Hello. I have a few excavators, dozers, dumptrucks..etc... I used to subscribe to DODGE reports back in the late 90's. I never was big enough to take on most of the insane hwy projects that i saw in the reports, but it was handy seeing the building permits and subdivision stuff with contact info that fit into my project size. I dont wanna spend a to of money because I get 50 percent of work off of referral. But I need to pick and choose more... Who do you recommend and what price and format might suit me? Thanks guys!
I use LDI for some project leads. http://ldiline.com/index.cfm Also subscribe to DataFax but I haven't had many leads that fit my size come across, I probably won't re-up it this year. LDI is good for finding the GC's out there that build the size projects that fit in your business model.
Look into the blue book, home advisor etc
For the last 15 years I have been using CDC news. I find it a touch more user friendly than the Dodge, and it also seems to cater to smaller contractors better. You can find 30 million dollar Heavy/ Highway projects right next to 15,000 stream stabilization projects. They have a paper version for old timers like myself who just like touching paper, but also have an on line version as well for the digital natives. CDC has coverage from the NE to Fla. They will probably give you a free 30 day on line trial. CDC will run a couple grand per year, comes out twice a week, and although I gripe about the price, I can make that 2 grand back on just one job. Most of my work the last 2-3 years has been coming off of an e-board called Pennbid. I don't think that this venue has worked it's way down south yet. Take a look here www.Pennbid.net The Pennbid concept is pretty slick, you can view the project documents, see the list of all prospective bidders , post all your questions on line, and after the bid is opened, results are posted immediately. Pennbid takes a very small % from the winning bidder. I use these services a little bit differently, most contractors look for jobs to bid themselves. I use them to find particular jobs that fit my client's area of expertise , then pass these leads on to my clients in hopes that they'll send me plans for the jobs so that I can prepare an estimate for them. A system that works very well for me. There is also Blue Book, as well as Bidclerk, and probably a few more that I haven't heard of. Roan
I swear by Datafax. If I was looking for leads currently I would have an active Datafax plan. I used them for 7 years, now do mostly negotiated work, so I don't have a need for project leads.
I have been using bidclerk its an online publication lists public and private a lot less expaensive than the others and its online I check projects fromthe office and my home
We get a lot of RFP's from I/SQ/FT. I don't really like having to go through pages and pages of prints but it is one way the General Contracters have switched the burden to the Subcontracter to pay for the cost of the prints. It does add up. I have thought about getting a few 36" or 42" moniters to work off of but never got serious about it. 90% of my work is negotiated as well, so not a big deal. Regards, CD
best thing i ever did was buy my own blue print printer. i figure it cots me right around $0.04 a page to print them out now. I got a smoking deal on a KIP 5000