How to use HubSpot in the construction industry to digitize sales management
In the construction industry, we often talk about concrete and steel, but much less about CRM. And yet, faced with fierce competition and sometimes complex sales cycles, construction companies have everything to gain from modernizing their sales management.
All too often, requests for quotations, reminders and site follow-up are scattered between e-mails, calls and Excel spreadsheets. This results in lost opportunities, fragmented customer relationships and precious time wasted. That's where HubSpot CRM comes in. This all-in-one software, well known in digital marketing, can become a real growth lever for construction companies. It's just a question of adapting it to the realities of this demanding business.
👉 In this article, we show you how to use HubSpot in the construction industry, step by step: from configuration to concrete use cases, with practical advice on how to better structure your business, boost your sales follow-up and centralize your customer information.
Why digitalize customer relations in the construction industry?
In a building and civil engineering company, customer relations involve much more than just signing an estimate and delivering a job. Between incoming calls, requests for clarification, schedule adjustments or last-minute after-sales service, every project requires constant communication. And this is where many structures fall behind.
Even today, too many professionals in the building trade manage their exchanges using disparate tools: Excel for contacts, Outlook for emails, WhatsApp for field teams... And the result is no overview, lost information and a less-than-smooth customer experience.
Digitizing this management means taking back control. With a construction CRM like HubSpot, you can :
- centralize customer information in one place,
- track project progress in real time,
- structure sales stages, from initial contact to signature,
- automate follow-ups, so you never miss a need ,
- offer a more responsive, more professional service.
In the construction industry, where margins are tight and deadlines critical, digitizing customer relationship management is no longer a luxury but a clear competitive advantage, to save time, win the loyalty of prospects and accelerate growth.
What is HubSpot and why use it in the construction industry?
HubSpot is much more than just a CRM. It's an all-in-one platform that lets you manage your contacts, sales projects, customer communications and even marketing... all without needing to be a tech geek.
🎯 Initially designed for startups and marketing teams, HubSpot CRM is increasingly appealing to the construction sector, and not by chance. Its ease of use, flexible configuration and numerous features make it a powerful tool for structuring sales activity, even in field-based trades.
Using HubSpot is particularly relevant for your company, because a building project isn't just a job site. It's also :
- a long sales cycle, with several contacts (architects, developers, craftsmen, end customers),
- requests for quotations to be managed rapidly,
- exchanges to be centralized (e-mails, calls, appointments),
- teams split between the office, the field, and sometimes several sites,
- a need for real-time visibility on the progress of opportunities.
With HubSpot CRM, you can automate repetitive tasks, improve customer relations, keep track of every job, and above all: never let anything slip through the cracks.
HubSpot CRM
🍒 And the icing on the cake: HubSpot offers a free version, ideal for testing before investing.
| Functionality in demand in the construction industry | Available in HubSpot? | Detail |
| Contact centralization (customers, partners, craftsmen) | Yes | Customizable contact files with trade properties |
| Track quote requests | Yes | Visual pipeline with customized stages |
| Automated quotation and after-sales follow-up | Yes | Automated workflows (e-mails, notifications, tasks) |
| Management of several jobs in parallel | ⚠️ Partially | To be modeled via transactions or customized projects |
| Global view of business activity (dashboards) | Yes | Real-time reporting, filters by team, channel, source |
| Tracking of customer exchanges (e-mails, calls, appointments, notes) | Yes | History centralized on each file |
| Contact segmentation (architects, developers, etc.) | Yes | Dynamic or static lists by contact type |
| Send targeted campaigns (newsletters, offers) | Yes | Integrated marketing tool (free or fee-based, depending on plan) |
| Integration with construction industry tools (ERP, quotations, invoicing) | ⚠️ Partially | Via Zapier, API or third-party integrations depending on tools used |
| Ease of use for non-tech teams | Yes | Intuitive interface, quick to learn, mobile-friendly |
| Suitable for field teams | ⚠️ Partially | High-performance mobile application, but limited use without connection |
| Site schedule management | ❌ No | To be coupled with a dedicated business tool |
How to configure HubSpot for construction use in 4 steps?
Step 1 - Set up your contact database
It all starts with a clean database. In HubSpot, each customer, prospect or partner must be clearly identified. We recommend creating personalized properties such as :
- type of contact: developer, architect, private individual, etc,
- geographical area,
- or type of project.
These fields can then be used to segment your database and personalize your exchanges. You can import your existing contacts via Excel, and add a "contact source" field to better understand where your opportunities come from (website, trade show, word-of-mouth...).
Step 2 - Create a pipeline adapted to the stages of a project
A standard pipeline doesn't reflect the reality of a building project. So we need to create stages specific to the building industry, from the first exchange through to site delivery, via the quotation phase, the works and post-delivery follow-up.
