Providing you are logged in, you can click here for information on 30 organisations offering construction project leads and lead enhancement/development services, and this includes sources of free-of-charge project information. Otherwise, at the bottom of this page, you will see those companies which have enhanced their entries.

The organisations we list offer comprehensive data on construction projects nationwide, and generally cover new build, refurbishment and fit-out of commercial, industrial and residential buildings. Mostly, the data is disseminated to clients on a daily or weekly basis, having been gathered by a network of dedicated researchers. This information is largely based on submitted planning applications and the systems used continually track the progress of each stage of a given project, from pre-planning through to sub-contracting.

Read More...

The range of services supplied can often be filtered according to sector, region, project type, timescale and/or project value. The level and range of services provided vary and most are available on a subscription basis, whilst a couple provide free access to data (as you will see from the index itself). Some firms specialise in providing data on the very largest planned developments, whilst others will specialise in small, residential developments and home improvements/extensions.

The provision of information on a given project's key contacts is normally standard from the dedicated project lead providers, although some will give additional features. For example, the supplier providing UK as well as worldwide project data will also include updated satellite imagery of individual construction projects along with ongoing information monitoring the planning and construction process.

We have also provided details of specialist organisations who provide lead enhancement services. These services generally support their construction industry clients by analysing the project leads on their behalf, sifting out those which are not useful in order to focus on those which provide the most likely specification opportunities for the client’s products or services, thus freeing up sales staff to focus on the most likely prospects. Others, such as Crannull, can extend this support to telephone canvass prospects and arranging meetings.

Free Construction Project Leads Trial
In order to allow potential suppliers to evaluate how project leads can help their businesses, Barbour ABI offers a free trial providing details of ten projects that can be selected from industry sectors, locations, project stages and development types. Details may be found here

Getting the Most from Planning Leads
Because lead subscription services often provide such comprehensive data covering every stage of the build process, it is easy to become inundated, and then overwhelmed, with project lead information. It is important therefore, to limit the information provided to that of most significance and it will help considerably to decide in advance at what stage of the build process you wish to receive the project alerts. Typically, if you have a product or service that is aesthetic or design led, then you are likely to want to influence the specifier before the product is selected, so you would choose to receive alerts at the planning or possibly pre-planning stages. However, if you supply a standard format product or service, then you might select project alerts covering the contract award and post award stages, so that, instead of trying to influence the specification itself, you target the contractor who will often have the final decision on standard product requirements (also see Competitive Advantage's Specification Selling article for a more fulsome explanation of the specification process, in particular the use of ‘equal or approved’ notations in specifications).

In his article on Using Subscription-Based Sales Leads, entitled, 'Planning, Tender and Contract Sales Leads. How Do You Get the Best Value Out of Your Subscription?', David Crick of Contractors Marketing Services provides a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to using project leads and, amongst the many recommendations, he suggests that you should:

  • Run a benefits analysis and ask current and past clients why they use you and then work out how you can communicate these values to new contacts
  • Focus really well on your strengths with your leads selection – make sure you can justify development of each and every lead selected. Don't chase too many leads - but make a really good job of developing your new contacts into good relationships
  • Understand the value of well-directed persistency and the ‘Law of Seven' – every positive result takes on average at least seven contacts to achieve comprising a combination of telephone calls, emails/letters and meetings
  • Once your campaign commences, write an effective email after the call: follow the AIDA principle – Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. This email is the first tangible part of your company they will see and is the first promise you will fulfil. Make sure you communicate the right message.

Other Resources
Needless to say, attending exhibitions, reading the trade press (in print and online) and joining construction-specific social media groups are very useful resources for researching and identifying project opportunities. We maintain an index of 330+ UK construction industry journals and a calendar of 280+ UK construction trade shows

ArchiSpec:d is your premier partner for lead generation in the architectural sector to help you develop the right contacts for getting your products, or services,...

About Barbour ABI Building and Construction Project Leads - Tailored to Your Needs Barbour ABI has been gathering, processing and delivering insight and intelligence on...

About Contractors Marketing Services Making contact – winning contracts – growing your business Contractors Marketing Services provide experienced business development managers who represent your construction...

By connecting you to potential clients, Crannull can help transform and expand your business, through increasing awareness of your product or service, or simply obtaining...

Construction Industry – Sourcing Project Leads