How to use HubSpot in the construction industry to digitise sales management
In the construction and public works sector, 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 modernising their sales management.
All too often, requests for quotations, follow-ups and site monitoring are scattered between e-mails, calls and Excel spreadsheets. The result is 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. But you need to know how to adapt it to the realities on the ground in this demanding business.
👉 In this article, we show you how to use HubSpot in the construction industry, step by step: from configuration to real-life use cases, with practical advice on how to better structure your business, boost your sales follow-up and centralise your customer information.
Why digitalise your customer relations in the construction industry?
In a building and civil engineering company, customer relations are not limited to signing an estimate and delivering a site. Between incoming calls, requests for clarification, schedule adjustments and last-minute after-sales service, every project requires constant communication. And that's 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.
Digitising this management means taking back control. With a CRM tailored to the construction industry, such as HubSpot, you can :
- centralise customer information in one place,
- monitor project progress in real time,
- structure the 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 and public works sector, where margins are tight and deadlines critical, digitalising customer relationship management is no longer a luxury but a clear competitive advantage, saving time, building loyalty among prospects and accelerating 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 your 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 that's no coincidence. Its ease of use, flexible configuration and numerous features make it a powerful tool for structuring sales activity, even in the field.
Using HubSpot is particularly relevant for your company, because a building project isn't just a building site. It also means :
- a long sales cycle, with several contacts (architects, developers, tradesmen, end customers),
- requests for quotations that need to be managed quickly
- exchanges to be centralised (emails, 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 on top of every job, and above all: never let anything slip through the cracks.
HubSpot CRM
🍒 And the icing on the cake is that HubSpot offers a free version, ideal for testing before investing.
| Functionality in demand in the construction industry | Available in HubSpot? | Detail |
| Contact centralisation (customers, partners, tradespeople) | Yes | Customisable contact files with business properties |
| Track quote requests | Yes | Visual pipeline with customised stages |
| Automated quotation and after-sales service reminders | Yes | Automated workflows (e-mails, notifications, tasks) |
| Management of several projects in parallel | ⚠️ Partially | To be modelled via transactions or customised projects |
| Global view of business activity (dashboards) | Yes | Real-time reporting, filters by team, channel, source |
| Track customer exchanges (emails, calls, appointments, notes) | Yes | Centralised history for 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 chargeable depending on plan) |
| Integration with construction industry tools (ERP, estimates, invoicing) | ⚠️ Partially | Via Zapier, API or third-party integrations depending on the 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 a connection |
| Site schedule management | ❌ No | To be coupled with a dedicated business tool |
How do you 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 personalised 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 personalise your exchanges. You can import your existing contacts via Excel, and add a "source of contact" field to better understand where your opportunities come from (website, trade show, word of mouth, etc.).
Step 2 - Create a pipeline adapted to the stages of a project
A standard pipeline does not reflect the reality of a building project. So you need to create stages that are specific to the building industry, from the first exchange to the delivery of the site, including the quotation phase, the works and post-delivery monitoring.
💡 Here's a suggestion of typical stages:
- initial contact,
- site visit,
- quotation sent,
- awaiting decision,
- quotation accepted,
- work in progress,
- work 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, reminders are often made "when you think of it". With HubSpot, you can automate reminders after a quote has been sent, trigger a satisfaction e-mail at the end of a project, or notify a sales representative if a customer has not replied within 3 days. All these little actions add up to a more responsive business and a more professional customer relationship.
Step 4 - Connect HubSpot to your business tools
For HubSpot to be truly integrated into your business, it must 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 quotes come back into the CRM with their status and amount, so you can track every opportunity without having to juggle between platforms.
In terms of organisation, HubSpot synchronises with Google Calendar or Outlook to centralise your appointments. It also integrates with telephony solutions to automatically record calls on each contact record. Even WhatsApp Business can be connected, which is handy for quick exchanges on a worksite.
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 allow you to exchange data between your tools.
5 concrete use cases for HubSpot in the construction industry
Track quote requests and automatically send out reminders
In the building and civil engineering sector, managing quotes is often a headache. Requests arrive by phone, email or web form, and sometimes end up being buried in the daily rush. With HubSpot, each new request can automatically create a contact record and a transaction in your sales pipeline.
This allows you to track each 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. So you won't lose any more opportunities and you'll have a better conversion rate.
Centralise customer exchanges (emails, calls, appointments)
In a construction company, it's common for the same customer to talk to several different people: the project manager, the assistant, the site supervisor, etc. Without a central tool, information gets scattered and errors accumulate.
HubSpot allows you to group all exchanges in one place: emails, calls, meetings, documents sent.
Each member of the team can access the complete history of a customer or a 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 large telephone number? That's great. But what happens once contact has been made? 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 email
- or suggest an appointment slot.
No more lost leads, and a smoother experience for the customer, who feels taken care of quickly.
Create targeted newsletters for architects, developers and tradespeople
Not all your contacts have the same expectations. For example, a property developer will be looking for 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 type of contact, 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 a relationship and position your company as a serious player in the construction industry.
Monitor the sales performance of your field teams
Do you want to know how many quotations have been signed this month? Which salesperson has the best conversion rate? Which types of project bring in the most revenue? HubSpot offers clear, customisable 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 targets and motivating your teams.
HubSpot, a lever for structuring growth in the building and civil engineering sector
These days, building and civil engineering companies that want to grow can no longer be satisfied with operating "the old way": quotations in Word, reminders based on gut feeling, Excel files that are never up to date... Digitalisation is no longer a subject reserved for start-ups or large structures. It's a growth accelerator for players in the building trade, large and small.
And that's exactly where HubSpot CRM makes the difference. It enables you to manage your prospects more effectively, structure your sales pipeline, centralise your customer data and professionalise your sales relationship. In short, it provides a flexible but solid framework for getting through this phase.
HubSpot then 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 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 with greater rigour. And that's often the difference between a business that's stagnating and one that's gaining momentum.
Article translated from French