💡 Here's a suggestion of typical stages:
- initial contact,
- site visit,
- quotation sent,
- awaiting decision,
- quote accepted,
- work in progress,
- job completed,
- after-sales service/loyalty.
This tunnel gives your teams a precise overview of the status of each file.
Step 3 - Automate quotation, follow-up and after-sales reminders
In the construction industry, follow-ups are often done "when you think of it". With HubSpot, you can automate reminders after a quotation has been sent, trigger a satisfaction e-mail at the end of a project, or notify a sales representative if a customer hasn't replied within 3 days. Together, these small actions boost your company's responsiveness and professionalize customer relations.
Step 4 - Connect HubSpot to your business tools
For HubSpot to truly integrate with your business, it needs to speak the same language as your day-to-day tools. The good news is that it can easily connect to software such as Tolteck, Obat or Batappli. Your quotations come back into the CRM with their status and amount, so you can track every opportunity without juggling between platforms.
In terms of organization, HubSpot synchronizes with Google Calendar or Outlook to centralize your appointments. It also integrates with telephony solutions to automatically record calls on each contact record. Even WhatsApp Business can be connected, handy for quick exchanges on a construction site.
Finally, you can link your online quote request form to HubSpot: each submission automatically creates a contact record and triggers a follow-up. And if you use an ERP, gateways such as Zapier or Make enable you to exchange data between your tools.
5 concrete use cases for HubSpot in the construction industry
Track quote requests and automatically follow-up
In the construction industry, managing quotations is often a headache. Requests arrive by phone, e-mail, web form... and sometimes end up drowned in the daily rush. With HubSpot, each new request can automatically create a contact record and a transaction in your sales pipeline.
This means you can track every quote at every stage: sent, pending, validated or lost. You can even trigger automatic reminders after 3 or 5 days of inactivity, without lifting a finger. As a result, you won't lose any more opportunities, and you'll have a higher conversion rate.
Centralize customer exchanges (e-mails, calls, appointments)
In a construction company, it's not uncommon for the same customer to be in contact with several different people: the project manager, the assistant, the foreman... Without a central tool, information gets scattered, and errors accumulate.
HubSpot lets you group all exchanges in one place: emails, calls, meetings, documents sent.
Every member of the team can access the complete history of a customer or job site, even when a file is handed over. This is a real time-saver and a guarantee of reliability for the customer.
Better management of incoming calls from the website
Do you have a quote request form on your website, or a telephone number displayed in large letters? That's great. But what happens once contact has been established? All too often, the response is delayed or forgotten.
With HubSpot, every interaction can trigger an action:
- automatically create a record,
- assign a contact to a sales rep,
- send a confirmation e-mail,
- or propose an appointment slot.
No more lost leads, and a smoother experience for the customer, who feels quickly taken care of.
Create targeted newsletters for architects, developers and craftsmen
Not all your contacts have the same expectations. For example, a property developer will expect information on project management, a partner craftsman will be more sensitive to deadlines or the materials used, while a private individual will be looking for advice and support.
HubSpot enables you to segment your database intelligently: by contact type, location, project history, etc. You can then send targeted campaigns with relevant content: site news, promotional offers, testimonials or business advice. It's the perfect way to maintain contact and position your company as a serious player in the construction industry.
Track the sales performance of your field teams
Want to know how many quotations were signed this month? Which salesperson has the best transformation rate? What types of projects bring in the most revenue? HubSpot offers clear, customizable dashboards that can be accessed at any time.
🎬 Every action (call, email, appointment, signed quote) is recorded:
- so you track your teams' sales performance in real time,
- identify friction points,
- and adjust your priorities.
It's also an excellent management tool for structuring your growth, setting concrete objectives and motivating your teams.
HubSpot, a lever for structured growth in the construction industry
Today, companies in the construction sector that want to grow can no longer be satisfied with operating "the old way": quotations in Word, reminders made by feel, Excel files that are never up to date... Digitization is no longer a subject reserved for start-ups or large structures. It's a growth gas pedal for players in the building trade, large and small.
And that's exactly where HubSpot CRM makes the difference. It enables you to better manage your prospects, structure your sales pipeline, centralize your customer data and professionalize your sales relationship. In short, it provides a flexible, yet solid framework to get you through this phase.
HubSpot becomes a strategic tool for :
- make your sales follow-up more reliable, even with dispersed field teams,
- automate what can be automated, so you can concentrate on the real work: the job site,
- make better use of your data, contacts and customer feedback,
- save time, improve customer satisfaction and boost your results.
Adopted methodically, HubSpot can transform a well-oiled craft business into a high-performance sales machine, capable of handling more volume, more rigorously. And that's often the difference between a stagnant business and one that's gaining momentum.
Article translated from French