Getting leads is one of the most frustrating things construction companies go through. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a bunch of leads to be successful. In the construction industry, quality will always be above quantity.
Whether you're looking for residential or commercial construction leads, there are many strategies to consider. On this page, you'll learn how to make the most out of what you have and get your construction projects known online. Our team can also teach you how to get pool builder leads.
The wrong strategy will make you lose time and money. If you don't want your sales and marketing efforts to go to waste, make sure to implement the tips mentioned below!
Understanding Construction Leads
Before going into the best strategies for construction lead generation, you must know what to expect.
In this industry, you'll work with two types of leads. While both of them are important, they're not equal in terms of benefits. There's a difference between a person who sent you an email asking for information three years ago and one who asked for a quote yesterday.
To put it simply, not all leads are worth the same. Below is a breakdown of each type so that you know where to focus your efforts:
Information Qualified Leads
As the name implies, these are people looking for information. It may be about the construction company, its services, or anything else related to that.
In most cases, IQLs haven't heard about your company yet. Some may have just learned about it. They might be looking for someone to tackle their renovations, new constructions, etc.
What do you need to attract IQLs? You must demonstrate that you're an expert when it comes to construction services. It's also necessary to build trust. Keep in mind that these people aren't necessarily looking for your company. They're just looking for ideas, inspiration, budget options, or other related things. Perhaps, consider a website designer for construction.
Marketing Qualified Leads
Marketing Qualified Leads are those who are ready to pay. They have noticed your brand and its marketing efforts, so they're willing to give you their information and learn more about what you offer.
As you may have guessed, MQLs are much more valuable, as they represent a potential sale. However, the competition for these leads is also bigger.
To put things in perspective, most of the other construction companies in your area want these leads, so you're likely competing with dozens of people. In these cases, you may want to pay to gain an edge.
By putting money into the lead generation strategy that works, you have a better chance of catching clients faster.
Is It Hard to Generate Leads?
It doesn't matter who you ask; generating leads is one of the most frustrating processes for companies. There are many reasons for that, including:
Finding Leads: Settling for any leads you get your hands on won't cut it. You must find people who fit your business, and that's often a challenge for sales and marketing experts.
Nurturing and Managing Leads: When you find leads, you must work on establishing a relationship with them. This ensures that they convert into customers. The process of nurturing and managing leads can be stressful for some people.
Budgeting: You must invest quite a bit of money if you want to generate leads eventually. The problem is that it takes a while for results to come up, so it may be complicated to budget for these strategies at first.
With that being said, this doesn't mean that generating more leads is impossible. If you prepare correctly and know where to focus your efforts, you'll have a better chance of appearing at the top of search engines, creating better relationships with your audience, and getting more customers.
How to Generate Quality Leads Correctly
All construction contractors need a steady flow of leads if they want to stay afloat in the industry. By creating a great construction lead generation strategy, you'll eventually secure high-quality clients in the future.
Below is a list of strategies/tips that you can use to generate construction leads:
Define Your Ideal Client Profile (ICP)
When creating a construction business, you must think about your ideal customer. When you know who you want to sell to, you can design an optimized campaign that fits these goals.
Defining an ICP isn't too hard. You must answer a few questions like:
What would be the perfect job for my company?
Who is likely to hire me for these jobs?
Which types of projects do I want to have more of?
Where does my ideal client live?
What do these people expect from a construction contractor?
How will my clients find me?
People may have different types of potential clients, depending on the market they're targeting. Some people, for example, want both commercial and residential construction leads. In these cases, the clients are different.
What if you're not sure what your ideal client is? You still have a card to play. Take a look at your business, and identify your most loyal customers. There should be a pattern in their behavior and needs, which will help you with this process.
Launch an Optimized Website
A great website can take you far. It's often the best lead-generation tool to have.
When someone hears about your company, one of the first things they may do is check its website. If you don't have one, how will they reach out to you? Making the process more complicated for the client will likely result in losing a lot of leads.
While designing and launching a website is scary, you don't have to tackle it yourself. With the help of expert teams, such as the ones in Blue Collar Websites, you can get the perfect page to attract people.
Professionals ensure that all your content is SEO-optimized. In other words, your content will have a higher chance of ranking high on popular search engines like Google.
Create the Perfect Appointment-setting Program
It's crucial that you make the process of hiring you as smooth as possible. The more streamlined it is, the better.
You can separate this process into a few tasks, which are:
Building a lead list
Qualifying leads to ensure they make a good fit for your business
Nurturing your leads to create a better relationship with them
Scheduling meetings with your leads to help them make their decision
Invest in Paid Search and Social Advertising
Many people can come across your website and never book a call. While this is common, this doesn't mean you should give up on your advertising efforts.
In most scenarios, you'll benefit from investing in paid search and social advertising. Paid search is when you invest in engines like Google to display ads to certain people, including those who interacted with your website in the past.
Social advertising, on the other hand, involves paying certain websites like Instagram or LinkedIn to run ads on their platforms.
Make sure to pick the right advertising solution based on what you need. If your target audience doesn't use LinkedIn, for example, it won't make too much sense to waste your money there.
Offer Benefits to Your Potential Clients
People love getting benefits and free stuff when they're looking for a construction business. Think about what perks you can offer that won't represent a huge setback for your company.
Most small companies, for example, offer free quotes to people. While creating project estimates takes time, it can be an excellent way of connecting with your potential clients and getting a competitive edge.
Other companies create valuable content that people can actually use. You can create a downloadable guide or a small eBook that people can download for free. This could make them more likely to request your services later.
Consider Creating a Referral Program
Happy customers are often the best salespeople. When you do a great job, your past client is likely to talk positively about it. Why not incentivize them to advertise your services with a referral program?
You can create a reward program for those who want to join the referral list. If you don't want to rely on customers, you can also talk to tradesmen in the industry and offer them referrals.
Consider Lead Generation Sites
Lead generation sites are those where you can post and advertise your business without much effort. In most of these places, it won't take too much time to create a profile and start the advertising process.
Some of the best solutions include:
Google Business Profile
Yelp
Angie's List
Bing Places
HomeAdvisor
Don't Forget About Networking
Never underestimate the power of networking. Today, you can start networking online and build a solid community. If you do it correctly, you can open the door to many opportunities, especially regarding lead generation.
Consider the following strategies:
Go to online networking events and trade shows.
Use your social media profiles to reach out to professionals in the industry.
Consider in-person networking events if possible.
Conclusion
Implementing the strategies mentioned above will certainly give you the upper hand when looking for construction leads.
Not all lead-generation strategies will cost money. Optimizing your social media profiles, for example, won't cost you any money if you're doing it yourself. However, if you want to get the best results possible, make sure to work with a professional.
Remember to measure and optimize your strategies frequently. This will be the key to success later.
While this can be a long process, don't get discouraged. Take the journey one step at a time, and you'll become an expert at generating leads sooner rather than later.
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