How to market to contractors

Sell around their calendar

Most contractors make vendor decisions at a few predictable times: when they start out, when they hire their first crew, when they move into a new trade, and when a policy or a contract comes up for renewal. A new license marks the first of these, and it's the only one you can see in a public record the day it happens.

Segment by license, not by industry code

A contractor list is far more useful once it's cut by what the license allows. A residential remodeler and a commercial electrical contractor buy different things and answer to different messages. The license class on the record is a stronger signal than a broad industry code, since the state checked it.

Pick the channel for the data you have

• Direct mail reaches almost everyone, since most licenses carry an address, and it arrives when they have time to read it.
• Phone works well, early or late in the day, for offers that are simple to explain.
• Email reaches few new contractors from licensing records alone, since few records publish an address, so treat it as a bonus.
• Trade associations, supply-house counters and local referrals build trust that no list can.

Say something specific

Congratulating someone on a license they got this week, in their trade and city, reads very differently from a generic offer to a business. Keep it short, offer one thing, and make the next step easy to take from a phone.

Follow the rules

Calling and texting are covered by the TCPA and Do Not Call rules, commercial email by CAN-SPAM, and some states limit commercial use of licensee lists. Get advice for your own campaign.