Introduction

It’s a sunny Saturday morning and I’m stuck here at my computer looking for something to help take one of the things off my “honey-do” list. And it just happened again!

Why does it keep happening over-and-over? Like I’m trapped in some lame version of that Bill Murray movie, “Groundhog Day.”

Here I am, looking at another home repair product’s website, and I have to work hard to figure out what the product actually does and why I should pick it over all the other options out there.

In some cases, they’ll have a beautiful, high-resolution image with a clever phrase or tagline. (Or maybe just their logo…) But I can’t figure out what the heck they’re trying to sell me. In others, there’s just a bunch of technical information pounding me over the head with facts and features about their product. But they never get around to telling me why their product is better.

I’m like most guys, and if it takes me too long to figure out the next step, I’ll just find an easier thing on my list and move on. But not this time. No sir!

I saw this as an opportunity to dig in and pull out a marketing lesson or two. The idea actually grew from a TedTalk my wife recently shared with me…

Start With Why

In 2009, Simon Sinek gave what’s become one of the most popular TedTalks of all time called, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action.” It had almost 30 million views, last I checked.

In his 18-minute presentation, Sinek used the ideas and principles taken from his book, “Start with Why.”

The big thing that stuck with me from the talk is what Sinek called the “golden circle.” He used this simple visual to explain the fundamental differences between the “Apple” companies of the world and everyone else.

Basically, he simplified how we think, act and communicate to three words, or layers: Why, How, and What.

• WHY – This is your business’ core belief. Why you do what you do.

• HOW – This is how your company fulfills that core belief.

• WHAT – This is what you do to fulfill the core belief.

We all know what we do and can talk about it all day. It’s the tangible things. The basic features and benefits we can all recite from memory and list on our technical data sheets.

Some companies know how they do what they do. They often use these to explain how they’re different or better than the other guys.

But most companies or individuals find it hard to clearly articulate why they do what they do.

Sinek’s point was that most companies start with the much easier what and how they do business. But rarely, if ever, do they think or talk about their why.

That’s what sets the “Apples” of the world apart. They start with why and then move to the how and what they do.

To help boost your connection with your target audience let’s take a look at some of the key takeaways, and use the “Start With Why” framework to look at a few building product websites through that lens. We’ll focus on window manufacturers to compare a few similar products

3 Key Takeaways for Building Product Marketing

1. Use “Why” to put a framework around your product

As Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.” Think back to why you got into this business in the first place – about why your company does what it does. This helps make sure your entire team is aligned with your core belief(s).

And when I say “team,” in our industry that can be very broad term. It can mean the sales and production staff for you company, but can also extend to your sales reps, suppliers and even the architects or designers who might become your “product evangelists.”

If your whole team understands your “why” it’s a whole lot easier for them to pass on “how” and “what” you and your product do.

Let’s take a look at our first example website to see how they do on this one…

Andersen Windows

(www.andersenwindows.com)

Here’s the screenshot of Andersen’s Home page (desktop and mobile) on the day I wrote this:

I thought we were onto something here when I saw the simple quote, “The brand trusted by more builders than any others.” Followed by a button to click saying, “SEE WHY.”

When you click on the button, the next page is a nicely designed listing of their features and benefits. Energy-efficiency. Experience & Innovation. Beauty. Performance. Service. Sustainability. Giving Back.

All great things, but you’ll end up finding very similar lists of “how” and “what” on the other sites you visit. But, here on the surface, I couldn’t find the “why” behind their company or their product lines.

So, I decided to dig a little deeper…

By going off their product site to the Andersen Corporation website, I looked a bit at their company history. There you can see they originated the “two bundle” method of construction to help streamline the window construction process on the job site.

Later, they developed the first completely assembled window unit. You can keep clicking through to see their many other innovation and a little bit of the “why” behind each of those advancements.

To truly embrace the “Start With Why” principles, they could certainly look at folding more of these things back into their up-front marketing efforts. Andersen has a lot of why’s out there, but it’s not something we shouldn’t have to dig for.

2. Pull the “Why” into your marketing

As we saw in the Andersen example, there are always opportunities to find the “why.” The challenge is to find ways to effectively pull that forward and incorporate that into the visuals and copy you use in your marketing.

Our next example website is…

JELD-WEN Windows and Doors

(www.jeld-wen.com/en-us/)

Screenshot of JELD-WEN’s Home page on the day I wrote this:

At first blush, the JELD-WEN site is just showing me a catalog of their products with lists of features for each of the products. Nothing too compelling or exciting to connect with me or make me pick them over any other window out there.

