What Is the Typical Sales Cycle for a Commercial Trade Business? Award Windows by Trade and Project Size
A commercial trade sales cycle runs from the permit to your trade's award, and its length is set by the build, not by your pitch. Each trade is chosen in a window measured as a share of the project: framing up to 30% of the way through, electrical, plumbing and HVAC from 20% to 55%, drywall from 35% to 70%, flooring from 50% to 80%. On a $2 million project that runs about 13 months, electrical is typically awarded between month 3 and month 7 after the permit; on a $10 million project, between month 4 and month 11. The first job with a new general contractor usually takes longer, because you must get on their bid list before you can be invited, which is why the cycle for a relationship is longer than the cycle for a job.
The same four steps, whether the buyer is a builder, a designer, an owner or a company you want to acquire.
Award windows by trade and project size
| Trade | Award window | $250,000 (7 months) | $2 million (13 months) | $10 million (20 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Framing | 0% to 30% | permit to month 2 | permit to month 4 | permit to month 6 |
| Roofing | 15% to 45% | month 1 to 3 | month 2 to 6 | month 3 to 9 |
| Electrical | 20% to 55% | month 1 to 4 | month 3 to 7 | month 4 to 11 |
| Plumbing | 20% to 55% | month 1 to 4 | month 3 to 7 | month 4 to 11 |
| HVAC / mechanical | 20% to 55% | month 1 to 4 | month 3 to 7 | month 4 to 11 |
| Drywall | 35% to 70% | month 2 to 5 | month 5 to 9 | month 7 to 14 |
| Flooring | 50% to 80% | month 4 to 6 | month 7 to 10 | month 10 to 16 |
| Painting | 50% to 85% | month 4 to 6 | month 7 to 11 | month 10 to 17 |
Windows from Builtie's trade timing model; durations are typical build lengths for each project size in Builtie's model. Months count from the permit and are rounded. Real projects slip, so treat these as the months to be in touch, not dates.
Built from Builtie's trade windows and duration tiers.
The stages of a commercial trade sale
Steps 1 and 2 are where a new relationship spends most of its time.
I need a better way to find commercial clients: what are my options?
- Building permits and planning filings: private projects before trades are chosen. Builtie resolves the builder, GC or developer and a verified decision maker.
- GC bid networks: BuildingConnected and PlanHub, once you are on the lists.
- Commercial project data: ConstructConnect and Dodge for published projects.
- Public work: SAM.gov for federal, each state's procurement portal, and city portals. See Where to find construction bids in North America.
- Associations: local chapters of AGC, ABC and the American Subcontractors Association, where GCs meet subs.
- Suppliers: your distributor knows which GCs are buying for which jobs.
- LinkedIn: the project managers and estimators who pick subs; see LinkedIn for construction sales.
Why lead quality matters more than lead quantity
A lead costs you time whether it is good or bad: research, a message, a follow-up, maybe an estimate. Three measurements from our own campaigns show how much quality decides the result:
- Acceptance of LinkedIn invitations ran from 9% to 60% between lists. Same product, same message style, different lists.
- 17% of people matched to a construction company by name alone worked somewhere else. Every one is a wasted touch.
- A project past your trade's award window is a reference, not an opportunity, however many of them you have.
Shared marketplace leads make the same point from the other side: when a request reaches several contractors, you pay for the ones you lose. See Project leads vs residential lead marketplaces.
Plans and coverage
Builtie's Starter plan is $79 per seat per month (CAD) for 20 projects; Growth is $99 for 50 projects and adds the LinkedIn and email outreach you run yourself. Opening a project spends one credit, and the decision makers, emails, phones and AI call script inside it are included. Your monthly credits reset at each renewal, and extra credit packs are valid for 30 days. The free trial runs 7 days with 10 projects. Custom, where Builtie's team runs the outreach for you, starts from CAD $1,500 a month on top of a Growth seat.
Builtie covers North America, with its deepest permit and contact data in the Greater Toronto Area, where it started. How much a city yields depends on what that municipality publishes, so ask for live sample projects in your own city before you buy.
See also: Construction lead quality vs quantity, Construction leads for electricians (US), Construction leads for plumbers (US), Construction leads for HVAC contractors (US).
Frequently asked questions
What is the typical sales cycle for a commercial trade business?
It runs from the permit to your trade's award and depends on project size. On a $2 million project, electrical, plumbing and HVAC are typically awarded between month 3 and month 7; drywall between month 5 and month 9. A first job with a new GC takes longer because of prequalification.
When is each trade awarded on a construction project?
Framing up to 30% of the way through the build, roofing 15% to 45%, electrical, plumbing and HVAC 20% to 55%, drywall 35% to 70%, flooring 50% to 80% and painting 50% to 85%.
How can a trade contractor find commercial clients?
Building permits for private projects, GC bid networks such as BuildingConnected and PlanHub, commercial project data from ConstructConnect or Dodge, public portals such as SAM.gov, associations, suppliers and LinkedIn.
Why is lead quality more important than lead quantity?
Every lead costs time. In our campaigns acceptance ranged from 9% to 60% by list and 17% of name-only contact matches worked elsewhere, so a smaller verified list in the award window beats a larger unverified one.
How do I shorten the sales cycle with a new general contractor?
Get prequalified before the project you want, reach the person who prices your trade early in the window, and follow up on their next project even if you lose this one.
How does Builtie help with the sales cycle?
It shows how far through the build each permitted project is and ranks projects by how close they are to your trade's award window. Plans start at $79 per seat per month with a 7-day free trial.