Most contractors are good at landing the first job. They're worse at getting the second, fifth, and tenth from the same client. The reason isn't usually quality — it's timing. By the time the homeowner is thinking about their next project, you've moved on, and somebody else's marketing got there first.
This is one of those problems permit data is weirdly good at solving. Here's how.
The problem: clients call when they need you, and that's already too late
When a past client gets a kitchen quote from someone else, you've already lost. The decision to remodel happens in their head a few months before any contractor hears about it. By the time they're asking around for bids, they've narrowed it to two or three names — and "the guy who did our roof in 2022" only makes the list if you're top of mind.
You can't read minds. But you can read public records. And public records often signal exactly the moment a homeowner has shifted from "thinking about it" to "it's happening."
What permit data tells you about your past clients
Set up an alert for the addresses of every client you've worked for in the last five years. (You probably have these in QuickBooks or a CRM. Pull them.)
When something gets filed at one of those addresses — a permit for a kitchen, an addition, a re-roof, a solar install, anything — that's your signal. Not to hard-pitch the job. To call.
"Hey, it's Mike from [your company]. I noticed there was a kitchen permit pulled at your place — congrats on the new project. Just wanted to check in. Whoever you've got on it, are they treating you right? Do you need a hand with anything?"
That's not a sales call. It's a relationship call. You'll find out:
- Whether they hired someone, and who.
- Whether they're happy.
- Whether there's adjacent work they haven't started yet.
About a third of the time, that conversation turns into a referral, a sub-contracting opportunity, or a future job they didn't know they needed yet. The other two thirds, you've reminded a past client that you exist, in a way that feels personal — not like a marketing email.
The same trick works on your prospects
If a prospect ghosted you six months ago and a permit just hit their address, they didn't ghost — they hired someone else. Useful information. You don't need to chase that one anymore.
If a prospect is still in your CRM as "evaluating" and you see a permit hit, they're moving without you. Now's the time to reach out, find out where the deal went sideways, and try to recover something — a different room, a phase 2, anything.
How to do this without being creepy
A few rules so this stays useful instead of awkward:
- Never pretend you stumbled across the permit by accident. "I saw you pulled a permit" is fine. People know permits are public.
- Don't pitch in the first message. Ask how they're doing. The pitch comes later, if at all.
- Keep it text or a short call. Not a five-paragraph email.
- Don't do this to people who haven't been clients or active prospects. Cold-targeting strangers based on permit data is a different play (and a fine one), but mixing the two channels confuses the relationship.
The follow-up no one else does
Most contractors send one thank-you email after a job and then disappear. The contractors who get repeat business send a short note at three predictable moments:
- 30 days after final inspection. "Just checking in — anything settled wrong, anything need a touch-up?" This is also when you ask for the review.
- 6 months later. "Heading into [season] — want me to take a look at the [thing we built]? Free walkthrough."
- Whenever the client's address pops up in permit data again. See above.
That's it. Three touches over a year, plus reactive follow-up when the data tells you to. Most clients won't need any of it — but the ones who do will remember you over the contractor who only emailed once.
The compounding effect
Most "client relationship" advice tells you to be more attentive in the abstract. Permit data lets you be specifically attentive at exactly the moments it matters. Done consistently across a few hundred past clients, this is the difference between a business that has to find new leads every month and one where 40-60% of revenue comes from people you've already worked with.
If you want to track your past-client addresses without checking each city portal manually, The Permit Sheet lets you set up address-specific alerts across 15+ US cities. Start with a free alert on a handful of clients and see what comes through over the next few months.