6 Strategies to Increase Construction Sales Right Now!
These construction sales strategies will guide you toward meeting your company’s financial goals.
These must-have strategies are essential for your business in the construction industry, especially if you are a general contractor, commercial builder, or renovator looking to grow your construction business, land better clients or increase profitability on projects.
1) Know Your Customers And Cater To Their Needs
Understanding your ideal customers is crucial. Identify the traits and criteria that define a good customer for your business.
Look at factors like the industry they operate in, the size and type of projects they handle, their geographic area, investment strategy and what makes them a good fit for your services.
For example, if you specialize in commercial renovations, your ideal customer might be mid-sized businesses looking to upgrade their office spaces.
You want to focus your sales efforts on marketing to your ideal customers that are more likley to have the projects that you want and more likley to become long-term customers.
2) Build an Effective Sales Process
Sales is a process that starts from the first interaction with a potential customer and continues through to project completion and beyond. It's important to map out your sales process and continually improve it. For residential construction, this might look like:
- Initial Inquiry
- Site Visit
- Proposal Submission
- Contract Signing
- Project Execution
- Follow-Up and Maintenance
In commercial sales, the process might start with researching ideal customers, followed by cold calling, email and LinkedIn outreach, setting up phone calls or site visits, and sending in proposals.
It might also include doing bid reviews, client dinners & luches and other touch points that move projects through your sales process.
Finding the right sales talent is essential to perfect your process continually until you achieve your sales goals. Learn how to hire the best sales rep for your construction business.
3) Create More Construction Sales Leads
A lead for a construction company is a potential client who expresses interest in your services.
To create more sales leads, you need to increase your visibility. This includes driving traffic to your website and encouraging calls to your company.
Relying solely on word-of-mouth isn’t enough. Utilize various marketing strategies, including those mentioned in this blog on marketing your construction company.
Having an online presence with a website and a Google My Business profile is crucial and its free.
A fractional sales and marketing leader can help implement lead-capturing techniques like building a website,cold calling, emailing, offering free guides, and using social media to reach your target customers.
4) Turn Your Construction Leads into Sales
Good communication is key to converting leads into sales. From the first impression to submitting proposals and handling objections, communication is key.
Understand your customers' needs to pitch your services based on what they are looking for.
Contrary to popular belief, the real trick to sales is listening, not just talking. Show your clients that you are listening to them and you understand their goals and needs.
Additionally, accurate estimates and a clear understanding of the project scope are vital. For a full-guide on how to bid on commerical construction jobs specifically, check out this blog here.
Once you submit your proposals, make sure to follow up to get feedback and continue to build the relationship with the potential client, even if you lose the first bid with them.
Sales representatives should follow up with customers regularly to move leads through the sales process and build strong relationships with your customers.
5) Increase Customer Trust and Loyalty
Building trust and loyalty is essential. Do what you say you will do, show up on time, and keep your clients updated.
Active listening helps you understand and meet their needs. So remember always to listen. If they bring up a concern, make sure you hear them out before addressing that concern.
Providing upfront value and demonstrating expertise also builds trust. You can do this by providing accurate and detailed proposals and showing your knowledge on your site walk.
Loyal customers are more likely to give repeat business and referrals, which are more cost-effective than acquiring new customers.
Always provide excellent service and prioritize your customers. This approach fosters loyalty and encourages referrals, leading to more sales.
6) Use Technology Like CRMs To Achieve Higher Sales
Leveraging technology can significantly boost your sales efforts. A CRM system helps you manage customer interactions effectively.
A CRM system is crucial for staying organized and driving sales. It helps you manage every contact, from potential clients to subcontractors, ensuring that every lead is followed up on and every deal is tracked through its stages from project discovery to bidding to winning or losing the project.
Check out the ultimate guide to setting up the CRM for your construction company here.
Use databases like Zoominfo, Seamless.ai, or Apollo to research companies with commercial projects. Social media is also a free tool to promote your company.
While some in the construction industry might shy away from digital tools, these technologies can streamline your operations and increase sales. Embrace the tools that can help you grow your business.
What's Next?
Implement these strategies to increase your sales and drive growth in your construction business.
If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, book a call with us to learn more about how we can build out your sales funnel for you.
