How to get commercial work as a new trade or service business.

How do you start getting commercial work?

Choose a specific service and buyer, make your business easy to check, then approach suitable companies with a clear reason to talk. Use introductions where you have them and targeted cold email to reach beyond your existing network. Keep track of the replies and follow through on genuine opportunities.

For a new business, visibility is not about being everywhere. It is about becoming known to the people who could actually use your service. Outreach lets you begin those introductions while your referrals and search presence develop.

Start with the commercial work you want

“We work with businesses” is too broad to guide your marketing. Pick a starting point that matches what you can deliver well. A cleaning company could focus on offices in its area; an electrical contractor could approach businesses managing multiple premises.

• Service: What specific work are you offering, and what do you leave out?
• Area: Where can you operate without travel making the job unworkable?
• Job size: What is worth quoting for, and what would stretch the team too far?
• Capacity: When could you start, and who will handle enquiries and site visits?

This is a starting focus, not a permanent restriction. It gives you a clear offer to test and makes it easier to recognise a suitable enquiry.

Give buyers a reason to trust a new business

A buyer who receives your email may check your website before replying. Make it easy to see what you do, where you work and how to contact you. Show relevant qualifications, insurance or accreditations only where they are accurate and current.

Being newly established does not necessarily mean you are new to the work. Explain relevant experience honestly, making clear what you did in a previous role and what your current business has delivered. Only use project photos, customer names and testimonials you have permission to share.

Check practical requirements early, too: supplier approval, insurance limits, safety documentation, payment terms and site access. An interested contact is not necessarily authorised to appoint you.

Find the businesses and people who buy your service

Start with the need, then find the role responsible for it. For a small company, that may be the owner. In a larger business, the contact could sit in operations, facilities, property management or procurement.

Record why each business fits, the relevant role, the source of the contact details and any requirements you need to check. A job title alone does not tell you whether someone needs your service.

Alongside outreach, ask existing contacts for relevant introductions and investigate subcontracting opportunities. For public-sector work, follow the advertised procurement route: GOV.UK explains the different ways to sell to public buyers. An introductory email does not replace a tender or supplier-approval process.

Why targeted cold email can help you reach buyers sooner

Cold email introduces your business to someone who has not asked to hear from you. Its practical advantage is that you can choose suitable companies and begin approaching them instead of relying entirely on them finding your website or hearing about you through a referral.

It also gives you a way to contact more relevant businesses than your existing network contains. Research, sending and follow-up can become a repeatable process. That makes it worth considering when you have a clear commercial audience and the capacity to respond.

More volume should mean more suitable businesses, not a larger unfiltered list. Begin with a focused group, review the response and resolve delivery or relevance problems before expanding. Poorly targeted sending can waste time and damage your reputation.

Your first message should explain the service, the reason you chose that business and an easy next step. Avoid invented familiarity, exaggerated claims and a long list of everything you can do.

Replace the brackets with accurate details. Add your identity, contact information, relevant privacy information and a clear way to opt out. Check the rules below before using any outreach message.

Keep your website and search visibility developing alongside this activity. They help people understand your business when they look you up. For the campaign mechanics, read our guide to relevant commercial cold email.

Check the UK email rules before sending

The rules depend on who receives the email. Under the ICO's guidance, unsolicited marketing email to corporate subscribers, such as limited companies, does not require consent under PECR. You must identify yourself and provide a valid opt-out address.

Sole traders and some partnerships are treated differently: consent or a qualifying soft opt-in is needed. An address being published online is not permission. If you cannot establish the subscriber type, treat it as an individual subscriber.

Named business contacts can involve personal data, so UK GDPR obligations still apply, including a lawful basis, transparency and respecting objections. Keep a suppression list and stop marketing to people who opt out. Email tracking has separate rules.

Read the ICO's B2B marketing guidance before launch. It is currently marked as under review. This is a practical overview, not legal advice.

Turn interested replies into useful opportunities

Decide who owns replies before you start. When someone shows interest, confirm the work, location, timing and buying process. Ask what they need to consider you: a conversation, a site visit, supplier information or a quote.

If there is no reply, a brief, relevant follow-up may be appropriate. Set a sensible limit, do not manufacture urgency, and stop when someone objects. If a buyer asks you to reconnect at a particular time, record that rather than continuing a fixed sequence.

• Relevant conversations: Which replies came from businesses that fit your service?
• Next steps: Did those conversations lead to a visit, supplier review or request for a quote?
• Commercial outcomes: Which quotes became work, and why did others stop?
• Campaign health: Check delivery problems, objections and poor-fit replies before sending more.

A spreadsheet is enough to begin. Record the company, contact, last conversation, next action and outcome. Our guide to qualifying a lead explains how to assess the opportunity beyond the initial interest.

A practical plan for your first month

Use this as a suggested sequence, not a promise of work within four weeks. If your offer, supplier documents or sending setup are not ready, resolve those before launching.

1. 1

   Week one: define your offer

   Choose the service, buyer and area. Check your capacity, website and evidence. Prepare the supplier introduction.

2. 2

   Week two: prepare the outreach

   Research a focused group of companies. Check contacts, permissions and sending setup. Write the message and decide who handles replies.

3. 3

   Week three: start conversations

   Begin with a manageable group. Ask for relevant introductions too. Respond to interest and record objections and delivery issues.

4. 4

   Week four: review and refine

   Review the quality of conversations and next steps. Improve the targeting or message before expanding what you send.

Common questions from new businesses