Construction sales can be complex, which is why having a clear construction sales strategy is essential for firms looking to grow. The question is, how should you sell in the construction industry?

But before we get into those details, you might be wondering why we care enough about this industry to blog about it in the first place.

The reasons? First of all, our Co-Founder, Rachel Marcelle, worked in and around construction for ten years before starting TG Sales Agency. As an agency, we have helped both commercial and residential clients generate millions of dollars in new revenue through our sales outreach and inbound lead management.

Well, it’d be great if they went something like this: Someone needs something built. They hire a construction company (you) to do it. You do the work, your customer is happy and sends you a check. Simple, right?

Of course! At least, in just about every contractor’s dreams!

The Reality of Sales in the Construction Industry

At smaller construction firms, the need to balance day-to-day operations, jobs in-progress, and marketing demands complicates sales. Larger firms silo responsibilities across departments and individuals and distribute the workloads by function, urgency, and impact.

This can mean some employees handle simple, repetitive, yet essential tasks, while those with deeper knowledge handle higher-stakes work. High levels of segmentation can also drive the need for hyper-focused skill sets.

No matter the size of the operation, a strong construction sales strategy requires a blend of activity including inside sales, face-to-face appointments, bidding via private and government sector platforms, and estimating.

Well-established contracting firms often enjoy the privilege of bringing in new contracts exclusively from referrals. This privilege isn’t industry exclusive, but the construction industry values personal connections and community to a higher degree compared to many other fields.

Because of this, up-and-coming firms have to deploy more aggressive marketing tactics to bring in clientele.

The point here is, it’s hard to become an overnight sensation in the construction field. If you’re seeking status in this lucrative market, you should embrace early-day challenges and best practices for new business development.

Figuring Out Your Construction Sales Strategy

Learning through trial and error is inevitable, but you’ll save time and energy by knowing about your niche before attempting to sell.

The kind of business you run will define who your target key stakeholders/buyers are. General contractors and subcontractors, for example, will see some overlap in ideal customer profiles, while also seeing some stark differences. (See the diagram below for detailed information.)

Decision-makers or buyers of construction services will vary, but often fall within the following categories:

Intra-industry buyer titles:

• Purchasing/Procurement
• Project Manager
• Construction Manager
• Site Manager/Site Supervisor
• Estimator
• Quantity Surveyor
• Operations Manager
• Supply Chain Manager
• Facilities Manager
• Contract Manager

Individuals or groups holding these titles are often responsible for evaluating, selecting, and managing suppliers. They negotiate contracts and oversee the acquisition of material, equipment, and construction services.

Inter-industry buyer titles:

• Facilities Manager
• Property Manager
• Real Estate Developer
• Asset Manager
• Building Manager
• Operations Manager
• Maintenance Manager
• Corporate Real Estate Manager
• Investment Manager
• Project Manager (non-construction)

Non-construction-industry companies encompassing these roles typically offer property development, maintenance, and management services to ensure that facilities are operational, safe, and meet occupant or investor needs.

Market Behavior

The construction industry traditionally maintains a few main sales channels. A heavy preference for face-to-face sales remains. This dynamic frequently discussed in publications like Engineering News-Record (ENR) and Construction Dive. Conversations leading to new contracts often begin during social events, trade shows, and on work sites.

Telemarketing campaigns, digital efforts, and traditional advertising methods like radio and print are prevalent in the industry. However, commercial construction businesses use these tactics for brand recognition that will eventually turn into business. Residential construction companies, on the other hand, use these methods to generate immediate leads. Referring back to commercial and industrial construction firms, they also subscribe to government agency or private sector bidding platforms/portals where they can identify and bid on available projects.

Selling processes usually change over time due to new technology in the market and are not necessarily related to industry culture or sales channel changes.

Estimating, bidding, and project management tools change how they sell because they streamline functions between business partners and clients. Certain tools significantly help reduce the complexity and cost of bidding, estimating and project management, all essential to sales.

Examples of well-known systems in this space include iSqFt, Procore, Buildertrend and now, a plethora of AI tools. Some firms hire construction support services to handle back-office needs so they can focus on in-person meetings and other objectives.

Portfolios, Success Stories, and Other Sales Collateral

Well-rounded sales collateral libraries typically start with an attractive project portfolio that tells the story of their experience and abilities. Portfolios should be easy to find on the firm’s website or available in print.

Company brochures are a must whether in print or digital format. They should provide background on the organization, its members, high-level capabilities, market sector focus, and contact information. Digging further into capabilities, case studies highlight past projects and describe obstacles, challenges, solutions, and final outcomes. They’re useful during top-of-funnel and closing stages.

For demonstrating to more technical buyers, project datasheets will come in handy by providing in-depth information on past projects. Datasheets can include the scope of work, timeline, budget and other specifications relevant to the selling situation. They can also list key contributing team members along with their relative qualifications and achievements.

Finally, although real-time communication is extremely powerful in this industry, well-organized testimonials and written reviews will also boost business development efforts. Reviews in different formats, used independently, or as supplements to other collateral pieces, are always helpful. We can’t go without mentioning video which can demonstrate emerging field technology, renderings, and other technical and non-technical information.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Buttoning up our conversation about sales in the construction industry, we’ve covered networking between buyers and sellers, market behavior, trends, sales and marketing materials.

But we can’t cover everything in just one article. If you’re looking to strengthen your construction sales strategy, a free consultation with our experienced sales team can help. We’ll be glad to help you develop a punch list to upgrade your results.