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Considered project

How builders get clients: a 90-day plan

How your buyer buys: High price, long deliberation. The buyer decides on proof of past work.

Nobody rings a builder about an extension on a whim. The homeowner has drawings, or is about to commission them, and has spent evenings comparing builders on their phones. They shortlist on photos of finished extensions, on reviews that mention the job type, and on whether the business looks real. Then they ask two or three for a price.

The decision takes months. The estimate that arrives on the day you promised, in three specifications, and is followed by a check-in every fortnight, is the one still in play when the mortgage comes through. The liability cover, the FMB or TrustMark membership and any insurance-backed guarantee are checked before the deposit is paid.

So photos come first, from the same spot at each stage, because every later step reuses them. Then the three-option quote and the follow-up, which decide the jobs you already visit. Then the architects whose drawings you have built, an extension page per town, and a ring round last year's quiet quotes with a spring start date.

Step zero

The free checklist, before the plan.

The checklist repairs what you already have: the phone, the profile, the booking path. This page is the plan for new work on top of it, and the two are different jobs.

The Builder's DIY Growth Checklist

The free checklist for builders and renovation contractors: every repair to the phone, the profile and the booking path, as step-by-step actions. Sent by email.

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Where they look

Where your customers actually look.

  • Federation of Master Builders(opens in a new tab)

    Members are vetted, and insurance-backed warranties are available through it. A homeowner spending a large sum on an extension looks for the badge and the find-a-builder entry.

  • TrustMark(opens in a new tab)

    The government-endorsed mark. Extension buyers who read consumer advice are told to check it, so a current listing closes the question before the site visit.

  • MyBuilder(opens in a new tab)

    A lead marketplace where the feedback stays attached to your name. Useful for smaller refurb jobs while the gallery grows; judge it on jobs won rather than leads bought.

  • Rated People(opens in a new tab)

    The other large UK trades marketplace. Run a short trial with a review date, and ask every job won there for a Google review as well.

  • Houzz(opens in a new tab)

    Homeowners planning a renovation collect ideas here before they look for a builder. A profile with ten finished projects, each captioned with the area and the year, reaches them first.

  • Google Business Profile(opens in a new tab)

    Category Builder, with loft conversion and remodelling added, and each project photo captioned with the job, the area and the year. The reviews from first fix and handover sit here.

Your year

When the phone rings, and when to start.

Extension and loft enquiries climb after Christmas as households plan the year's work.

  1. Jan: peak
  2. Feb: peak
  3. Mar: peak
  4. Apr: peak
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct, start the visibility work
  11. Nov
  12. Dec: quiet

Amber months are the peak, grey months are quiet, and "start" marks the month the visibility work has to begin in.

  • January to April peak: start by October, because local search takes about three months to move.

Extension and loft enquiries climb after Christmas and run strongest from January to April, as households plan the year's work and want a start before summer. There is a three-month lag before the gallery, the reviews and the extension and loft pages show in search, so the work for that wave starts in October. December is the quiet month for new enquiries. Use it to ring last year's quotes that went quiet and offer a spring start, and to have the architect conversations before their January tender lists fill. Spring enquiries become summer starts, so the summer is for photographing every stage on site.

The 90-day plan

Four phases, in the order that pays back fastest.

Each step names its channel, its cost band from the technique register, the effort it takes, and how long until the first enquiry or booking.

Week 0

  1. Photograph every job

    Photograph every job from the same spot at demolition, first fix, plastering and finish

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • About 30 minutes a week
    • First result in 4 to 12 weeks
    In the kit

  2. Answer the phone, text back missed calls

    Have missed calls text back asking for the postcode and what they are planning, and ring every one back the same day

    • Cost: £
    • Low effort
    • First result within a week

  3. Google Business Profile, complete

    Set Builder as the primary category, add loft conversion and remodelling, and caption every project photo with the job, area and year

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • About 30 minutes a week
    • First result in 4 to 12 weeks

Month 1

  1. Ask every client for a review

    On a long refurb, text the direct Google review link at first fix and again at handover

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 4 to 12 weeks
    In the kit and the bundle

  2. Sharpen the offer

    Quote extensions three ways: the shell only, the full build with standard finishes, and the full build with kitchen and bifolds

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 2 to 8 weeks

  3. Same-day quote, then follow up

    Name the day the estimate will arrive at the site visit, hit it, then check in every fortnight until you get an answer

