Not long ago I was working with a GC bidding on an $80 million multifamily project. Blood, sweat, and tears. Months of work. Their best people on the proposal.
I asked them one question.
“Who is the final decision maker?”
They looked at each other. Then back at me.
“I don’t know.”
Eighty million dollars on the line. And they couldn’t name the person making the final call.
Sound familiar? It’s not unusual. I’ve been working with construction companies since 2004, and I see this constantly. Great contractors. Excellent work. Technically sharp. And yet they keep losing projects they should win. Not because their pricing is off. Not because their team isn’t capable. But because nobody ever taught them how to sell strategically.
That’s what this article is about.
The Foundation: People Buy From People They Know, Trust, and Like
You’ve heard this before. In construction, it’s more true than in almost any other industry. But here’s what most people miss — know, trust, and like is a foundation. It’s not a strategy. You can build deep relationships with the wrong people and still lose every single time.
So let’s be precise about what each element actually means.
Know: Get Your Face in the Place
I have a client, I call him “The Rainmaker”. He consistently brings in killer projects that keep his backlog full because he focuses on one thing: He shows up. He drives to the office. He meets people belly to belly. He doesn’t just send emails and hope.
How long has it been since you had a face-to-face conversation with a potential client? A week? A month? Longer? If you’re honest with yourself, and if you’re not happy with that answer, the fix is simple. Get your face in the place. Show up where your clients are — at their offices, at job sites, at industry events.
Drop the ego while you’re at it. The best construction salespeople I know don’t walk in talking about how great they are. They walk in genuinely curious about the other person’s problems. That shift — from “here’s what we do” to “how can we help?” — changes everything.
And persist. I’ve been selling since 1986. The single biggest difference between people who win consistently and people who don’t isn’t talent. It’s persistence. Keep showing up. Keep adding value. Don’t disappear between projects.
Trust: The Pete Rose Principle
Pete Rose had 4,256 career hits. Over 75% of them were singles. Less than 4% were home runs.
He didn’t build that record swinging for the fences every at bat. He built it one single at a time, consistently, over a long career.
Trust in construction works the same way. You don’t build it by walking in and trying to land a massive project on day one. You start small. You bid a smaller job. You deliver. You answer your emails within 24 hours. You deal with issues and change orders in a way that makes them glad they chose you. And you build trust the same way Pete Rose built a career — one single at a time.
Those small wins set you up for the big projects. Don’t skip them.
Like: Show Up as an Equal
Kings talk to kings. Don’t show up desperate. Show up to solve problems and add value.
One of my clients put it perfectly: some people like ribeye, others just want a hamburger. If you’re the ribeye, don’t lower your price to hamburger. You need the right projects with the right clients, not every project, not every client.
Being willing to walk away from an opportunity is more powerful than actually walking away. It gives you authority in negotiations. It communicates that you’re a peer, not a vendor begging for scraps. Show up that way every time.
And be yourself. The construction professionals I work with who win the most are straight-up people. Not performers. Not polished. Just genuine. Not everyone will like you. That’s fine. The right clients will.
The Strategy: The Buying Influence Framework
Here’s where most construction companies have a critical blind spot.
Know-Trust-Like tells you how to build relationships. The Buying Influence Framework tells you who to build them with.
In every complex, negotiated construction sale, there are four buying influences — four roles that shape the final decision. One person can play more than one role. But the roles are always there. And until you can name who’s filling each one on every active pursuit, you’re not really in sales. You’re in hope. And hope is not a strategy.
The Economic Buyer: The One Who Signs the Check
The Economic Buyer gives the final approval. They can say yes when everyone else says no — and veto a deal everyone else has approved. They control the money. Their question is always: what’s the ROI on this project? What’s the impact on our organization?
Here’s what this looks like in real life. You’re a GC chasing a developer’s project. You’ve been taking their owner’s rep to lunch for six months. Great relationship. But the developer’s principal — the one actually writing the check — has never been in the same room with you. That’s the Economic Buyer. And you’ve been investing all your relationship capital with someone who can’t say yes.
Or you’re a subcontractor with a strong relationship with the GC’s project manager. But it’s the VP of Preconstruction who decides which subs make the short list. Same problem, different title.
Think about your biggest active pursuit right now. Can you name the Economic Buyer? And how do they feel about working with you? Give them an honest score from one to five — one being they’ve never heard of you, five being they’re already sold. That number tells you exactly what work you have left to do.
The User Buyer: The One Whose Job Depends on Your Work
The User Buyer’s daily life is directly affected by how you perform. For a GC project, it’s the superintendent. On a developer’s project, it might be the facilities director or the hospital administrator who has to live in the building you build.
User Buyers can’t always say yes. But they absolutely go to bat for you — or quietly kill your chances. If the GC’s superintendent loves your crew because you show up on time, communicate well, and don’t create problems, that person will advocate for you when the question comes up: “Who should we invite to bid?” And if they don’t like you, the answer to that question will be no. Even if you never find out why.
There’s a long-term play here too. The project engineer who’s wet behind the ears today is going to be a project executive in ten years. The relationships your people build now — at every level — compound over time. Be respectful of everyone you come into contact with, regardless of their current title.
The Technical Buyer: The Gatekeeper
The Technical Buyer can’t say yes. But they can absolutely say no.
They’re the procurement department that tells you you didn’t make the short list. The architect who creates a design you’re unfamiliar with. The engineer who rejects your submittals on a technicality. They don’t choose the winner — they eliminate the losers.
