{"id":785,"slug":"rule-gc-politely-decline-criteria","title":"RULE: Politely decline GC prospects under 5 employees, \"just give me leads\" framing, active 12-month directory lock-in, or no published projects beyond stock photos","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["customer-segments","agency-methodology","gc-vertical"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** Politely decline GC prospects who match any of:\n\n- Under 5 employees with no office manager (no admin to sustain a content cadence).\n- Opening sentence is \"I just need leads\" (mindset mismatch — they want a directory replacement, not an owned channel).\n- Active 12-month HomeStars/Angi lock-in with no willingness to plan an exit.\n- Existing small-claims judgments or BBB complaints in the F range (the website won't save them — see [[bbb-2022-gc-third-highest-complaints]]).\n- No published projects beyond stock photos (no content substrate to work with).\n- Cash-flow stress signals (slow payment to subs, judgments visible in court records).\n- Pure-trade subs (electrical, HVAC, plumbing) unless they routinely act as primes on full home renovations.\n\n**Why:** These prospects either won't convert, or convert and then fail to deliver outcomes that produce a case study. Both outcomes drag the average. The category has been worked aggressively by US contractor-marketing agencies, so the niche isn't green-field — focus on prospects where Candid's methodology actually wins.\n\n**How to apply:** route to the 60-second disqualification script ([[rule-gc-disqualification-script-60-second]]) at first call.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"bbb-2022-gc-third-highest-complaints","title":"BBB 2022: General Contractor was the 3rd-highest US inquiry category — 4,084 complaints, ~53% \"unable to pursue\" / \"not settled\"","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"directories-rent-the-customer-relationship","title":"Directory platforms (Angi, HomeStars, Houzz) rent the customer relationship — the cleanest \"rented vs. owned\" pitch","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"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":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-gc-segment-fit-criteria","title":"RULE: Best-fit GC profiles — $1M–$5M residential design-build with 5+ employees + admin + a published award, OR $5M–$20M COR-certified ICI on a stale site","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-gc-disqualification-script-60-second","title":"RULE: 60-second GC disqualification script — four questions on team size, lead source, regulatory status, and last website history","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-23T21:58:32.615Z","updated_at":"2026-05-23T21:58:32.615Z"}