Guides for suppliers that sell to contractors

How contractors choose a supplier

The contractor buying journey follows a tradesperson from the moment they need a part to the point where they become a loyal account. It covers the four buying moments that matter (urgent need, planned job, brand choice and account review), who influences each one, and what a supplier's website, listings and reps should do at each stage.

You'll learn:

• why "availability" is the most persuasive message you have
• how counter staff, reps and search results share the work of winning an order
• the questions contractors ask before opening a new account
• a checklist for auditing your own buying journey in an afternoon

Read it alongside our product and catalogue SEO service page if contractors struggle to find your products online.

Making a dealer locator work

The dealer locator playbook is for manufacturers and master distributors who run a "find an installer" tool. It walks through data standards, profile fields that matter to homeowners, routing rules, response windows and the reporting that keeps dealers engaged.

You'll learn:

• the minimum listing standard that builds homeowner trust
• how to route a lead when three dealers are equally close
• why most locator leads go unanswered, and how to fix it
• what to measure monthly so the program doesn't decay

It pairs with our dealer and installer program marketing service.

What a trade account is worth

Trade-account economics shows how to calculate the lifetime value of a contractor account, set a sensible acquisition cost, and judge marketing spend against real gross profit rather than revenue. It includes worked examples with placeholder numbers you can replace with your own.

You'll learn:

• how to estimate account lifetime from your sales data
• the difference between revenue, gross profit and contribution, and why it matters for budgets
• how share of wallet changes the maths
• a simple payback-period check before you approve any campaign

Read it before choosing a plan on our pricing page.

Which guide to read first

If you only have time for one, choose by role:

• Distributor owners and branch managers: start with the contractor buying journey. Most of the quick wins it describes, such as correct listings and early-morning phone coverage, cost little to fix.
• Manufacturer marketing and channel managers: start with the dealer locator playbook. It covers the part of your program that homeowners actually see.
• Finance-minded owners and sales directors: start with trade-account economics. It gives you a way to judge any marketing proposal, including ours.

How we write these guides

Each guide is written from practical experience rather than theory. Where we mention a regulation, program or statistic, we link the official source and date it, because programs change often. We don't give legal, engineering or compliance advice; where a rule matters, we point you to the regulator. Regional differences, such as Quebec's French-language rules or provincial rebates that change what contractors sell, are covered on our areas pages.

Keeping the guides current

Every guide carries a published date and an updated date at the top. When a program, rule or platform feature changes in a way that affects the advice, we revise the guide rather than leaving outdated material online.

Where to go next

If a guide raises a question about your own business, call, text or email. The first consultation is free. You can also browse our services or read about us.