Thought-leadership article on Lead Generation…
The best business ideas often come from identifying processes and systems which no longer work; are out-dated or are too complicated. This is what led business partners, Jason Kay and Gareth Alexander, to launch The Marketplace – an online portal giving live and flexible access to thousands of UK construction related leads.
Specialists in their field of procurement and supply chain management, with over 35 years experience in the construction industry, Jason and Gareth knew that there must be a far simpler way to access tenders and live leads, all in one place.
They launched The Marketplace to provide a flexible, simple and pro-active service, and offers access to opportunities that traditionally would never even be advertised (95% of planning applications are for private works). They have also changed the game plan on the cost of using the system by moving away from the traditional model of minimum term subscriptions or annual contracts – a win, win for SME’s with tight budgets and the need for a flexible approach.
They began looking at how the construction industry finds leads, especially how they could help the SME market. It was clear that the systems currently available, which ‘follow’ contracts down the chain so that smaller companies can bid for sub-contracts, was seriously flawed.
The companies winning these larger contracts have done this type of work many times before, that’s how they grew to the size they are. This means that they generally already have their supply chain in place, so when the smaller companies inquire about the sub-contract work, it’s usually too late, the work has already been dished out.
Jason explains further benefits of how The Marketplace takes a different approach. “We have shown that The Marketplace process works and generates a steady stream of work opportunities direct to the clients’ inbox every week. By using our planning leads database, you will know about opportunities before they go to tender/quote, allowing you to get to know the clients before they are even looking for your services. This pro-active approach means they will already know you when they are ready to buy and will ask you to price the work. All without becoming that annoying and often desperate ‘salesperson’. How many times have you driven by a job, wishing you’d had the chance to quote? Building contacts with the right people, mastering the ‘know, like and trust’ process is vital.
One of the principal ways this system differs from existing services, other than by drawing everything together in one place, is that it includes archived records of planning applications so you can see where previously completed works such as a ten-year-old housing development, for example, may present new opportunities for the entrepreneurial contractor.”
The system has been designed to be easy to use and by clicking on the ‘common-sense’ filters, users can adapt their search and drill down into the thousands of records on the Marketplace database. Take a simple search for conservatories that are more than 10 years old for example, that could bring up nuggets of information for a potential demand for a builder, electrician, furniture supplier, reflective heat film supplier and so on.
The Marketplace portal offers low-cost national access to the entire system on a rolling monthly basis for as long as you wish with a 7-day no quibble money back guarantee for all new users. Quarterly and annual subscriptions are also available.
