unless they are searching for a specific company’s user, and for that, there’s a search bar. This is why it is hard to convert them to actual customers who will show interest in the companies’ services. Also, you’re limited by a budget.
When using lead generation, everything is organic. You aren’t forcing others to pay attention to your business but rather being there when they need you. This is why Google’s organic traffic will always beat paid ads, and the reason companies continue investing in it, which is a lot cheaper as well.
What Is Local SEO?
Don’t worry… I didn’t get it at first either. Following the short explanation, local SEO focuses on scaling businesses’ visibility on search engines. However, this is only for those who serve their communities face-to-face.
What does this mean?
Experts and professionals like painters, plumbers, and dentists (but not only them) offer their services to their local customers. Why? Because they can’t deliver them unless they are located in the same area of their customers.
To make sure those businesses get more leads, you need to rank them locally by claiming the business listing on Google to place them on Map Listings. Local SEO also involves online reviews, citation management, and how you manage your entire online presence in the local area.
If you are going to bet on lead gen, you need to adapt yourself to today’s world: The Internet.
Keep in mind that although traditional channels and methods like billboards, warm calls, and pamphlets still work, they aren’t part of your tools. Whenever someone needs a service, they go to Google and search for it.
“Dentist in Miami” or “plumbing services in Orlando,” etc. And you can keep coming up with services or professionals people need and look for. Thus, you need to make sure you’re using Google to get the companies in front of their clients.
Users will always click on the first search results (those near the top), and many of them will be either Ad links (people paid to place their websites there), Map Listing, and then you get websites. Almost all of them are your goal and where you should always aim to place yourself.
Can My Construction Business Utilize a Local Lead Generation Strategy?
If you want customers, you better know you need it. Following the previous explanation, lead gen is all about placing businesses in front of their customers, choosing them over their competitors.
Put it simply – it’s all about closing deals and having clients for those companies to make money. The main difference with the usual methods companies use for this is how lead generation approaches different channels to get them in the right place of the market to get customers.
Those channels are all focused on the Internet as most people are searching for products but also services across the net. The issue is that the Internet is way too broad, and businesses don’t know how to place themselves. They usually try, but they get one common result: losing money and time.
How Powerful Are Organic Construction Leads from Google?
For companies looking for customers, it’s everything. For you? Pretty much the same. When you build a business with digital properties, you get to make thousands of dollars a month.
This isn’t a “get started today and get rich tomorrow” thing, but it is HIGHLY scalable, and ROI + positive results are guaranteed. Learning a fairly decent and very needed set of skills to create your digital properties and start ranking them on Google is required.
I have invested in several online businesses over the years, and if there’s something uncertain, whether you will get your ROI or not, even more than the actual profit.
However, this business moved my earnings from five figures a year to a month in ONLY passive income while sitting comfortably at home.
On my laptop. Anywhere. Anytime.
You can look at one of the first sites I built back in 2016, and it continues making me over $1.000+ every month. The best part is that I don’t need to touch it or the rest I’ve built over the years, just like this digital property.
What Makes Lead Generation SO Alluring?
Here it goes: you can work from home.
The main issue with regular business opportunities is how much you need to invest in staff, equipment, or rent to have a place to sell your products or offer your services.
We all know the hassles of traditional businesses that involve regular expenses, which are extremely high. Can you afford it? I don’t think so, and even if you can, is it worth it? Now, it isn’t only about the money. You also need to put in a lot of work, and it isn’t only during the first couple of months or years. Usually, it is as long as you continue running it.
You can save yourself those headaches and bone-breaking tasks and expenses with lead gen since it is more about generating leads with digital channels—mainly websites.
Websites can be VERY cheap to build, and with many tools online, you get to do it in a couple of hours instead of days. Any virtual or digital business is scalable and won’t need constant maintenance.
So, let’s summarize this:
- You save money in regular expenses with traditional and most online businesses as what you need is yourself and digital properties (websites).
- You can bet on passive income.
- There’s no need to hire more people to get started.
- You can generate leads in multiple industries, which allows you to work on any niche you want.
How Can I Get Started in the Local Lead Generation Program?
Anyone can start and learn. That’s the beauty of this business model. I knew nothing about SEO, Map Listing, and everything I’ve mentioned so far. It is all about learning the skills, gaining experience, and deciding to take the step.
Remember that this business model will never get old as business owners are always looking for leads. They need to do business and scale their companies. Why not do the same while helping others and still making money?
You can start with this local lead generation course highly recommended for anyone wanting to grow in the business. It is a close training that will take you through each step and make sure you are able to get your ROI, profits and take control of your life.
You will be added to an incredible lead generation family ready to help you 24/7 when asking questions on the group. Anyone is welcome who’s willing to put in the work. Click here to watch the lead gen webinar.