2 Best Marketing Books for Construction

As a contractor you can’t simply pick up any book on marketing and implement its tactics with success. Markets and industries are different and so are the customers that transact in them. Having been in the industry for over two decades and having owned both a residential GC company and a construction tech business, I can tell you that these are the two best books on marketing a construction company. 

Book #1 – Building A Story Brand by Donald Miller

We chose this book as number one because before you go out to talk to potential clients, you must be able to communicate who you are and what you do. If you can’t articulate your services in a sentence or two right off the top of your head, then you aren’t going to be able to intrigue clients to listen to what you have to say. 

Too often contractors find themselves telling stories that don’t involve their clients. One of the points Donald Miller makes in this book is that your client is the hero of the story. However, most contractors market and tell stories with themselves playing the lead and their clients playing a secondary or less significant role. 

You are the guide, not the hero

Your part in the story is to be the guide to the hero—your client. They want a storybook happy ending with them and their project being the theme. You come alongside them to help make their dreams come true. 

Is your sales process setup with those characters in mind? How are you guiding and communicating to your clients that they are the main subject in the story? How are you going to make THEIR dreams come true. 

Once you read through this book you will be shown how to write your “story brand.” You will know your lines and what parts you need to play. You will give your clients their role and they will understand the plot and how the story ends. Read this book and become a story teller that captures the attention of your audience. 

Book #2 – They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan

A primary focus of marketing is to build trust, awareness and value. You shouldn’t get married without first dating. Likewise, you can’t expect your clients to sign a contract with you before they feel comfortable with who you are as a business. 

Your future clients are hanging out on Facebook and the Google machine searching for candidates. They are typing questions they have about their projects. The list is long and it is specific to you. One of the easiest ways to build trust, awareness and value is to be the one that guides them to their answers.

Introduce yourself and answer their questions. The alternative is that customers aimlessly click around on the various companies that populate and select based on ratings, reviews and comments. If you take an active role in explaining their answers then you won’t leave it up to chance. You will not only be at the top of the search results (because of SEO), but you will also start building immediate trust by giving them the answers to their questions. 

Written by a pool contractor 

The author of TAYA, Marcus Sheridan does a great job explaining this system and why it works. He implemented this process into their pool building business and became a leader in his industry. It takes work and it’s not easy. But, if you can take what he unfolds you will rise above the other contractors in your area. 

Google will reward you for being an active participant in providing answers to your clients. Your site will filter higher and higher as you write more and more. We do not pretend that this method is the easiest. Articles should be about 300 words and should be about 3 minute reads. You will probably find that it takes you a minimum of 6 hours a week to write a recommended 3 articles. With those precursors established we will let Marcus explain the rest. 

Similar reading material 

Check out some of our other articles on this similar topic:

Send small bursts of value to your clients

Where do I start in marketing for my construction business

How to send automated emails