Asphalt and Paving Lead Generation Software: Tools to Find Hot Leads and Sell More

Introduction

As an asphalt and paving contractor, you know that finding new customers is easy when you don’t need them, and like “pulling teeth” when you do.

With a steady flow of business, most paving contractors let lead-gen fall by the wayside.

You know how it is; you’re juggling projects, managing teams, and dealing with unexpected issues and equipment failures that inevitably pop up along the way.

In the midst of all that chaos, you lose focus on driving new business through lead generation and sales- even though it’s the one key element that can make or break your business.

If you’re not consistently bringing in new, high-quality leads now, your sales funnel will dry up and leave you in a tough spot in the off-season, when work is hard to find.

In this article we’ll be exploring the best lead generation software for asphalt contractors and pavers. We’ll be looking at outbound sales lead generation, strategies that work and the best tools to capture leads and grow your business.

Whether you’re a business owner, sales manager or sales rep this guide will give you practical, actionable advice to generate more leads and sell more.

What is Lead Generation?

Before we get started, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers for your products and services. For asphalt pavers, a good lead generation process can help you:

• Connect with current and potential customers
• Build a solid brand that locals recognize
• Grow your email list and customer base in your CRM
• Scale up your business
• Hire some great employees and delegate tasks
• And, of course, sell more jobs and make more money!

But here’s the thing—there are two types of lead generation: inbound and outbound. Understanding the difference between these two is key to developing a lead generation strategy that works for you.

Inbound Lead Generation: Attracting Quality Leads with Content

Inbound lead generation is all about creating content that attracts potential customers to you. Think of it as a magnet that pulls in leads who are already interested in what you offer. This could be through:

• Blog posts: Share your knowledge on topics like asphalt paving, driveway maintenance, or the latest paving technology.
• Social media: Engage with your audience on Instagram or LinkedIn and show off your work.
• E-books and whitepapers: Offer in-depth guides on paving best practices or industry trends.
• Webinars: Host online sessions on common paving issues and how to fix them.
• Testimonials: Let your happy customers do the talking.
• Or just having a great website with helpful content.

The beauty of inbound lead generation is it tends to attract more qualified leads—people who have already done their research and are genuinely interested in your services. Tools like SEMrush and HubSpot can help you track engagement and refine your content to attract even more quality leads.

However, inbound lead generation has its drawbacks. It generally takes a long time to see results and requires consistent content creation and promotion. It also relies on things like Google’s search algorithm which can be change as fast as the ocean’s tide.

But when done right, it’s a powerful way to generate quality leads that convert into sales.

Outbound Lead Generation: Proactively Go After Potential Customers

On the other hand, outbound lead generation involves going after potential customers. This puts you in the driver’s seat, allowing you to target specific prospects who may not even know about your services.

With outbound lead generation, you’ll be using tools to reach out to potential customers with:

• Cold calling: Reaching out to prospects directly by phone.

• Email marketing: Sending targeted email marketing campaigns to potential customers.

• Direct mail: Sending physical or digital marketing materials to prospective clients.

• Advertising: Running paid ads on Google Ads or Meta Ads.

Outbound lead generation can deliver incredibly quick results because you’re proactively pursuing prospects- they don’t have to come find you.

Putting your business in front of prospects with the hope of converting them into leads is requires a bit of patience and willingness to handle rejection, but it works. When it’s done right outbound lead-gen can be the highest ROI activity in sales operations with a return on investment of $20- 40 dollars per $1 spent (depending on the tools you use).

And with the right personalization, it can yield high conversion rates and a steady flow of leads that accelerate sales.

According to Constant Contact, outbound email marketing can deliver an average return on investment (ROI) of $36.00 for every dollar spent. That’s a good reason to include outbound in your lead generation strategy.

