Most job shops rely too heavily on word-of-mouth or one big customer. That’s risky. A well-built sales and marketing plan gives you more control, better margins, and a full pipeline of high-value work. Here’s how to build one that fits your business—and actually works.
You don’t need a fancy agency, a new website, or a marketing degree to bring in better work. You just need a clear plan focused on the right kind of jobs, the right customers, and a few consistent habits. Most shops don’t need more leads—they need better ones, and a simple way to stay in front of them. This approach helps you get there.
1. Don’t Start with Tactics—Start with the Type of Work You Want More Of
One of the most common mistakes job shops make is thinking sales and marketing is about chasing more work. But more isn’t always better. The goal is not to stay busy. It’s to be profitable. And if you want to be profitable, you need to be selective about the kind of work you’re bringing in.
Here’s a real example of how this plays out: a small CNC job shop in the Midwest was constantly booked out, but the owner couldn’t figure out why profits were razor thin. After taking a hard look at their job history, they realized the issue wasn’t low volume—it was low-quality work. Too many one-off jobs, too many rush orders, too much custom setup time for little payoff.
So, they made a decision. From that point on, they only quoted work that matched a few criteria: mid-volume production runs, repeat customers, and industries where tight tolerances are valued, not haggled over. Within six months, their quoting load went down—but gross margin went up by nearly 20%.
That didn’t happen because they learned a new marketing trick. It happened because they got clear on the type of work they actually wanted. And then everything else—how they marketed, what they said, who they targeted—became a lot simpler.
If you don’t know where to start, do this exercise today: pull your last 12 months of closed jobs. Highlight the top 5 that made you the most money. Then look at what they have in common. What kind of parts? What industry? What batch sizes? What kind of buyer? That’s your ideal job profile. Your sales and marketing plan should be built around attracting more work like that—not just more work, period.
This might mean walking away from some quotes. It might mean turning down low-volume or one-time jobs that you would’ve taken in the past. That’s okay. That’s what strategy looks like. You’re not trying to win every job—you’re trying to win the right jobs. The ones that keep your machines running, your operators happy, and your margins healthy.
When you focus your plan on the jobs you actually want, you stop competing on price and start competing on value. And that’s the fastest way to grow both revenue and profitability.
2. Know Your Buyer: It’s Not Just Purchasing Managers Anymore
A lot of shops still assume their buyer is just someone in purchasing who wants the lowest quote. That might’ve been true ten years ago. Today, especially for higher-value work, the real decision-maker is often someone else—an engineer, an operations lead, even the owner of a smaller OEM.
Let’s say you’re quoting parts for a custom automation company. The purchasing person might collect the quotes, but it’s the design engineer who decides who they trust. And trust doesn’t just come from price—it comes from proof. That could be a photo of a similar job you’ve done, a short explanation of how you held tight tolerances under a deadline, or a testimonial from another engineer.
Here’s a hypothetical example: a 15-person job shop specializing in stainless steel components started posting before-and-after photos of challenging parts on LinkedIn. Nothing fancy—just raw, real work, along with a quick note from the lead machinist on how they handled it. Within three months, they got direct messages from two engineers at local medical device firms who said: “I didn’t know you guys could do that. Can you quote this?”
The takeaway? Know who you’re really talking to. Ask your current customers who was involved in choosing your shop. If you find that it’s often engineers or managers, don’t just market to buyers—market to the people who feel the pain when parts come in late or out of spec.
This doesn’t mean ditching purchasing contacts. It means broadening your focus to include the people who influence the decision before a PO is ever cut.
3. Build a Simple Message That Explains Why You’re Different
Most job shops say the same things: “High quality. Fast turnaround. Competitive pricing.” It all blends together. And when buyers can’t tell the difference, they default to price.
The fix? Develop a simple, clear message that says what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters. Think of it as your shop’s one-sentence pitch.
A hypothetical example: imagine a precision machine shop that specializes in short-run aerospace parts. Instead of “we provide high quality CNC machining,” they say: “We help aerospace engineers avoid $50,000 delays by delivering low-volume precision parts in 10 days or less—with no rework.” Now that’s a message that gets attention.
If you’re not sure what makes you different, ask your best customer why they keep sending work your way. Listen closely. That’s your real differentiator. It might be your ability to solve last-minute problems. It might be your communication. It might be how clean your parts are. Whatever it is—make it the centerpiece of how you talk about your shop.
You don’t need a tagline. You need a reason for someone to say, “That’s exactly what I need.”
4. Choose 2–3 Simple Channels—And Get Really Good at Them
You don’t need to be on every platform. You don’t need SEO, TikTok, webinars, or a CRM you never log into. What you do need is consistency in a few simple places where your ideal customers already are.
