Selling to a homeowner and selling to a business are different jobs. A homeowner with a leaking roof wants someone reliable who can come this week. A facilities manager looking after offices in Wakefield, a managing agent with blocks of flats in Huddersfield, or a school business manager in Keighley wants something else: a supplier who won’t cause them problems with their boss, their insurer or an inspector.
For commercial cleaners, fire safety firms, pest controllers and property maintenance businesses, those contracts can bring steady, repeat work that evens out the year. Often, the early shortlisting happens online, before anyone picks up the phone. This article covers what commercial buyers look for, how to set up your website for them, and how to find public sector work through Contracts Finder and Find a Tender.
"Commercial buyers rarely want the cheapest firm. They want the one that’s least likely to get them into trouble. Your website’s job is to make choosing you feel like the safe decision, and to get the paperwork questions answered before they’re asked."
1. Understand what the buyer is worried about
The person searching for a commercial cleaner or a fire alarm engineer is usually responsible for a building, and often has legal duties of their own. GOV.UK’s guidance on workplace fire safety, for example, says the "responsible person" can include employers, owners, landlords, occupiers, facilities managers, building managers and managing agents. They must carry out and regularly review a fire risk assessment and maintain appropriate fire safety measures.
So when they choose a contractor, they’re thinking about:
- Proof. Insurance, accreditations, training and records they can show to someone else.
- Reliability. Will you turn up as scheduled, every time, without chasing?
- Paperwork. Risk assessments, method statements, service reports and certificates in a format they can file.
- Disruption. Can you work out of hours, around tenants, pupils or production?
- Cover. Do you reach all their sites, perhaps a unit on an industrial estate off the M62 and another near the M1?
Everything on your website for commercial buyers should answer one of those worries.
2. Give commercial work its own page
If your website mixes domestic and commercial work on one page, a facilities manager has to wade through bathroom refits to find out whether you do planned maintenance. Give each commercial service its own page, written for that buyer. Our guide to what to put on a service page covers the basics. For a commercial page, add:
- The types of site you work on. Offices, warehouses, schools, shops, blocks of flats, care settings. Only list what you genuinely do.
- How contracts work. Scheduled visits, reactive call-outs or both, minimum terms, and how you handle extra work.
- When you work. Early mornings, evenings, weekends, school holidays.
- Where you cover. Name the towns and districts, such as Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield, and say whether you take multi-site contracts.
- What the client receives. Service reports, certificates, photos, logbook entries, and how quickly.
- Who they’ll deal with. A named contact and how to reach them.
There’s more on this for specific trades on our pages for commercial cleaning firms and fire safety businesses.
3. Have your paperwork ready to send
A commercial enquiry can easily stall at the point where the buyer asks for documents and the contractor takes a week to dig them out. Put together a folder you can send the same day. Depending on your trade, that might include:
- your insurance certificates, with the cover levels shown;
- your health and safety policy;
- a sample risk assessment and method statement for a typical job;
- certificates for any accreditations or third-party certification schemes you belong to;
- a sample service report or certificate, with the client details removed;
- your company registration details, if you’re a limited company.
On your website, say which documents are available on request. You don’t need to publish them all, but saying they exist reassures the buyer that you’re organised.
Write a one-page capability statement: who you are, what you do, the sites you work on, the areas you cover, your accreditations and insurance, and how to contact you. Save it as a PDF. Attach it to every commercial quote, and offer it as a download on your commercial page. Imagine a pest control firm in Dewsbury sending it to a food business on the same day it enquires: that’s the kind of speed buyers remember.
4. Public sector work: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder
Councils, schools, NHS bodies and other public organisations buy cleaning, maintenance, grounds work, fire safety servicing and much more. The rules changed when the Procurement Act 2023 came into force on 24 February 2025, so older advice may be out of date.
Where opportunities are published
Find a Tender is the government’s central service for procurement notices. It says that from 24 February 2025, notices for new UK procurements, both above and below the higher-value thresholds, are published there, except below-threshold notices in Scotland. Contracts Finder is still running and still holds notices for contracts in England from procurements that started under the old rules, so it’s worth searching both for now.
