Generating leads is a difficult task for most companies, even startups. For the general contractors, it is no different. Contractors however have more unique problems than other service providers do because they are in competition not only with local businesses but also with national ones.

Moreover, construction projects and their vendors are rarely finalized in a day. It can take a few weeks if not months. Now a company or homeowner is also more likely to work with an established brand or someone they have previously worked with on a project.

Trust is key in construction and the same goes for contractor businesses. Before we share some websites that provide lead generation for contractors, let's quickly go through the challenges that contractors face.

1. Getting leads is tough for contractors

The lead generation struggle for contractors is real, given the fact that they are in tight competition not only with other contractors but also with big brands and national service providers. 

On top of it all, construction projects can take months to complete so lead generation has to be ongoing while these projects are ongoing too.

This is because while the projects go on if a firm has capacity to take new projects it can’t wait for the first one to complete. You need to have a pipeline that is able to occupy your entire workforce. And for that you need a consistent lead generation funnel. 

Even if you manage to generate leads through lead generation websites or lead generation tools, you will still need to overcome many other challenges like poor conversion rates, trustworthiness and lack of trust between homeowners/companies and builders/vendors etc.

If this seems too difficult though, don't worry! We have some tips below on how to optimize lead generation for your contractor business.

2. Personalize your lead generation strategy

The best way you can build your lead pipeline is by focusing on your target market and personalizing lead generation to your unique challenges.

In order to increase awareness and reach out to companies that might not know about you use cold emails. Cold emails can provide great returns for contractors and they can generate returns at a fraction of the cost of other channels.

Another way to generate leads is to find warm referrals from customers who have already worked with you firm. These customers are already aware of the quality work that you have done for them and will be the best people to vouch for your firm.

Warm referrals also come at virtually no cost and help you gain trust quickly. If you get referrals from even half your customers, you have a pipeline for new projects immediately.

A personalized lead generation strategy also helps you identify and prioritize high-value prospects who have the potential of converting.

Now that we have discussed the challenges and solutions for lead generation, let's look at some websites that can help your firm.

Bark

Bark matches customers with service providers of all shapes and sizes. You can get connected with life coaches, dog walkers, magicians–as well as residential contractors. The platform matches professionals with project requests that match the details listed in their profiles and sends a list of potential leads to your inbox.

While it’s free to join as a Bark “Professional, ” you’ll need to purchase credits to connect with leads.

Cons: Bark has 20M registered users, though, you might not generate a ton of leads from this channel because all those users are divided across categories.

Pros: Still, you only pay for the leads that you choose to contact–so there’s nothing to lose by setting up an account.

BuildZoom

BuildZoom is a contractor listing platform designed to connect homeowners with local contractors in their area who search the platform’s database using keywords and filters.

BuildZoom is one of the more “niche” websites, which means that while fewer potential clients use the platform, those who do tend to be high-intent, highly-qualified leads.

Customers share project requirements/needs with the platform, then BuildZoom passes those project requests on to contractors that match project specifications.

Additionally, BuildZoom vets project requests before sending them your way and only charges a small referral fee when someone hires your company.

Facebook Business

Facebook gives contractors an opportunity to connect with their customers- which may not directly generate leads but is a great way to generate leads from your previous customers through referrals.

Facebook also has an advanced advertising platform that allows you to target specific demographics.

You can also use Facebook to target leads that lookalike your current customer profile and hosting server personalized ads to them.

Yelp

Yelp is a valuable tool for contractors and other local home services companies.

Today, 45% of consumers visit reviews on Yelp before making a purchase (compared to 64% on Google).

Users can set up an account and claim their business for free and access features like Yelp Connect–a tool for sharing updates about your business, Yelp Ads (paid), and the ability to add CTAs, business highlights, and a verified trade license to your profile

Yelp listings tend to rank well on Google, too–presenting another opportunity for your business to rank on the front page of the SERPs and reach an even broader audience.

According to Yelp, the platform boasts over 90M monthly users–97% of whom make a purchase from a business they found on the local listing site within a week.

Google My Business

Google My Business (GMB) is a platform that allows local businesses to claim, customize, and control their listings on Google Maps and local search results. It’s one of the best tools for generating free leads and reaching users actively searching for local contractors.

In fact, up to 64% of consumers rely on Google My Business to find contact details for local businesses.

By signing up for an account users gain access to Google’s business tools like the Google Ad Network, Google Search Console, customer reviews, and platform analytics.

HomeAdvisor

HomeAdvisor is a specialized listing site designed to help local contractors reach new customers. The platform uses a combination of TV ads and digital marketing channels to reach homeowners actively searching for home improvement services and allows them to get in touch directly with a local provider.

The platform’s main advantage is it allows contractors to tap into its network of 30M+ users–making it an effective tool for newer businesses trying to build a client roster. That said, HomeAdvisor requires users to pay for an annual subscription, plus each lead generated through the service.

The average cost-per-lead varies based on region, service, and other data points, but typically range between $15 to $60 per lead.

While that may seem high compared to what an e-commerce company might pay, contractors’ high-ticket conversions allow them to recoup the costs of a successful campaign.

Still, it’s important to note that you can easily burn through your budget if you’re not careful. You’ll want to make sure you’re targeting the right audience and using the platform’s built-in bidding tools to maximize ROI.

Truebase

Truebase is an AI-powered lead generation software that finds you leads based on your best-fit customers. You define what are the company types you are looking for and Truebase gets you those leads.

With features like warm intros from your social profiles, support for running custom ads on Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and verified contact details you can quickly reach out to prospects who are the best-fit for your business.

Truebase does the heavy-lifting for you so that you don't have to call everybody on the list and don't have to spend hours trying to figure out what to prioritize.

Truebase is specifically built for finding business leads and if you are looking for homeowner leads then some other websites in the list would be better for you.

Want to know more about how Truebase works? Start with a free trial today.