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General Contractor: Best Referral Sources

Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in. Tell us where you are and we will send the list.

Get your list

The rooms for general contractors, the next meeting dates, and who to ask for when you walk in.

Your top referral sources
  1. Commercial Property Manager
  2. Architect
  3. Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo)
  4. Facility Manager
  5. Insurance Property & Casualty
See the full answer ↓
Start here

Your one-page action plan

Five partners, what starts the work for each one, and the three rooms to be in. Print it and keep it in the car.

Networking plan: General Contractor

The five people who should be sending you clients

  1. Commercial Property Manager (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location
  2. Architect (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel
  3. Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo) (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel
  4. Facility Manager (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a named storm comes through
  5. Insurance Property & Casualty (They send you work)
    Shared trigger: a named storm comes through

The three rooms to be in

  1. CAI (Community Associations Institute): Your partners are in this room: community association managers and structural engineers.
  2. AIA (American Institute of Architects) chapter: Your partners are in this room: architects, structural engineers, and interior designers.
  3. BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association): Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers and commercial real estate brokers.

Don't confuse this with networking: Local home builders association (NAHB affiliate). Learning and supplier access, not referrals.

Or have it emailed to you ↑
The people

Who should be sending you clients

Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade. When something happens that makes people need general contractors, who else gets a call that same week?

Match strength is how much of your work starts from the same event as theirs, scored out of 100. Higher means you are more often called into the same job in the same week.

  1. 1 Commercial Property Manager They send you work Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location 83 match strength out of 100
  2. 2 Architect They send you work Trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel 77 match strength out of 100
  3. 3 Community Association Manager (HOA / Condo) They send you work Trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel 75 match strength out of 100
  4. 4 Facility Manager They send you work Trigger: a named storm comes through 73 match strength out of 100
  5. 5 Insurance Property & Casualty They send you work Trigger: a named storm comes through 67 match strength out of 100
  6. 6 Structural Engineer They send you work Trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel 67 match strength out of 100
  7. 7 Attorney Business & Corporate They send you work Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location 67 match strength out of 100
  8. 8 Cybersecurity They send you work Trigger: an inspection or compliance deadline lands 63 match strength out of 100
  9. 9 Interior Designer Two-way Trigger: a homeowner decides to remodel 62 match strength out of 100
  10. 10 Commercial Real Estate Broker They send you work Trigger: a business signs a lease or opens a location 62 match strength out of 100

Knowing the names is half of it. We will send the list with what to say to each one. Send me my list ↑

The rooms

Where those people actually are

Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you. Give someone nine choices and they pick none, so we have marked the one to start with.

  1. 1 CAI (Community Associations Institute) Your pick Your partners are in this room: community association managers and structural engineers. Your partners' association · Monthly · Under $500/yr · ~4 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  2. 2 AIA (American Institute of Architects) chapter Your partners are in this room: architects, structural engineers, and interior designers. Your partners' association · Monthly · $500–$2,000/yr · ~3 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  3. 3 BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers and commercial real estate brokers. Your partners' association · Monthly · $500–$2,000/yr · ~4 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  4. 4 LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities Your partners are in this room: facility managers, P&C insurance agents, and business attorneys. Online community · Always on · Free · ~3 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  5. 5 Your city or county chamber of commerce Your partners are in this room: commercial property managers, community association managers, and P&C insurance agents. Chamber of commerce · Monthly · Under $500/yr · ~4 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  6. 6 Distributor & showroom trade nights Your partners are in this room: architects and interior designers. Vendor & supply chain · Quarterly · Free · ~2 hrs/month
  7. 7 CAI chapter trade show & expo Your partner is in this room: community association managers. Event or trade show · Annual · $500–$2,000/yr · ~2 hrs/month Chapter finder →
  8. 8 BNI One seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above. Structured referral group · Weekly · $500–$2,000/yr · ~8 hrs/month · One seat per category Chapter finder →
The competitor trap

Local home builders association (NAHB affiliate)

Most general contractors join this room first. It is also the one most likely to be the wrong pick. Everyone in it does what you do. Join it for the training, the licenses, and the ties to manufacturers. Do not join it for referrals, and do not join it instead of the rooms above.

Let us be straight with you. For general contractors, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.

These rooms meet on real dates. We will send you the next ones for your area. Send me the dates ↑

Your seat

Is your seat open?

Prime Time takes one General Contractor per chapter. Put a South Florida ZIP into the form above and we will show you which seats are open.

Add your ZIP code in the form above to see which seats are open. Go to the form ↑

Want this as a list you can act on?

Send it to yourself: the partners above, the rooms ranked for general contractors, and the next meeting dates for your area.

Send me my list