For most job shops, this means:
- A website that clearly shows what you do, what you specialize in, and how to request a quote
- A basic LinkedIn presence with monthly posts of recent work or capabilities
- A quarterly email update to your customer list with news, capabilities, or featured jobs
You’d be surprised how far those three things can go—especially when they’re focused on your ideal jobs.
A hypothetical example: a fabrication shop in the Southeast focused on stainless steel work for food equipment manufacturers. They don’t advertise. They just post one project photo per week on LinkedIn with a quick note from the floor. Engineers in their network started liking and sharing the posts, and within 6 months they added two new repeat customers without spending a dime on ads.
Whatever channels you choose, keep them simple and consistent. Show real work. Use plain language. Don’t overthink it—just show what makes you good at what you do.
5. Use Sales to Qualify the Right Customers—Not Just Close Deals
Too many shops treat every quote like a win. But quoting is expensive. Bad-fit jobs slow your team down and create stress on the floor. A smart sales process isn’t about closing more jobs—it’s about closing better ones.
Here’s something practical you can do today: create a simple qualification checklist. Something like:
- Is this prototype, low-volume, or production?
- What’s your expected lead time?
- Is this a one-time job or recurring?
- What’s your industry or end-use?
A hypothetical shop did exactly that. After two months of using the checklist, they cut quote volume by 25% but increased booked revenue. Why? They were quoting fewer bad-fit jobs and had more time to follow up on the right ones.
Teach whoever handles your inbound inquiries—whether that’s a salesperson, your front office, or even you—to ask those questions. Write them down. Put them by the phone. When someone calls in, qualify them. If they’re not a fit, be polite, but move on. That’s how you build a high-quality book of business over time.
6. Set Monthly Metrics—Even Just 3—And Review Them as a Team
If you want to get serious about improving your sales and marketing, you need to track it. But keep it simple. You don’t need dashboards and reports—just a few metrics that tell you if things are moving in the right direction.
Here are three we recommend:
- Number of qualified leads this month
- Average time from quote to close
- Average margin on newly won work
That’s it. Review them once a month. Have a short meeting. What worked? What didn’t? Did the LinkedIn post get any leads? Did a new customer come in through a referral? Use that information to make small adjustments.
This isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being consistent.
7. Marketing Is a Flywheel—Not a Campaign
If you think of marketing as a one-time project, you’ll burn out fast. The best job shops treat it like a flywheel: small efforts, done consistently, that build momentum over time.
One 10-person shop we know keeps it incredibly simple. They post one project photo every Friday with a short writeup. They send a newsletter once per quarter. They ask every customer, “How did you find us?” and write it down. That’s their system. And it works.
You don’t need to start big. You just need to start. The results won’t come overnight—but if you keep going, the right kind of work will start finding you.
3 Clear, Actionable Takeaways
- Pick the type of jobs you want more of—and build everything around that.
Review your most profitable jobs from the past year and define your ideal work. - Keep your message simple and real.
Talk like a human, not a brochure. Show why your shop is the best fit for certain customers. - Consistency beats complexity every time.
Start small. Post regularly, follow up fast, and track a few key numbers. Improvement follows effort.
Top 5 FAQs on Building a Sales & Marketing Plan for Your Job Shop
1. How much should a small job shop spend on sales and marketing?
You don’t need a big budget to see real results. For most small to mid-sized shops, setting aside just 1–3% of annual revenue is a strong starting point. The key isn’t how much you spend—it’s how smartly you spend it. Focus on things with compounding impact: a clear website, real customer photos, and consistent follow-up.
2. We don’t have a salesperson—how do we still grow sales?
You don’t need a full-time salesperson to grow. Many shops do just fine with a hybrid role—often the owner, office manager, or estimator doubles as sales lead. What matters is having a simple, repeatable system to follow up with leads, ask the right questions, and nurture relationships. Write down your process. Make it part of your weekly rhythm.
3. What if we’re too busy to post on social media or send emails?
That’s normal—and also a sign you need to build simple habits, not complex strategies. One photo per week. One customer check-in every Friday. One quarterly email. Delegate where you can. But don’t wait for perfect timing. Done consistently, small marketing efforts compound and free you up later.
4. Do job shops really get customers from LinkedIn or online channels?
Yes—but it’s not about going viral. It’s about being visible to the right people. Engineers, managers, and even owners do scroll LinkedIn and Google vendors when they’re in a jam. If they see your post or site, and it shows you’ve done similar work, they’re more likely to reach out. The work you show shapes the work you attract.
5. What’s the #1 mistake job shops make with marketing?
Trying to appeal to everyone. The more you narrow your message, the more you stand out. Saying “we machine parts” gets ignored. Saying “we help food equipment makers stay in spec under USDA rules” gets attention. Specialization makes marketing easier, sales faster, and margins better.