CASL basics for B2B outreach by mechanical contractors

The core idea

The direct answer: before you send a commercial electronic message, you need consent, and each message must identify you and let the person opt out.

A "commercial" message is broadly one that encourages the recipient to buy or engage with your services. For a mechanical contractor, that includes a note introducing your firm to a GC, an offer of a maintenance agreement to a property manager, or a project-completion announcement sent to a list.

Two kinds of consent

Express consent

According to the ISED overview, express consent is when a person has agreed, verbally or in writing, to receive your messages. It doesn't expire unless the person withdraws it, and it can be limited to certain types of message.

For contractors, express consent is worth collecting whenever you can, because it lasts. Practical moments to ask:

• at a site meeting or lunch-and-learn: "Can I add you to our project updates by email?"
• when a facility manager calls for service: "Would you like our maintenance reminders?"
• at a trade show: a sign-up sheet with a clear statement of what people are agreeing to

Record who agreed, when, how, and to what.

Implied consent

Implied consent applies only in narrower situations. The ISED overview describes it mainly in terms of an existing business relationship, such as a recent purchase or inquiry, and says it is generally time-limited: up to two years after the last interaction, or six months after an inquiry or application.

For a contractor, that might cover a GC you've worked for recently or a building owner who requested a quote. But the clock runs. A GC you last worked with three years ago may no longer fall within that window, unless something else applies.

Published addresses

The overview also describes implied consent for addresses that have been conspicuously published, such as on a company website, but only if there's no statement saying the person doesn't want unsolicited commercial messages, and your message is relevant to their business, role, functions or duties.

So a short note about mechanical bid capacity, sent to an estimator whose address is listed on their firm's subcontractor page, is a different case from a mass message to every address scraped from a directory. Check the source and get advice before relying on this.

What every message must include

According to the ISED overview, each commercial message must include:

• your firm's name, plus the name of any party you're sending for
• a current mailing address, plus a phone number, email address or website
• contact information that remains valid for at least 60 days after sending
• an unsubscribe mechanism

Unsubscribe requests must be honoured within 10 business days or less, at no cost to the person, and the process should be easy.

A practical footer for a contractor's email might read, with your details in place of the placeholders:

[Firm name] · [Mailing address] · [Phone] · [Website] You're receiving this because [reason, e.g. we worked together on Project name]. Reply "unsubscribe" or use this link to stop receiving these messages.

The ISED page also notes that you may have separate obligations under federal privacy law (PIPEDA), so consent records should be handled with care.

Building a consent record

The usual weak point isn't the copy; it's a contact list with no history. A spreadsheet of 1,500 names built from badge scans, old quotes and colleagues' address books can't be used with confidence.

Fix it with one row per contact:

Then:

1. Tag every existing contact. If you can't establish a basis, don't send to them.
2. Set review dates for implied consent, and try to convert those contacts to express consent before the date arrives.
3. Keep a suppression list of everyone who unsubscribed, and check it before every send.
4. Train estimators and PMs to ask and record consent when they meet someone new.

Texting

Commercial text messages are electronic messages too, so the same principles apply. Text works well for warm contacts: a facility manager who prefers texts, or a superintendent who asked to hear when your crew has capacity. Keep texts short, identify your firm, and make opting out easy.

A sensible outreach rhythm

Once records are in order, the outreach itself is simple:

• monthly: one relevant message to one audience, such as healthcare facility managers or GC estimators in one city
• after each completion: a short project note to the GC PM and owner
• before the heating season: maintenance agreement reminders to service customers who agreed to receive them
• quarterly: a list review that removes stale contacts and converts implied to express where you can

A worked example: 300 contacts with recorded consent, one relevant message a month, and a 4% reply rate gives about 12 conversations a month. If one in eight becomes an invitation or a maintenance quote, that's about 18 opportunities a year from people who already know you.

Where we come in

We help audit lists, set up consent records and sending tools, write templates and run campaigns within them; legal questions go to your lawyer. See CASL-compliant outreach and the GC and owner relationship program, or browse the other guides. We're marketers, not lawyers or a contractor.