Again, I have to do some digging to find a hint at their “why.”

On the “About Us” page of their site, you can find their value and mission statements, and a bit about their history. But even those aren’t getting to that elusive “why” that I want to see to help me connect with them and make them my go-to resource for windows.

Not much more I can say about JELD-WEN, other than they could do more self-exploration to help find their why and bring it up to the surface.

3. Redefine your target market

Depending on how long your company has been around, your target market can change over time. It’s sometimes based on the trends in the market, or changes in your own products and services.

By going back to the “Start With Why” principles, you may find you’ve lost your way a bit. That’s OK. We all need to re-examine things from time to time. As the quote, attributed to Socrates, says, “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

If you do choose to go through the process of finding and starting with your “why,” it can help you clarify WHO it is you want to serve. This can go a long way in helping you clarify your marketing messages.

For our final example website, we’ll look at:

Marvin Windows

(www.marvin.com)

On their Home page, Marvin has a great video background that loops through a variety of images. I can tell they cater to the residential market and it looks like they have products that fit with traditional and more modern designs.

On the sections below the video loop, they go into several of the standard
“why work with us” statements we’ve seen on other manufacturer sites. But they are starting to bake in more of their “why” into these statements.

For example, when they talk about their unmatched service, they say, “Building and keeping relationships is as important to us as the unwavering quality of our product…” That’s a pretty good why that I can identify with. Relationships are important to me, too.

For their commitment to quality, they say, “We set high standards for ourselves so we can be sure that every single product we make for you is built to last…” When you use the phrase “so we can” that’s giving me your reason why.

Could their reasons be made stronger and clearer? Absolutely. There’s always room for improvement. The point of examining these examples is to get you started down the road to examining your own messages and those of your competition.

Final words…

If you don’t define your why, nobody cares what your product is or how it works.

They might select your products based on price, but you won’t develop that loyal following we’d all like to depend on for our business. If you want to quiet the competition and get your customers and teams on board with you, you need to inspire them and connect with them.

To do that, you need to start with your why.

One of the prime visual mediums for enticing customers is through the use of an explainer video. Explainer videos are like elevator pitches for your product. Think of how you can capture your potential client with one of these videos and then you have their attention for much longer and more in-depth presentations. There is a lot of research about the effectiveness and popularity of video for sales and marketing out there. But why and how are videos useful in marketing?

A video in itself possesses certain qualities to be useful. Make this video longer and more informative and these qualities become even more critical. Marketing videos should really be cost-effective, concise, clean, compelling, and creative. Because when you have these elements, your customers crave your product more. Videos give you an opportunity to express the values of the brand: pushing the limit, precision, expertise of your product.

1. Cost-effective

This is important because you don’t want to break the bank. But you also want professional and quality work to bring your design or product to the forefront.

Consider these eye-opening video marketing stats, according to Brainshark:

• Pop a video into an email = boost opening rates by 20%
• Over half of marketing pros consider video the best Return on Investment (ROI)
• Pop the word video into the email subject line =  click rates jump 65%
• 65% of video viewers dedicate themselves to watching at least 3/4 of a video

2. Concise

Being concise is more of choosing your words and images carefully, rather than just using less words and being quick. Choose quality over quantity. Answer your viewer’s questions and teach them something too! Videos are effective because they build relationships: “When your target audience finds the content you’re producing genuinely helpful, you’ve begun earning their trust. And once you’ve started that process, you’ve created a strong link to your business or brand.”

3. Clean

Creating a clean video is important to marketing. A clean video means it is more likely to get reviewed and reviewed again, and passed on to others. Clean videos increase purchase rates too. 64% more viewers opt to make a purchase when a video is seen online. Videos in e-mail also increase click-through rate too. YouTube, e-mail, landing pages, and more compel viewers to take steps toward acquiring the product. And this is all because they were able to see it in detail and in action in a video.

4. Compelling

This is where your content will really stand out. Incorporating 3D graphics, showing a product from the inside out, having photorealistic animation, and just showing rather than telling (i.e. explicitly demonstrating the how, why and what of your product) make the difference. If you produce content that offer customers value, they will return. If you build it (and make it look really cool), they will come…and come back again.

