Trying a variety of marketing ideas, from content marketing to lead generation, can help contractors book more jobs fast
When you’re a contractor, competition is fierce and you have to constantly look for new ways to market and find quality leads. Contractor advertising and marketing seems expensive, so it’s understandable if you are cautious with how much money you invest.
What you need are ideas on how to be more effective in finding job leads for contractors. And while contractor lead generation can be frustrating, we’ve compiled a useful guide with tips that’ll help.
Like any business, a contractor needs leads to grow—or just to survive. If your contractor leads have slowed to a trickle, it’s probably for one of the following reasons.
In the construction industry, speed is key—particularly when it comes to landing new jobs. As soon as your customers put out a request for proposals, companies will bombard them with leads. This makes it really easy for you to get lost in the shuffle.
But it's not just the bidding process where you can lose leads because you're too slow. If you get leads coming in from contact forms and other services, you need to act immediately because they quickly go stale. Get on that phone and dial that lead to talk about the project within the hour, if possible. Schedule a time to meet with the prospect to talk about what they need to have done.
Customers go online to check your business out as soon as they hear about you. If you haven't put much thought into your website, you may immediately lose credibility and prompt leads to go elsewhere.
Don’t be overwhelmed—search for “one page landing page” vendors. Many offer simple templates and drag-and-drop options, so you can have a landing page in just a few hours. Gather any/all photos of your previous jobs—customers love before/after photos.
Here are a few things you should do right away to improve your website’s landing page:
Use images and a simple design to guide the eye to your action item, like a form to fill out.
Describe clearly the kind of work you do.
Feature testimonials prominently, with before and after photos, if you have them.
Optimize the page for mobile, since that's how many clients will find you.
Your competitors are using social media to connect with locals looking for contractors, so you should as well.
Here are some concrete actions you can take right now in this area:
Establish a Facebook business page to collect reviews, share details about projects, and connect with locals interested in the services you provide.
Launch an Instagram account as a way to create a visual feed of the work you do.
Create a LinkedIn account to connect with other contractors who might be interested in partnering with you on a project or helping you identify more work.
It's easy to waste money on advertising. If you are disappointed in the results of current ad campaigns, experiment with pay-per-click (PPC) ads. PPC ads allow you to target specific keywords in search engines, so only customers who have shown an interest in services see your ad.
For example, if you're looking for plumbing leads in Arlington, Virginia, advertise for keyword phrases like "plumber arlington va." That way, you only pay when someone on Google or Bing searches that term and clicks on your ad. Geographic-specific terms like this really help contractors avoid wasting ad money.
Even if you fix all of the above issues, you can still do a few extra things to boost your contractor leads. Here are five great ways to quickly land some new customers.
One of the first places you should look for lead generation services is on listing sites—can customers even find you if they wanted to?
It's important to list your business online where people are looking for contractors. And there's no better place to increase your exposure than Angi, where millions of homeowners are trying to find local contractors like you. Once you become an Angi pro, you'll be able to connect with homeowners and find more jobs that are suited for your skillset.
Whenever you complete a successful job for a client, ask for a referral. Have them take a picture with you at the completed project, which you can post with the referral. Do they know anyone else who is looking for this type of work? Can they introduce you to someone who can help you find these leads? Referrals often are your shortest route to finding new customers.
Here are a few good ways to do that:
Just ask. If a customer likes the quality of your work, they're often willing to share someone else who needs similar work done.
Create a referral program where customers get rewarded for referring new clients to you, such as a discount or a free quarterly inspection.
Partner with other contractors to cross-promote services. For example, if you're a plumber, team up with a general contractor that you often work with to exchange referrals.
If you are part of a special demographic (veteran, teacher, first responder, etc.), create a group that supports your peers. For example, if you are a veteran and you do kitchen remodeling, your peers will likely choose you over other competitors because you have a shared experience. Even better, they will actively recommend you to other veterans (if your quality of work delivered is what you promised).
If you're not using discounts or upsells to grow your business, you could be missing out on leads. Upsells are an excellent way to sell to customers who are already buying from you and trust you. Discounts for customers who find you new clients allow you to build goodwill with your customer base and incentivize them to help you find new clients.
Here’s a few examples of what that might look like:
Give a customer 5% off (or a set fee, such as $500) of the total cost of their roofing job if they recommend you to neighbors and the neighbors sign a contract with you.
Treat the percentage as a commission that is paid when the neighbor’s roofing job is complete and the invoice is paid.
Offer discounted pricing for each subsequent job the customer hires you for.
Email marketing allows you to stay connected with past customers and attract, retain, and convert new leads.
These email headlines are some examples of how you can connect in a meaningful way with your clients:
Did winter storms damage your roof? Get a free inspection today (prompts them to fill out a form and provide contact info)
3 simple steps to fix a leaky faucet (builds trust and keeps you top of mind)
20% off premium bathroom tiles today only! (encourages subscribers to book now)
You’re an expert in your field, so consider sharing your expertise online in the form of content to draw customers to your site.
Here are a few examples of how you could do this:
A series of YouTube videos showing how to fix common plumbing issues, like a leaky P-trap under a sink
Blog posts describing the best materials to use when tiling a bathroom floor
E-book on best practices when installing drywall
Use search engine optimization (SEO) to identify keywords relevant to your business that people are searching for, and develop content based around those terms. Your website will show up high in search results when customers search for those keywords, driving organic traffic to your business.
You're super busy and it's hard to find time to build your online presence, generate leads, manage social accounts, and update your website. But the sooner you do these things—even just one or two—the sooner leads will start to pick up.
In the meantime, list your business where customers are searching for contractors like you. Sign up for an Angi pro account— it's free and you’ll be connected with potential new clients. Sign up today!
