Building Your First 100 Contacts
Master the core concepts of building your first 100 contacts tailored specifically for the Moving Company industry.
💡 Core Concepts & Executive Briefing
Introduction
When you’re starting a moving company, “just run ads” or “wait for referrals” usually doesn’t fill your calendar fast enough. People don’t know you yet, and moving is a high-trust purchase. The easiest way to create momentum is to proactively reach the exact people and businesses that need movers.
That’s what the 100-Contact Scramble is for: in a short stretch, you build your first real network of leads by making direct contact with homeowners, property managers, real estate agents, and local businesses that constantly deal with moves. You’re not trying to “go viral.” You’re trying to turn conversations into first bookings—then use those bookings to earn reviews and referrals.
Concept
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The Importance of Direct Outreach
In moving, brand recognition matters, but it’s built through repeated, personal exposure. Direct outreach means you contact potential customers (or referral partners) and start a real conversation before they already have someone picked.
Waiting for inbound usually fails for new operators because most customers don’t search for “movers” until they’re already stressed and scheduling is urgent. If you’re not on their radar, you’re invisible at the moment they need help.
Moving Company scenario: A couple in your area is likely planning a move because they just listed their home or they posted a “moving soon” note in a neighborhood group. If you message them after they already booked someone else, you lose. If you reach out earlier—when they’re still “considering”—you get a chance to quote and schedule.
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Building a Network
You don’t only need customers—you need *repeatable sources* of moves.
Start by mapping who influences decisions:
- Real estate agents (often see moves before the public does)
- Property managers (handle tenant turnover)
- Realtors’ assistants / transaction coordinators
- Local staging companies
- Storage facilities (customers ask, “Do you know a good moving company?”)
- Title companies / attorneys (sometimes recommend vendors)
- Neighborhood community pages
Platforms help you find people fast, but the real work is the outreach. LinkedIn can help you identify agents and managers, while email and phone calls help you actually start conversations.
Moving Company scenario: You find a property manager who oversees 10+ buildings. Tenants move in waves. If you introduce yourself with a simple offer—“I can handle turnovers, shrink wrap, packing help, and same-week quotes”—you’re not begging for business. You’re giving them an easy default choice.
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Resilience in the Face of Rejection
Rejection is built into this job. Sometimes it’s a hard “no” because they already booked. Sometimes they’re not ready. Sometimes they’re asking you questions you didn’t expect.
Your goal isn’t to feel good—it’s to collect feedback and improve your offer. Every “no” tells you something:
- Are your quotes too slow?
- Is your service list unclear (packing, loading-only, storage coordination, stairs handling)?
- Are you missing the moment they need you?
Moving Company scenario: You reach out to 100 homeowners and only 15 reply. From the 85 who don’t, you realize your follow-up timing is off. From the 15 who reply but don’t book, you realize they want faster estimates and clearer price ranges. After two weeks of adjustments, your conversations get warmer and bookings start showing up.
Conclusion
The 100-Contact Scramble is about building your early pipeline through direct conversations. If you consistently reach out, you’ll learn what local customers respond to, which partners actually send work, and how to turn “I’ll think about it” into scheduled moves.
Do it long enough to become recognizable in your market. Be persistent. Track what works. Improve your message. And treat rejection like data, not a verdict.
⚠️ The Industry Trap
📊 The Core KPI
🛑 The Bottleneck
In moving, the market is full of time-sensitive customers. The exact week someone gets keys or lists a home, they need a reliable mover fast. If you only broadcast and never directly ask, you’re not reaching them at the moment they’re deciding.
Picture this: you post “We’re licensed and insured” twice a day for 30 days. Meanwhile, you never call a storage facility clerk who hears, daily, “Do you know anyone who can move me this weekend?” That clerk is a referral gate. Your ads are invisible to them. Your comfort is the constraint.
✅ Action Items
- Include 20 real estate agents, 10 property managers, 10 storage/downsizing service contacts, 10 neighborhood admins, and 20 homeowners you can reasonably contact (recent listings, “moving soon” posts).
2. Use a short “quote-ready” outreach message.
- Open with why you’re contacting them (“I help with apartment turnovers and last-minute move dates”), ask one simple question (“What move date are you targeting?”), and offer a fast next step (“I can give a phone estimate and confirm an on-site quote if needed”).
3. Set a daily outreach number and protect your calendar.
- Do 15 direct outreach attempts/day (calls or messages), plus 10 minutes right after to follow up with anyone who engaged.
4. Follow up with a move-timing approach.
- Day 2: “Did you still want quotes for your move date?”
- Day 7: “If you’re booking soon, I can reserve a crew for that date.”
- Day 14: “No worries—can I check back if plans change?”
5. Turn conversations into booking action.
- After each qualified conversation, send a one-page quote summary: service type (loading only vs full service), stairs/parking notes, and deposit request to lock the date.
🏆 Coaching Mekai to strengthen day-to-day moving operations
Completed 2 coaching modules to improve operational decision-making
Modern Marks Business Consultants partnered with Mekai, an owner of a Moving Company, to address practical business needs through structured coaching. The engagement focused on applying guidance directly to day-to-day operations, helping Mekai build clearer approaches to manage the business more effectively.Across the program, Mekai completed two coaching modules. While a business health audit score and testimonial were not provided for this case, the coaching outcome is documented through the completion of these modules, reflecting continued progress in refining how the business is run.
— Mekai, Moving Company owner
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