The danger with Technical Buyers is twofold. First, they sometimes present themselves as the final decision maker when they’re not. The Economic Buyer sets them up as a buffer and they’re comfortable playing that role. Second, contractors often try to go around them — and that’s almost always a mistake. Going around a Technical Buyer destroys trust and gives them every reason to say no.
Give them everything they need. Make it easy for them to say yes. When you do that, they smooth the path for you to everyone else.
The Coach: Your Inside Advantage
The Coach is the role most people never think about — and it’s often the most important one.
A Coach actively wants you to win. They give you intelligence about the other buyers. They tell you where you stand. They advise you on strategy. They might be inside the buying organization, outside it, or even inside your own company. Their job in the sale is to guide you toward a yes.
Here’s an example. You’re bidding a process wastewater handling project at a food manufacturing facility. The outside engineer who designed the system wants you to get it. She knows your work. She trusts your team. And she starts feeding you information: the plant manager is worried about schedule because they can’t shut down production. The VP of Operations is the one who actually signs the contract — not the facilities director you’ve been talking to.
That engineer is playing three roles simultaneously. She’s a Technical Buyer because she designed the specs. She’s a User Buyer because her professional reputation is on the line during commissioning. And she’s your Coach.
One person. Three roles. It happens all the time.
The gaps on your buying influence map — the boxes where you can’t put a name, or where you have someone rated as high influence that you’ve never spoken to — those are your red flags. Red flags tell you exactly what conversations you still need to have.
The best salespeople in construction are not the smoothest talkers. They’re the ones who see the most red flags and do something about them before it’s too late.
The One Question You Should Ask in Every Conversation
I’ve been using this question for decades. It works every time, in every situation, with every type of buyer.
“Who besides yourself is involved in the final decision?”
Ask it of everyone — the User Buyer, the Technical Buyer, the person you think is the Economic Buyer. Ask it and watch their eyes. Watch their body language. If they say “I’m the final decision maker” and something feels slightly off — that’s your signal. There’s someone else. Find out who.
When they give you a name, follow up immediately: “Would you mind introducing me?” The worst they can say is no. And if they say no, that’s information too — find out why, or find another path to that person through someone you know.
The Four Response Modes: Who’s Actually Ready to Buy
Knowing the framework is only half of it. You also need to know whether the buyer in front of you is actually in a position to act.
Every buyer you’re dealing with is in one of four response modes. Two of them give you a real shot. Two of them mean you’re probably wasting your time.
Growth Mode — Buy
This buyer sees a gap between where they are and where they want to be. Maybe they just acquired a new property. Maybe they have a new opportunity and need a partner to help them execute. They’re ambitious, they’re expanding, and they need you. Your job: show them clearly how your solution reduces or eliminates that gap.
Trouble Mode — Buy
Their current contractor is failing them. The project is behind schedule. There are cost overruns. The relationship has broken down. They need help now and they’re in pain about it. This is sometimes a more urgent opportunity than Growth Mode because the pain is immediate. Find out what’s gone wrong, what it’s costing them — in money, in time, in stress — and position yourself as the solution.
Even Keel — Pass
They’re happy. No pain. No gap. No urgency. You’re a check number in their process and the probability of winning is low. Don’t walk away from the relationship — maintain it, add value, stay visible. But don’t pour heavy resources into a pursuit when the buyer has no reason to change.
Overconfident — Pass
They think everything is great — maybe even better than it actually is. There’s no reason in their mind to act. Same approach: stay in contact, don’t chase hard. Put your energy into Growth and Trouble mode buyers.
Here’s the discipline that separates good construction salespeople from great ones: most people pursue whoever will return their call. High performers pursue whoever is actually ready to buy. Learn to diagnose response modes and you’ll stop bleeding time and energy on Even Keel pursuits while Growth mode buyers are out there being won by your competitors.
Apply It Now — Before You Lose the Next One
Pick one active pursuit. Right now. One project you’re working on or planning to bid.
Draw four boxes. Label them Economic Buyer, User Buyer, Technical Buyer, Coach. Write a name — or an honest question mark — in each one. Rate each person’s level of influence: high, medium, low. Then score them one to five on how they currently feel about your offering.
Every question mark is a red flag. Every high-influence person you’ve never spoken to is a red flag. Every blank in the Coach box — and the Coach box is almost always blank — is a red flag.
Now write down one concrete next step for each red flag. Not “win the project.” Not “build the relationship.” Something you can do in the next 14 days. A phone call. A site visit. A lunch. A request for an introduction.
General Patton said it better than I can: a good plan violently executed today is far better than a perfect plan next week.
You’ve got the framework. Now go use it.
Want This for Your Whole Team?
Jimmy Roth is the president of General Sheet Metal. He brought six of his team members through my Strategic Selling course. After the first session, their newest team member closed his first two deals. Their backlog had been thin, the team was stressed, the atmosphere was tense. By the end of the course, they beat their quarterly sales target at 160% of plan.
Jimmy told me: “My training didn’t just make the team better — it paved the pathway for them to become the best in their field.”
That’s what happens when your estimators, your project managers, your business development people, and your company leadership all speak the same language and use the same system on every pursuit.
If you’re wondering whether this could work for your team the way it worked for Jimmy’s, let’s find out together. I do a 10-minute call — no pitch, no pressure — just a straight conversation about what you’re working on and whether there’s a fit.
Book your 10-minute call here: https://10minutes.youcanbook.me/
