How to Read Your
Shovel Radar Intelligence File

This column colour-codes every lead by estimated project value. It tells you, at a glance, where the biggest contracts are sitting.

This is the exact week you should reach out — calculated from the permit issue date, permit type, and typical construction phase timelines for Calgary commercial builds.

• Why it matters: Call too early and the GC hasn't mobilized yet. Call too late and they've already awarded the work. This column puts you in the window.

• What to do: Each Monday morning, filter for rows where Optimal_Call_Date falls within the current week. Those are your calls for the week.

• Leads in the future: If the call date is 2–4 weeks out, add it to your CRM as a scheduled follow-up. Do not call early.

Every address in your file is a live hyperlink. Click it and Google Maps satellite view opens instantly, pointed at the exact job site.

• What to look for: Is there equipment on site yet? Is the lot cleared? Are there other trades already working? This tells you how far along the project is before you dial a single number.

• Drive-by intel: If the site is in your quadrant, a 10-minute drive-by before a cold call turns it into a warm call. "I drove past your site on Macleod Trail this morning..." opens doors.

This is the most valuable column in the file. Our AI has read the permit details and written you a custom, one-paragraph cold call angle for each lead.

• What it gives you: The specific reason this project needs your trade right now, written in plain English. Not a generic pitch — a project-specific angle tied to the permit description.

• How to use it: Read it before you dial. Use it as your opening line. You are not reading from a script — you are using it to sound like you already know the project.

• Example: "New commercial interior build on 17th Ave SW — electrical rough-in window opens in approximately 3 weeks based on permit issue date. Decision-maker is likely comparing quotes now."

If you are a subcontractor, this column is the holy grail. It tells you exactly which General Contractor pulled the permit and is running the site.

• For subs: This is who you call. Not the building owner, not the property manager — the GC. They control sub trade hiring. Google the company name, find their project manager or estimator, and call that person directly.

• For GCs: Use this column to identify which other GCs are active in your target quadrant. Knowing who your competitors are bidding against is its own form of intelligence.

• Blank cells: Some permits list an owner-builder or developer rather than a GC. If this cell is blank, the Urgency Signal column will note it — look at the owner name instead.