May 11, 2009 – Contracting companies compete against each other day in and day out for clients and for projects that they are hired to complete. However, whether the company is a multi-million dollar corporation, or just your neighborhood construction crew, they all have the uphill battle of getting that elusive contractors’ lead, that lead that will allow them to work, and in turn, hopefully garner more and more business around them. "There are larger companies that will sell their contractor leads to an interested company, but then the same company may in turn sell that lead to twenty other companies, just to make a pretty penny", says Kip Charles, author of http://www.ContractorLeadsSuck.com

                     Let’s take it back to basics: what is a lead? Well, in the contracting business, a lead is someone, anyone, who may be interested in your services. Having leads are important, because without them, your business will more than likely fail, and rather quickly. Any business 101 class will tell you that proper marketing is essential to building a solid customer databank, so having leads is critical to the success and lifespan of your contracting business.

So, here’s the million-dollar question:

How do you get a lead, or more importantly, leads?

Here’s a few ways to properly generate leads:

                    First off, get with the times and get your company online. Gone are the days where people will look up the business they need in the Yellow Pages, but are more inclined to drop a request in the search engines of Yahoo! And Google. Creating a website also is an effective way to market yourself to the World Wide Web; however the depth of the website is totally up to you. Having a website that just displays  your services and contact information is one way, another way is go all out and include articles and various different resources, all that would be useful and helpful to a visitor. That way, the visitor walks away with an even more impressed feeling, knowing that your company will be able to meet their differing and specific needs, should they arise.

   The Internet may open the leads to you, but still effective are many offline ways as well. Hundreds and hundreds of postcards with the company contact info and a short listing of services offered may help, as people may keep postcards of companies until the time arises when they need something around the house to be addressed. An intuitive and creative way of spreading yourself is by using creative methods of exposure. Instead of just using postcards, why not magnets, or even pens? That way, whenever the magnet is used to post up a reminder for a doctor’s appointment, or the pen is used to sign an date a check for a household bill, there is always a constant reminder.

                    Networking is a very important way of generating leads, as keeping in touch with the right people will open doors for you to do business in the future, as well as one day, get your business a professional referral or recommendation. Keep a list of all prior customers, as they may have more work in store, or they will be able to refer you to people that they know that may need your services. Testimonials are a great way to show your track record working with different clients, and will garner interest and trust from others. And finally, start up a mailing list, giving updates and news on your business, so that (Your Business Here) stays on their minds until they are in need of your services.

Without leads, your business will die, and not slowly! So help take off the invisibility cloak off of your business, and begin to tailor your business to take advantage of leads that are all around you.

For more information, go to http://www.contractorleadssuck.com