How do I find out where an office moving company gets its commercial leads?

Commercial work can come from relationships, repeat clients, formal bids or online enquiries, so a buyer needs to understand which ones feed the company. Ask for a lead log, or reconstruct one from quotes, emails and invoices. Include the source on each entry.

Test the claim by tracing a sample. Choose recent jobs and ask how each customer found the company. A repeat client from an earlier move is different from a referral by a realtor, and both differ from a tender where the company competed on price alone.

Look closely at the relationships. Which realtors, property managers or office designers send work regularly? Do those contacts know the seller personally? If the owner attends the lunches and makes the calls, the leads may not follow a new owner without effort. Also ask about timing. Commercial moves often follow lease expiries and office openings, so they may arrive in waves. Ask what the pipeline looked like at the same time in prior years and how far ahead jobs are booked. A few big accounts can make the leads look healthier than they are.

Key takeaways

• Get a lead log with the source of each job, or build one from invoices.
• Trace a sample of recent jobs back to their first contact.
• Find out which referral relationships depend on the seller personally.
• Compare today’s pipeline with the same point in earlier years.