The Outbound Lead Generation Process

To get the most out of outbound lead generation, you need a process. Here’s a step-by-step lead generation process to simplify the sales cycle:

1. Building the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) List: Who are the types of accounts or contacts that need your services? Do they share characteristics in common? Use this to group them and create a list.
2. Prospecting: Use LinkedIn Sales Navigator or Convex’s Atlas to gather data on that list of leads so that you can send personalized messages to them- we’ll talk more about this in a minute.
3. Qualification: Using lead scoring tools to see who the best leads are and focus on those.
4. Outreach: Reach out to prospects through email, cold calls or direct mail. There’s a great shortcut to this… more in a moment.
5. Sales: Close the deal and start the project.

I know these five steps don’t cover all the challenges you’ll encounter while trying to find a new customer and close a deal. But here’s the thing: lead generation can be simpler than you think—even if it’s not always easy. By following this step-by-step process, you’ll be able to capture more leads and keep that sales pipeline flowing.

Top Lead Generation Strategies and Tools for Asphalt Paving Contractors

Now that you know the basics of different lead generation processes, let’s look at the best strategies and tools to help you get the most out of it.

Sales Intelligence Software & Property Intelligence Software

When it comes to prospecting and lead generation, sales and property intelligence platforms stand out as the most accurate and fastest way to identify and contact decision-makers. These tools provide detailed insights and data to efficiently target the right prospects. Additionally, they can seamlessly integrate with customer relationship management systems to enhance lead generation, contact management, and overall sales process automation.

Sales Intelligence Software:

Sales Intelligence software is most notably used for selling into companies (or accounts). This type of marketing software often focuses on gathering and analyzing data about potential leads, including their company data, behaviors, and purchasing intent. Sales Intelligence helps sales teams understand their prospects better and tailor their outreach efforts accordingly.

Property Intelligence Software:

Property Intelligence software was only used by real estate professionals just a few years ago. Today, these tools have in-depth information about properties, including ownership details, tenant information, permit data, transaction history, and more that can be used to find new leads and close deals.

Convex: Bridging the Gap between Sales Intelligence and Property Intelligence

Convex is a hybrid lead generation platform that combines both sales intelligence data with a property-focused interface. Think of Convex like the maps app on your phone.

Specifically designed for modern commercial services sales teams, from Asphalt and Paving to HVAC, roofing, and solar, Convex offers an all-in-one lead generation solution that simplifies the sales process.

Here’s How It Works:

• Log in to Convex and Check the Signals: Utilize Convex’s Signals (our proprietary buyer scoring system) to identify who is ready to buy in your market.
• Search and Identify: Look for specific accounts or contacts by searching for a type of building, contact name, job title, account name, property address, or tenants.
• Engage with Ease: With just two clicks, use Generative AI trained on the prospect’s buying signals and your company data to send emails or draft phone call scripts (or scripts for Loom Videos).
• Automate Follow-ups: Set up automated reminders or add prospects to your pipeline for seamless follow-up.

According to Salesforce, lead research and prospecting consume about 21% of a top sales rep’s time—almost 2 hours per day.

Convex can handle those same tasks in just 3 to 5 minutes. This means asphalt and paving sales teams can connect with 10 to 20 accounts in two hours, whereas a rep using traditional tools would only reach one.

In addition to Convex, several other noteworthy sales intelligence and property intelligence tools can enhance your lead generation efforts:

• Dealfront: A data beast.
• Cognism: B2B sales intelligence, especially for European markets.
• Apollo: A versatile tool with a user-friendly interface.
• LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Leverages the power of the LinkedIn network to find and connect with prospects.
• Reonomy: Property intelligence platform for commercial real estate.
• LeadIQ: A sales prospecting tool that helps find and verify contact information for potential leads.
• CoStar: A commercial real estate intelligence platform with access to property data, listings, and market analysis.
• Lusha: Data enrichment and verification.
• HubSpot Sales Hub: An all-in-one platform that integrates with other HubSpot tools.
• Uplead: High-quality data that is easy to use.
• Clearbit: Company and decision-maker insights.
• Datanyze: Technographic data is perfect for techy businesses.

These tools will give your sales teams an edge by providing valuable insights and streamlining the lead-generation process.

Cold Calling: The Direct Engagement Art

Cold calling may seem old school, but it’s still one of the most effective ways to connect with prospects. The key is preparation. Convex can help with call scripts and prospect data. Remember, persistence pays off. Our research shows that making six calls increases your chances of getting to a decision-maker—most sales reps quit after just two.

