The market intelligence from the planning system is an exceptionally powerful tool. At the heart of almost every successful construction firm is a marketing team that knows how to use it well.
At first glance though, it can appear that there is actually too much information! You’re going to need to narrow it down to find the projects most relevant to you. There are five different stages of lead opportunities, and not all of them will be useful to your company’s skills and specialities. Once you’ve understood the five types of sales leads and where your business comes into the process, that mass of projects will look much less daunting.
Pre-Planning Leads
These are very early leads (usually to more major developments) that come up in the press, a company relocation, for example.
Pre-planning leads are most useful to property companies or major contractors with longer-term key account development interests. A company move would also be of interest to office furniture or fit-out companies. Sometimes architects, surveyors or other professional firms will want to get in right at the inception of a scheme.
Outline application and approvals
Still early, but now you have a definite project to lock onto. People don’t submit these lightly given the increasing cost of planning applications.
This stage is most interesting to local property firms and developers with an interest in site acquisitions. Builders who offer design and build services or other specialties will want to get in early, but this stage is usually too early for most building firms. Consulting engineers and surveyors may not have been appointed yet, so some professionals may find these leads useful.
Detailed planning applications and approvals
The first two stages are more niche, but once you get into the detailed planning application stages, you are now into the key area for almost every mainstream builder.
This stage is where building contractors will want to get involved. Builders should get in touch at planning application stage, as some jobs will proceed fairly quickly once planning officers have given an informal nod and a wink to the scheme. If you haven’t made contact, another contractor is likely to be already in and talking.
We always suggest that builders select the projects they chase carefully. It’s better to do a really good sales job on a few well selected leads than attempt to chase too many. Develop a simple scoring system on key criteria if you need to. You need to make a gentle and courteous contact at an early stage; keep talking at the times they suggest. It’s imperative to build the beginnings of relationship quickly and effectively with well-judged personal contacts. Secure your ‘foothold’ in the project early on and track it through tenaciously.
As a builder, you’ll naturally be tracking the project through to client instructions, working drawings, building regulations and then to the tender list assembly. Don’t lose contact through the process. If you go quiet for too long, it’s very easy for the architect to get the impression that you may not be too interested after all and for your competition to make the running instead. Besides builders, the other group who will want to look out for these planning leads are building material suppliers. This is where they should make their approach. The project will soon be moving on to building control and working drawings, making this the ideal time to get your products specified by the architect or user.
Tender stage
The client will be looking at main contractors now, and those contractors will be pricing up the work and making their bids.
The tender stage is where the subcontractors can start to pick up the trail. It’s almost always too late for main contractors, but a good time for specialists to make sure they’re in the running for subcontracts — especially those first on site, such as groundwork or demolition companies. If you’re a subcontractor who gets their business from contractors, you need to be in right away. The tender stage last only three to four weeks in most cases, so don’t wait around!
Building material suppliers are still in with a shot here too, whether they’ve secured specification from the architect or not.
Remember that the main contractor may only have a one in three or one in four chance of winning the work, depending on how long the shortlist is. That means there’s no certainty of getting the job and some subcontractors prefer to hold off until the contract is awarded. However, long experience shows that it’s well worth engaging with builders at the tender stage.
Builders know that subcontractors would prefer to discuss actual jobs won, but they still need competitive subcontract prices at tender stage. They will frequently want new subcontractors to prove their interest and stickability by pricing enquiries at tender stage. Don’t see this as a waste of time, see it as a way to build relationships and prove your good faith.
That’s actually no inconvenience, if you are a subcontractor who has access to good tendering information. It can actually be a very effective way to generate more new contractor contacts and relationships very quickly. One tenderer you price for can easily lead to two or three others within days, and they are always happy for you to copy your price across.
The real prize is to track it right through to the contract award and make sure your price is under consideration. And of course, your courteous and friendly tracking of the job through numbers of contacts over perhaps six to seven weeks does you a huge amount of good in terms of the relationships you’re building all the time
Contract award stage
The final stage of the sales opportunity pipeline: the main contractor has now been appointed, and they’re getting into the detail of who’s going to be doing what.
This is the preferred stage for most subcontractors, and those specialising in the early trades — brickwork, roofing or plastering should get in touch now. Trades that come in once the shell of the building is complete, (for example electricians, joiners, painters and decorators) might want to hold off for a week or two. You’ll avoid the rush of calls that inevitably happens once a main contract is awarded.
It’s a little late for site services, as these tend to be booked in very quickly, but always worth a call. If you don’t get this job, it’s an opportunity to ask about what’s coming up next. Material suppliers who sell to subcontractors can also use these leads.
Whats next – So you know what a sales lead is and which ones are most relevant to your company. But what’s actually involved in following it up and chasing a lead? First, pick up the phone.
