1. Define the work you can deliver
Write a one-sentence description of your commercial scope, service area, project types, crew constraints, and work you do not pursue. This keeps attractive but mismatched names from crowding out viable accounts.
2. Set criteria before collecting names
For each prospective GC office, ask whether its visible project mix fits your trade, whether the location and schedule work, and whether you can identify a procurement route to verify. Track evidence, source date, and confidence separately. “Plausible fit” is not “confirmed buyer.”
3. Build a candidate pool from public evidence
Review GC project pages, public project notices, permitted directories, and legitimate referrals. A public project page can suggest relevant work, but does not prove which office buys your scope, whether it is accepting trade partners, or how qualification works.
4. Identify the actual trade procurement contact
Separate project stakeholders from the subcontractor’s buyer. Owners and developers can shape the project context, while the GC or construction manager may control trade procurement. Ask the organization directly which regional office and contact handle your scope.
5. Rank by fit and next action
Use simple working states such as research, introduce, qualify, and park. For every target, record one dated reason for fit, one unresolved question, a named internal owner, and the next action date. Review the list periodically and retire stale assumptions.
The AGC Business Development Forum page describes contractor BD topics including go/no-go decisions, pursuit management, and relationship-building with developers and prime contractors. It links a public LinkedIn community and says some education requires login; this does not verify access to private content or AGC endorsement. Source: AGC Business Development Forum. The selection sequence above is editorial recommendation, not a sourced market fact.
A fictional fire-protection subcontractor sees a GC office’s public page mention several healthcare renovations. It records that office as a “plausible fit,” links the page, and leaves its trade prequalification route marked unknown. The next step is to contact the office and confirm who handles fire-protection onboarding rather than assuming a bid invitation is likely.
Public project material can be old or incomplete and may not show awarding office, scope packages, procurement route, schedule, or willingness to add trade partners. No ranking, market size, invitation probability, or work guarantee is supplied. Verify details with each GC. Markup & Profit’s owner page says its private group is for owners of construction-related businesses and discusses sales, contracts, and estimating; it does not verify group contents, enrollment permission, endorsement, or reader eligibility. Source.