What's the best way for a General Contractor to get early leads on projects?

I'm starting a new branch office and need to find work. I need to be proactive and get to developers / Owners prior to reading about it in the newspaper. Project size $1M to $10 M.

Building department information is public record in most jurisdictions. In most major cities, there are newspapers that publish legal notifications and business news, and usually these papers also publish permit activity.

You will need to dig through these listings carefully as many types of permits are obtained by other contractors and these won't do you any good. However, architects often obtain permits for master plans, conditional use permits, etc. very early in the design process and these will give you advance clues about upcoming projects.

Another thing to do would be to network with specific architects in your area that specialize in the type of projects that you are interested in. In many cases, an architect will know about a project years before it goes out to bid. Some architects will be reluctant to tell you about the things they are working on, but others will be more open.

Finally, if you are interested in commercial work, you may want to consider joining the local chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) http://www.boma.org This organization can offer excellent networking opportunities with both property owners and other vendors who may be able to give you early leads on projects.

Good luck with the office!

I work for a bank and we're the largest construction lender in CA, 2nd nationwide. Brokers/bankers come to me to obtain financing. You might want to find out what banks in your area offer this type of financing and network with reps like myself.

A website that sub contrators use to bid deals is permitplace.com. They list any permits pulled in a certain area. Lists their name, address, telephone number, etc. Yearly fee for leads.

go to www.thebluebook.com. You can put a free online ad about your company. Have you ever been to the General Contractors' showcase?