Email Marketing: Nurturing and Driving Value

Email marketing is another tool in your lead generation toolbox. Whether you’re sending cold emails or nurturing existing leads, the right message makes all the difference. Convex’s Generative AI can help you write personalized emails based on data and buyer signals so your message lands with your audience- this makes outreach a breeze.

Direct Mail: A Tactile Touchpoint

In a digital world, direct mail offers a personal touch that can set you apart from the competition. Platforms like Postal and Sendoso make sending targeted mail to your prospects easy. With a 4.9% response rate, direct mail can be a very effective way to capture leads.

However, direct mail can also be expensive- ensure that you’re choosing a top direct mail platform like Postal or Sendoso who know the market and can offer advise on putting together a campaign.

Social Media Campaigns

Social media isn’t just for posting project photos (or cat videos, for that matter)—it’s a lead-generation marketing tool.

By setting up keyword filters and engaging with prospects across all channels, including TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn, you can build relationships and attract new leads.

There’s no other place for this, so I thought we’d add it here: Don’t forget to keep your Google Business profile up to date to drive more traffic to your website.

Your Google business profile allows you to collect reviews, ratings, and testimonials, which can drive new business to your company.

Sales and Marketing Automation and Integration Tools

To increase efficiency, consider integrating your sales tools with automation platforms like HubSpot, IFTTT, Make, or Zapier. These tools can automate everything from lead capture forms to email follow-up to ensure no leads fall through the cracks.

Paid Advertising Platforms

Paid ads can capture leads from prospects actively searching for your services. Consider:

• LinkedIn InMail ads and Lead Gen Forms

• TikTok Lead Ads

• Meta (Facebook) Lead Ads

• Google Ads, especially Local Services Ads (LSA)

Which Lead Generation Tool to Choose

So now you have a massive stack to strategies and tools to use in your lead generation efforts- what do you do now?

Here’s a simple, systematic approach to choosing the right lead-generation tool for your business:

1. What’s your primary goal? Some of you will want to immediately begin driving new business through outbound marketing channels, while others will focus on slower organic inbound channels. The platforms you choose should match your primary goal.
2. Features and Pricing: Look at what each tool offers—lead scoring, Generative AI for outreach, email marketing, landing pages, etc. Compare the features to the pricing to find the best fit. You’re not looking for the cheapest tool; you’re trying to identify the one that will drive the highest ROI with the least effort.
3. Ease of Use: Will your team be able to learn the platform and use it effectively? Do they offer training or support? Make sure the tool you choose is user-friendly and efficient.
4. Integration with Existing Tools: If you already use tools like Hubspot and Salesforce and they’re working well, make sure the tool integrates with your CRM, automation, email marketing software, and other tools in your current workflow.
5. Reading Reviews and Case Studies: Learn from others. Reading reviews and case studies will give you real-world insights into how a tool works.

Finally, don’t get caught up in “shiny feature syndrome” (my version of shiny object syndrome). Start with your primary goal, pick the tools that will help you get there and start using them consistently. You can always add other tools later as needed- but don’t try to do too much at once or you’ll be overwhelmed and see little results.

Remember, lead generation is a marathon, not a sprint. Once you have a working process, stay consistent with it, use feedback to improve it, and add tools as needed.

Conclusion

Generating leads for asphalt and paving businesses doesn’t have to be a hassle. With the right tools and strategies—whether it’s inbound, outbound, or a mix of both—you can create a steady flow of quality leads to grow your business. Remember to be persistent, keep track of your results, and adjust your approach as needed.

Mindset matters, too! Lead generation and sales growth are just as much about how you think as they are about the tools you use. Stay positive despite the rejection, be open to new things, and always look for ways to improve.

Now that you have a good grasp of lead generation strategies and tools for asphalt and paving businesses, it’s time to take action! Start by checking out your current approach and see where you can make some tweaks. Then, pick the right mix of tools and get started to see some real results!

Ready to see how a hybrid of sales intelligence and property data can drive new business to your brand? Schedule a demo of Convex today!