how do you guys land bigger commercial plumbing jobs

been solo for a couple years doing mostly residential stuff like water heater swaps and PEX repipes but im ready to go after some commercial gigs like office buildings or restaurants. saw a thread on r/Plumbing where someone mentioned networking at local supply houses like Ferguson to get referrals. anyone have tips on cold emailing property managers or what kinda proposals work best? i use Jobber for scheduling now but not sure if it has commercial templates. watched a Roger Wakefield video on his site about building client relationships and it got me thinking. tbh im nervous about the bigger scale but excited too. fml if i dont try right.

man i feel you, breaking into commercial is a whole different beast from chasing leaky faucets all day.

start by joining Plumbers United on facebook, tons of leads shared there. offer free audits on their drain lines to get your foot in the door.

network at bid meetings and always follow up with a detailed scope using Viega fittings as your spec to stand out.

screw these commercial gc's, they lowball every damn time and then nickel and dime you on change orders.

proud to say i went from zero to three steady commercial contracts last year by targeting strip malls with my SharkBite installs demo.

and dont get me started on the insurance requirements, its like theyre trying to bankrupt you before you even start.

the inspector BS alone makes commercial not worth it half the time.

been there, stuck bidding against hacks who undercut on copper pipe jobs and leave everyone holding the bag.

quoted a restaurant remodel last week and the owner wanted us to reuse old cast iron stacks, total crap-show waiting to happen.

get licensed for medical gas if you can, thats where the real commercial money is without all the restaurant drama.

hell yeah the property management firms in those groups hate cheap plumbers, pitch reliability over price every time.