The phone is the single most powerful marketing tool at your disposal, and if you’re going to make the most of your sales leads, you’ll need to use it. If you’re not comfortable with cold-calling, hire a marketing professional who is, even if it’s just for a day a week.
Choose the A* leads to call first, the jobs you want most. Then make the call and introduce yourself. Say who you are, and what you’re specifically interested in. Mention your experience, and make sure the person on the other end of the phone knows where to find out more about you and how to get back in touch.
This is important! – Remember that how you sound is as important as what you say — you want to come across as warm, interested, and the kind of person people want to do business with. The way you project yourself on the phone is critically important, especially in the first four or five seconds of the call. Think about it: if someone calls you and they sound interesting, dynamic and warm, you’ll instinctively respond in a positive way. If they sound dreary, boring and monotone, you may switch off and find an excuse to end the call.
A cheery warm “Good morning” (or afternoon) helps right away! You may occasionally hit the jackpot, but generally speaking you shouldn’t expect wonders from the first phone call. It’s relationships that primarily lead to appointments and tenders, so you’ll need to call back. Be persistent, but not pushy.
When to call back?
There’s no need to second-guess when to make a second call. Confirm that this is a job you can handle by saying you’re keen to stay in touch, and ask THEM when you should call back. It’s rare to get a ‘don’t call back’ at this point. They will suggest the best time for you to call back, and you’re up and running.
How to use the phone
You will need persistence. Lots of builders will call up prospective sales leads, but far fewer will make the next call. The quality and dedication of a true marketing professional is the second and third call — and more. It’s that friendly persistence that slowly builds relationships. At this point you may be aware that your company might not currently have the skills, leads or persistence in-house to achieve effective telephone marketing. One solution is to bring in a Marketing Review consultant. We are dedicated, skilful operators who enjoy cold-calling and are very good at it. We also help you select the best sales leads to help your business grow. And we are amazingly persistent and effective in building long-term relationships with your work providers.
The importance of systems
As you get to work on the phones, you’ll soon realise that there’s something else you need: an efficient sales admin system and a good contact management database.
You’re going to need to record and keep permanent access to your contacts, conversations and projects of interest. This helps the marketing professional to be fully briefed and competent in developing ongoing leads and relationships.
Both your sales admin system and your sales database need to be efficient and easy to use. There’s a good reason why — you may easily end up with hundreds of contacts and conversations. You want to be able to access each of them quickly and easily, getting up to speed for the next call.
Data entry and reporting can take up a lot of time, but you want your sales professional to spend as much of their day as possible on the phone! Keep it efficient and streamlined with a web based system, accessible 24 – 7 and without the restrictions of a local network or a single-user.
There are several heavyweight construction CRM databases on the market — though these are built for larger companies. Or alternatively Marketing Review has a much simpler but very easy to use relationship CRM system online. Get in touch if you’d like more information about that.
To recap, you’ve got your leads. You’ve got your sales agent who is confident on the phone. They’re going to make calls and keep making calls, and keep track of all the progress you’re making in the system. But what happens after you’ve had your first successful conversation?
What would it look like to have an experienced Marketing Review consultant for a day a week working in your office, helping to grow your business?
The day starts early with a short briefing with the MD or a Director. They review the last week’s activity and calls, or any appointments that the director may have followed up. Together they agree on the new project leads to follow up that day, and the priority recalls for projects already under development.
Typically, we find that the ideal and most productive use of the day is to commit up to one third of the day to new leads — generally around 6 – 8 brand-new project leads from Glenigan, Barbour ABI or Planning Pipe.
The larger part of the day — up to five or six hours is given to the regular and dedicated follow-up of the high-quality project leads under development. That’s in the region of 14 – 16 projects per day. This one third/two thirds split has always proved an ideal way to generate the best results while keeping the sales topped up with good new projects.
Of all the leads handled, around 10 – 15% will be A* projects and given highest priority, with another 20 or so A leads to follow up. The next 50 – 60% will be of genuine B-level interest, and will be followed up assiduously. The remainder may be worth mailing, if there is time left at the end of the day. To stay focused, we run a strict discipline where we make the call, write it up on the online CRM database and get the email done before moving on to the next call.
Overall, the consultant will spend 6 hours or more on the phone, developing upward of 24 projects, either new leads or recalls. Out of this we would expect one or two highly targeted sales appointments where there are specific projects to discuss. This type of activity will also represent 1 – 1.5 highly targeted tenders brought in over the course of time. With other calls it will be a matter of keeping in contact, and building longer-term relationships for when the next project goes live.
After phone tasks, time may need to be spent preparing letters to follow up the calls, and carrying out research for the appointments that have been set. The day ends with a debrief, and always some genuine cause for satisfaction.
If you would like to know more then drop us a line to set up a 1 2 1 conversation
07758 912456
rob@marketingreview.co.uk http://www.marketingreview.co.uk
Marketing Review 