Roofing Contractor · Rancho Santa Margarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 1 post · 0 votes
Hey guys,
I've been checking out this forum for a while now so I thought I'd actually register and start this topic. Anyone know of a great marketing site for contractors and/or a place to find discounted equipment and materials? Yeah, I'm aware of Ebay and Craigs but I'm wondering if there is anything better specifically for us builders.
If you know how to bid (and not underbid) and present yourself professionally with knowledge and confidence, you can generate all the business you want from these sites. Be prepared to pay about $50/lead regardless of whether you win the job. You will have to meet many potential customers and at first your close ratio will probably be pretty low. I strongly recommend you prepare yourself to invest a couple thousand into marketing material and leads.
Real Estate Investor · Baroda, MI · Member since 2008 · 204 posts · 2 votes
17y
Before you bite on to any of those companies go to www.contractortalk.com... lots of folks there have used these services and there is a lot of feedback.
your best friend in this business as far as getting the deals is in your networking...I get calls all the time from stores that are discontinuing this product or that product and call me FIRST to see if I want it. Example: dimensional shingles reg. $40 a bundle, 12 bucks. if you are buying in bulk builddirect is a good site too. http://www.builddirect.com/ especially their marble/granite/slate prices....
kitchen cabinets....a friend of mine went to lowes, special ordered the cabinets and then canceled the order and they gave her an extra 25% off because of the slumping sales....
for equipment try out the pawn shops or again, networking....hubby gets top name stuff from a certain big box store ...he gets the stuff below cost. Its good to utilize your resources.
I have personally been using everycontractor.com...they don't charge per lead as the other sites do, you pay a one time fee of 400+ and they guarantee you at least 12 leads in a year. I have gotten 3 leads so far, but two of them were dead leads....do your homework or these companies will milk you dry.
Also, start a niche market....90% of my clients are the out of state homeowner's niche...if you have an area that is a vacation/second home magnet send out some post cards.