Smaller contracts are covered too
Government guidance on below-threshold contracts says public bodies must publish a notice for smaller regulated contracts when they advertise them, above £12,000 including VAT for central government bodies and £30,000 including VAT for other public bodies such as councils. The same guidance has some points in favour of small firms:
- For below-threshold contracts, public bodies generally can’t shut out bidders with a separate suitability stage before tenders are submitted, though there are exceptions.
- They must consider the barriers small businesses may face and whether they can be reduced.
- They can reserve some smaller contracts for small and medium-sized businesses, or for local or UK-based suppliers.
Set up searches that come to you
On Find a Tender, you sign in with GOV.UK One Login, then you can save searches and get email notifications. Contracts Finder lets you search by keyword, and by postcode within a set radius. Try searches such as "cleaning", "fire alarm", "grounds maintenance" or "pest control" around your base, then look at what’s been awarded in the past as well as what’s open now. Past awards show you which local bodies buy what you do, and roughly how often.
Read the whole tender pack before you start writing. Check the deadline, the questions, the documents required and how the bid will be scored. A tender that’s rushed or misses a required document is usually wasted effort, however good your service is. If it’s not a good fit for your size or patch, it’s fine to let it go.
5. Private sector buyers: be easy to find and easy to check
Much commercial work never goes near a tender portal. A letting agent needs a reliable maintenance firm. An office in Halifax needs a cleaner after the last one let them down. These buyers search Google, ask around, then check you out.
- Your Google Business Profile should list your commercial services clearly, and your categories should reflect the work.
- Reviews from commercial clients carry extra weight with other commercial buyers. Ask the person you deal with on site, in the same honest way you’d ask anyone.
- Short project write-ups on your website, such as "quarterly fire extinguisher servicing for a multi-unit industrial site near Brighouse", show the kind of work you handle. Only name a client if they’ve agreed.
- Consistent details. Make sure your business name, address and company details match across your website, invoices and Companies House, because buyers check.
Property maintenance firms will find more ideas on our property maintenance marketing page.
6. Make the enquiry process suit a business buyer
A homeowner’s enquiry form asks for a name and a number. A commercial buyer wants to give you more, so let them. On your commercial page, ask for:
- the type and size of the site, and how many sites;
- how often they need the service, and when it needs to start;
- whether they’re replacing a current contractor;
- the best way and time to contact them.
Say what happens next, for example "We’ll call within one working day to arrange a site survey". Then do it. A buyer who’s been let down by their last contractor is watching how you handle the first few days.
7. Keep track of what’s working
Commercial work has long lead times. An enquiry in March may not become a contract until the summer. Keep a simple record of every commercial enquiry and tender: where it came from, its value, the outcome and why. Over a year, it shows whether your effort is better spent on tenders, Google, or direct approaches. Our article on knowing where your enquiries come from explains how to set this up.
Your checklist for this week
- Write down the three types of commercial site you most want to work on.
- Draft or update a commercial page for your main service, answering the buyer’s worries.
- Gather your insurance, health and safety and accreditation documents into one folder.
- Write a one-page capability statement and save it as a PDF.
- Set up saved searches on Find a Tender and Contracts Finder for your trade and area.
Commercial pages, project write-ups and review collection are all part of the Driving Sales Locally monthly plan, at £225 a month with your website included. If you’d like to talk about attracting more commercial work, book a free call with Jeremy.
Frequently asked questions
Where are UK public sector contracts advertised?
Since 24 February 2025, notices for new procurements in England are published on Find a Tender, including smaller below-threshold contracts. Contracts Finder still holds notices from procurements started under the old rules.
Can small firms bid for council contracts?
Yes. Government guidance says public bodies must consider the barriers small businesses face, generally can’t use a separate suitability stage for below-threshold contracts, and can reserve some smaller contracts for SMEs or local suppliers.
What documents do commercial clients usually ask contractors for?
Commonly insurance certificates, a health and safety policy, risk assessments and method statements, accreditation certificates and sample service reports. Keep them in one folder ready to send.