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 2 to 8 weeks

  4. Credentials a buyer can check

    State your liability cover and its amount, your FMB or TrustMark membership, and any insurance-backed guarantee

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 1 to 4 weeks
    In the kit

Months 2 to 3

  1. Reciprocal trade partners

    Ask two architects or technicians whose drawings you have built to put you on their tender list, and ring each quarter

    • Cost: Free
    • Medium effort
    • First result in 8 to 16 weeks

  2. A page per service and per town

    An extensions page and a loft conversions page for each town you want work in, each with a project you built there and a named review

    • Cost: ££
    • Medium effort
    • First result in 8 to 16 weeks
    In the kit and the bundle

  3. Go back to old enquiries

    Ring last year's extension and loft quotes that went quiet, and offer a spring start date

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 1 to 4 weeks

Month 3 onward

  1. Leaflets round a finished job

    In week one on site, letter the neighbours: who you are, how long the skip stays, your mobile, and an offer to look at their plans

    • Cost: ££
    • Low effort
    • First result in 2 to 8 weeks

  2. Ask for the referral at the high point

    At handover, in the finished kitchen, ask who else they know who is planning an extension or a loft

    • Cost: Free
    • Low effort
    • First result in 4 to 12 weeks

  3. Google Search ads

    Once the gallery and reviews are in place, run Google ads on extension and loft searches in the towns you want

    • Cost: £££
    • Medium effort
    • About 1 hour a week
    • First result in 1 to 4 weeks
The cost of waiting

What doing nothing costs builders and renovation contractors.

The leaks below are the ones the builders and renovation contractors page already names. Put a figure on each, see what the fix gets back a month, and how many weeks the kit or the bundle takes to pay for itself.

Industry estimates, not client results

Industry-typical ranges for a small building firm: a blend of small works and renovations in the low thousands to tens of thousands, about one in four priced jobs won, and little repeat from the same household inside a year.

Every number below is prefilled from that estimate and editable. Put your own figures in and the leaks, gains and payback recalculate as you type.

Your numbers

Further purchases per won customer in a year

Baseline revenue on these figures: £16,133 a month, counting this month's new customers and a twelfth of their repeat business.

Where it leaks

  • Drains close rate

    Bigger jobs shortlist you out because the website does not match the workmanship

    Leaking now
    £4,033 a month
    Gain from the fix
    £1,613 a month
    The fix
    Portfolio website (about £1,750 one-off)
    Pays back in
    4.7 weeks

  • Drains close rate

    Enquiries are budget-free mysteries that cost you evenings to price

    Leaking now
    £1,793 a month
    Gain from the fix
    £896 a month
    The fix
    Enquiry forms that qualify (about £375 one-off)
    Pays back in
    1.8 weeks

  • Drains enquiries

    You cover six towns but only rank in the one you are based in

    Leaking now
    £6,914 a month
    Gain from the fix
    £2,420 a month
    The fix
    Area and service pages (about £650 one-off)
    Pays back in
    1.2 weeks

  • Drains close rate

    Reviews are scattered across Facebook, Google, and Checkatrade

    Leaking now
    £1,793 a month
    Gain from the fix
    £896 a month
    The fix
    Review consolidation and engine (about £475 one-off)
    Pays back in
    2.3 weeks

On these figures

£14,533 a month leaking

Fixing every leak above gets back about £5,826 a month, with each leak counted on its own against the same baseline.

The Bigger-Jobs System (£1,795)
Pays back in 1.3 weeks
The Builder Growth Kit (£49)
Pays back in under a week

Inside the 90-day window on these figures. Change any field above to test it against your own numbers for builders and renovation contractors.

What matters most

The levers that carry the most weight here.

Four steps decide a builder's year. Photographs from the same spot at demolition, first fix, plastering and finish, because the gallery is what shortlists you. The three-way extension quote, shell only up to the full build with kitchen and bifolds, which turns yes or no into which one. The estimate delivered on the day you named, then a fortnightly check-in, because extension decisions take months and the builder still in touch wins. And the two architects whose drawings you have built, rung each quarter for a place on their tender list. Google ads on extension searches come last, once the gallery and the reviews can carry the click.

See every lever for builders and renovation contractors in the register

Reading for builders and renovation contractors

All insights

If you would rather we did this for you

The same plan, built and run for builders and renovation contractors: the phone, the profile, the pages and the follow-up, priced up front.

See what we build for builders and renovation contractors

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