How to Get New Construction Jobs and Clients

Do you dream of opening your own business? It is something that many experienced tradies have their sights set on, and making the decision to invest in yourself with the right qualifications is the first of many important steps to success.

What courses help with construction industry business skills?

A Diploma of Building and Construction is a great place to start. After completing this construction qualification and training, many professionals are prepared to make the next career leap.

Once you’ve secured your builder’s registration in Australia and set up your business, you’re almost ready to jump in the deep end of the construction industry.

How can I attract new clients to my construction work business?

The next step in your construction industry career journey is attracting new work that will help your business to flourish.

If you have years or even decades of construction industry experience, you’ve likely got extensive trade networks that you’ve fostered over your time on the construction site.

So, how can you best leverage these connections and translate your hard-earned experience on the construction site into paying work? It’s important to work out how to get construction contracts that will pay the bills and help you and your workers thrive.

Let’s take a look at five key ways that you can get construction contracts, and begin marketing your services to gain your very first clients.

Best ways to get new construction and building jobs in 2023

1. Word of Mouth

When you’re just starting out, in particular, your reputation is everything — and word-of-mouth referrals are the best way to get new business and construction leads.

Word-of-mouth referrals act as a personal recommendation of your high-quality work, and give new clients a sense of reassurance and safety with your business. By mapping out your networks, you can make a plan of attack of how to empower your connections to become advocates for your work.

Who should I contact for word-of-mouth referrals or testimonials?

You’ll have past colleagues, long-term clients that know your work, and people you’ve done personal development with or studied your Diploma of Building and Construction with, who know your work ethic and aspirations. There will also be other trades that you’ve worked jobs with — the list goes on.

You may even choose to study building and construction courses online, with the goal of fostering new network connections with other construction workers.

Let each of these contacts know that you’ve secured your builder’s registration in Australia and are opening your own business, and that you would appreciate them mentioning your name at the right opportunity.

Perhaps you could also arrange a referral-swapping agreement or even some kind of discount or commission incentive to get those crucial first clients on the books.

2. Industry Associations

Industry associations and professional contractors are fantastic avenues through which to gain new work.

This list is a great place to start researching which associations might be best for you. By joining associations, not only will you have access to some worthwhile networks, but you’ll also gain an accreditation that helps to build your business reputation and give your new clients peace of mind and a sense of safety.

Further, industry associations should be one of your go-to support resources which can help fill any gaps in your knowledge or answer any questions you might have while you manage the construction site as a business owner. For example, industry assocations can help you secure a builder’s registration in Australia. This is a necessary step to being able to offer your services.

They are also a great place to investigate the many building and construction courses that are available online, like a Diploma of Building and Construction that can help you upskill.

3. Bidding on Projects

While not the most exciting part of running your own business, tender writing is an incredibly important skill. Succeed, and you’ll have upgraded from one-off jobs to landing major and consistent contracts.

Bidding on projects is the best way to get construction contracts that are significant for your business. Particularly with government projects, once you jump through the hoops and win your first tendered contract, it opens plenty more doors for future opportunities.

How can I bid on construction project tenders?

To successfuly write a tender, you’ll need to know your unique service offering, be able to plan and cost a project, and pitch why you’re the best choice for the job out of all the other applicants.

You can think of the first part of a tender as being like an in-depth cover letter. So the more construction courses online you have under your belt, the better placed you’ll be to win the tender.

Once you’ve secured your builder’s registration in Australia, you can register your interest with your State Government’s site, attend sessions as they become available, and be willing to invest time, effort, and resources to prepare a standout proposal. If you’ve not yet had experience in preparing tenders before, it’s best to seek assistance and get to know the process before you get started.

4. Search, Website, and Contact Us Page

If this is not your area of expertise, then you’ll want to work closely with an agency or web expert who can help build your digital foundations.

A website is more than just an addition to your business card to make you look more professional — it’s become a key part of your sales funnel.

Make sure your website is engaging to draw people in, with well-written copy that explains your unique point of difference. You’ll also need strong calls to action that prompt people to get in touch with you or ask for a quote. These calls to action help interested prospective clients take the next step, and can including directing them to a well-considered contact page.

On your website, you can also list:

• Diploma of Building and Construction qualification or any other building and construction courses online that you have completed
• Industry association memberships and accreditations
• Testimonials from satisfied clients

It is also advisable to to do some digging on how people search for and interact with other companies in your industry. What do they type into Google to find you? How does your site rank? Do you have relevant keywords dotted throughout, and are you directing visitors to the right pages?

5. Social Media

The final step of building your business’ basic marketing foundations is to schedule time to focus on your social media.

So often, platforms like Facebook and Instagram are brushed off by business owners as unimportant to the maintenance and health of their company. However, they can be incredibly valuable tools for landing new work, both through organic posts as well as paid and targeted advertising.

If you are unfamiliar with social media marketing, you may like to work with a social media specialist to map out your tone of voice, branding, and the core pillars that you will post about.

If you want to do it yourself, ensure you are posting good-quality images and quick, insightful videos of the projects that you’re currently working on. This helps give prospective customers a concrete insight into your construction site and reassure them that your business will work safely on any project.

You might also consider blogging to educate your growing audience about the work that you do. Anticipating and answering their questions helps to break down barriers for them to make that first contact.

Want to know what’s next?

Looking to take the next step in your career in building and construction by taking on a Certificate IV or Diploma? Contact our team at 1300 LEGEND (1300 534 363) or request a callback and we will get back to you with all the information you need.

This article has been updated and republished on 6 December 2022.