How to Build Connections in the Construction Industry

Posted by The Landsite on 31st December 2020 -

As property construction is one of the most collaborative industries in the world, a variety of talented experts and consultants must contribute if a project is to reach fruition with ease. Here, Ramsey Assal, founder of The Landsite, the commercial property marketplace, underlines the benefits that building real connections bring to a project.

Corners cannot be cut in an industry which is responsible for developing and maintaining essential infrastructures. At every stage, projects require specialist teams. From design and planning through to engineering and building, strong relationships promise to make any venture a success.

Through developing trusted relationships, construction professionals can protect the longevity and security of not only their projects but their company as a whole. Positive relationships foster a reliable reputation and by connecting with skilled consultants, a project can be enhanced and strengthened. However, if you’re new to the industry or planning to build in a new location, it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Developing relationships from scratch can feel like an overwhelming prospect, particularly in an industry that’s growing at such an unprecedented rate. Fortunately, this needn’t be as daunting as first expected. With a little guidance, every construction professional can expand their network with ease – prosperous connections are there to be explored, you simply have to know where to look. In order to enrich your personal network:

1. Utilise social media

We live in a world that’s captivated by social media. Our every move is documented online and as the public has become engrossed by these platforms, so too have businesses and industry experts.

Studies show that 86% of property professionals are now increasing their online presence, so social media provides an invaluable platform through which you can connect and interact with specialist consultants, potential clients and future partners. The very premise of social media is to be social, making it the perfect basis for your networking efforts.

If you’re not already signed up, I would recommend creating a LinkedIn profile, connecting with a range of construction experts to expand your personal network. Within the property industry, users typically share their news online and this makes social media the perfect source of important and relevant information.

Whilst networking with professionals on this kind of social network will develop your relationships, it isn’t without its limitations. For example, LinkedIn is used to connect with multiple individuals within a business and doesn’t necessarily allow you to narrowly filter for the specific results this industry requires. Construction projects require specialist skills by their very nature, so it’s likely that you’ll need to explore particular areas. In this instance, I would suggest exploring The Landsite alongside utilising social media channels. Variety is the key to a successful networking strategy after all.

Similarly, I would recommend creating social media pages for your business. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be brilliant networking tools, (although this is industry dependent.)

It’s worth noting that by creating these business pages you are growing the online presence of your brand and the number of search results that your company’s name will generate on Google. 50% of people are more likely to click on a particular brand if that brand name shows up more than once on their search results, proving that both online networking and social media marketing are imperative to achieving this goal.

2.  Explore a commercial marketplace

Finding a specialist marketplace streamlines the process of finding connections, making networking simple and more successful. Traditionally, Google would have been the only source of information for people trying to develop relationships with new connections. Inevitably, this search engine would have generated thousands of answers, in no way tailoring its results to adhere with your specific needs.

The problem that most professionals come up against when looking for particular contractors is limited time to find the right specialist; so being able to refine your searches solves this issue. As a commercial marketplace, The Landsite brings together contacts, storing and displaying them in one place. Businesses can tag their specialities and specific interests with labels like ‘sustainable builds’ or ‘new builds’, which can be used as search terms for quick results.

Out of the 3,000+ businesses using general listing sites, 90% strongly consider leaving due to cost increases. So, not only does our alternative allow professionals to easily filter information and find suitable connections, our community portal listing costs make this an affordable option. After all, online marketing is all based upon the return on investment. Using an industry specific site is unquestionably the smart move when considering ROI.

When using a property marketplace like The Landsite, users experience much more than a mere advertising platform, finding everything they need efficiently. 

3. Embrace the new ‘normal’

As mentioned, it’s important to make sure that you’re visible and present on relevant websites and databases to reach wider audiences. Currently, due to social distancing measures, we are limited from attending industry-appropriate trade shows and exhibitions, but they are an incredibly useful way of developing relationships. You can make endless connections in a small space of time with the undeniable benefit of enjoying face-to-face conversations, which we all hope will resume once the pandemic ends.

 In the meantime, staying connected and up to date with new information and opportunity within the industry is key during these unprecedented times. The Landsite offers the opportunity to virtually network, filling in the gap that has been left due to Coronavirus.

Utilising online networking opportunities and the chance to interact with other business professionals on platforms like ours has become all the more important.