Break into a new city

A playbook for expanding into a new market: see what's being built there, learn which builders and architects keep showing up, and build a target list.

Moving into a new city usually means months of driving around and asking who’s busy. ClearTract already knows which projects are filed there and who’s on them. This playbook turns that into a short list of firms to meet and projects to chase.

Plan on about an hour the first time. Step 4 needs a paid plan and step 6 needs Professional.

1. Look at everything in the city

Click All Records in the sidebar so nothing is hidden by stage. Then set:

• County / City to the new city
• Date to 1y or 2y, to see a full picture of recent activity
• Market, if you only go after certain building types

Switch from List to Map to see where the work clusters. To keep it, create a saved view with the same filters (next to Views, click + New) and name it after the city.

2. Find out who’s active there

Open a handful of the bigger projects and go to the Contacts tab. Look at Project Team: the owners, architects, engineers and builders.

You’ll start to see the same names come up. When a company looks interesting, click its name to see every project it appears on. A builder or architect with several jobs in the city is the kind of relationship that pays off for years.

Screenshot comingContacts tab with a builder's company name highlighted as a link; behind it, the list of every project that company appears on

3. Build a target list

Make a list for the projects you want to go after:

1. In the sidebar, next to Lists, click New. Name it, for example “Pasadena targets”, and click Create list.
2. Back in your city view, tick the projects you want and click Add to list.

Enable AI Analysis is on by default for new lists. Projects you add are queued for background research, and what we find shows under Research on each project’s Overview tab. See AI Analysis.

4. Keep track of the firms in your Contacts book

On a project’s Contacts tab, click the bookmark next to a company or person to save them to your Contacts book. Open it any time with Contacts at the top of the app. Saved people are grouped by company, and you can click a company to see its projects.

When you’re ready to reach out, use Enrich + for a verified email (1 credit) or Get mobile (10 credits). See Contacts and enrichment.

5. Get a weekly update on the city

Set up a Smart Feed so new filings in the city come to you:

1. Next to Smart Feeds, click + New.
2. Choose Weekly and set County / City to the new city, plus any Market or Value filters.
3. Check the preview, click Looks right, and send it to your target list and Email me.
4. Name it and click Create feed.

Every Monday you’ll see what’s new in the city, so you can spot a familiar builder on a new job right away.

6. Get an AI brief before each meeting

Needs Professional With your AI assistant connected, ask for a one-page brief before you call or meet someone:

Look at my ClearTract list "Pasadena targets". For each project, get the
project details, contacts and research. Give me a short brief: what's being
built, the stage, the estimated value, and who's on the project team.
Then list the companies that appear on more than one project.

Use the brief to prepare, then log what happened with Add note on the project’s Timeline tab.