{"id":779,"slug":"gc-buying-group-composition-by-tier","title":"GC buying-group composition by revenue tier (Candid synthesis for SMB application of [[forrester-state-business-buying-2026-13-and-9]])","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["customer-segments","b2b-buying","gc-vertical"],"reference_body":"**Synthesis for SMB application:**\n\n- **$1M–$3M residential GC:** owner + spouse. Sometimes part-time office admin. Owner has final sign-off; spouse vetoes vendors who feel slick or oversell.\n- **$3M–$10M residential design-build:** owner + office manager + (sometimes) marketing-aware project manager. Office manager is the day-to-day POC and will be the loudest voice if the site is hard to use.\n- **$10M–$50M ICI:** owner/president + business-development lead + estimator + (rarely) external marketing consultant. Slower decision; demands more written collateral; references count more than reviews.\n\n**Use in proposals:** every deliverable goes to two named recipients minimum, not just the owner. Same-day written follow-up after first call (audit scope + pricing) so the second decision-maker sees the actual document.\n\n**Confidence:** Single-source (Candid synthesis of [[forrester-state-business-buying-2026-13-and-9]] applied to SMB GC tiers). Enterprise 13+9 model does not transfer directly to under-$50M GCs.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"forrester-state-business-buying-2026-13-and-9","title":"Forrester State of Business Buying, 2026: typical B2B buying decision involves 13 internal stakeholders + 9 external influencers","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"forrester-2021-b2b-buying-interactions-17-to-27","title":"Forrester 2021 B2B Buying Study (n=950+): buying interactions during evaluation rose from 17 to 27 during the pandemic","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"gartner-six-buying-jobs-non-linear","title":"Gartner: B2B buyers complete \"six buying jobs\" in non-linear \"looping\" order","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-gc-marketing-trust-may-2026","title":"Research brief: GC Marketing & Trust — sales-positioning for $1M–$50M Ontario general contractors (May 23, 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"gc-objection-handling-evidence-backed","title":"GC objection-handling map — six common objections and evidence-backed responses","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-23T21:58:32.591Z","updated_at":"2026-05-23T21:58:32.591Z"}