5. Creative 

This has to be the most important reason that videos do well in the marketing arena. Be different in the way that you present your product and it will stand out. A modern clean approach lets potential customers see the product they want to buy before they buy and not merely in a boring flat image. Movement, design and depth will allow you to offer customers more dramatic visual results.

6. Increase Your Brand’s Awareness

Using videos to sell your product updates your image and brand. Research shows that consumers remember the videos they see (after all 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video); and a majority use them in their decision to purchase. Videos are effective. They increase sales and build an awareness for a company. Not all videos entice consumers though. Consider creating videos that are professional-looking, concise and call to action the viewer to take advantage of this opportunity.

About the Author :

Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.

His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.

When considering how the visual impressions influence buyers, it is important to understand the brain and the psychology of the mind. We all kind of understand that attractive things get our attention and that we desire beauty over the ugly, but why? Understanding the science behind this universal truth will help you market your products more effectively. Let’s dive into how the brain takes in data.

The Connection

The first thing that occurs when we see a product (or anything for that matter) is the brain makes a decision as to how and IF it will connect with this item in a meaningful way. Obviously, the goal is to have people connect with your product, because ultimately a connection is saying “this is attractive” (in some way). So just how does the brain connect? The brain takes in visual stimuli and digests or decodes it, then determines how relevant it is.

The Decision-Making

When marketing your goods or services, your goal is to bring the client to the point of a decision – a positive decision to purchase what you are selling. The interesting news about the workings of the brain is that after decoding your product, it then decides if it should send the information to the decision-making portion of the brain. In other words, the brain is divided into three parts with each serving a different function. When concrete products are first introduced to the brain, they are either rejected as irrelevant or sent on to the part of the brain that is responsible for decisions. If the product you are selling never reaches this point, then there is little hope you will make a sale. That first impression is key!

The First Impression

There are certain factors about your product and the presentation of it that will cause the brain to send it over to the decision section. Once you have it in that “department” of the brain, the chances of a sale are much greater. Some of these factors include:

• Pursues the visual.
• Takes notice of the unusual.
• Feeds on contrasts in either visual images, words, or a combination of the two.
• Desires quick summarized information.

The key to getting in front of the architect’s product decisions is to understand his process

Glad to see you’re back to hear the rest of the story on the architect’s decision-making process.

In Part 1, you heard from an architect on the first half of his decision-making process. He’s determining whether he’ll use a particular building product to help him solve a problem. Those first four parts are…

• Discovering the need

• Researching my options (Phase I)

• Initiating contact with a sales rep

• Researching my options (Phase II)

If you need to review those steps, you can read them here.

Otherwise, if you’re ready to hear the rest of the story, I’ll let our architect friend take over from here…

Selling the Idea

Thanks again, Jason. And welcome back to you, the reader. I hope you’re finding a lot of value in what we’re sharing here. Let’s get on with the story…

As you’ll recall, the product I’m deciding on is an exterior fascia panel.

So, picking up where we left off, I’ve just finished doing Phase II of my research. Now I’m ready to try to sell my proposed building product to my co-workers, the client, and the contractor.

Each of these “selling” approaches requires different criteria I need to work with. So, ideally, you (the product manufacturer) have provided me with the tools I’ll need to make my case.

To give you a better idea of what I mean, I’ll briefly describe each of these three groups and the key points I need to hit with each of them. Read carefully, and you’ll see several opportunities to jump in and help sell your product through the architect.

Co-workers

My co-workers could be a variety of people, depending on the project team structure. If I’m one of several architects on the team, I may need to sell the other architects on a variety of points:

• Aesthetics – Is it going to complement the rest of the design?

• Constructability – Will it be easily incorporated into the construction process? Or will it be a potential call back during construction — because it requires some special considerations to install that will add unforeseen costs and time delays?

• Available details & specs – Can the project team easily add this new product to our detailing and specification efforts?

• Cost – Am I proposing a “Cadillac” product on an economy-budgeted project?

• Code implications – Does the product meet all of the local building codes?

For our example here, I need to sell my proposed idea first to the exterior detail team to make sure they agree it’s the best solution. Then I need to sell the idea to the project manager, who then needs to sell it to the client.

So it’s critical that I have all of these sell points in-line and have the needed documentation that I can hand off to the PM for him to make the sale to other key decision-makers on the project.

On some projects, it can be a very twisty path to get to that final acceptance. And it’s often just one discussion point of a long meeting. So chances are good it might not even get proper consideration.

You need to make sure your information and key benefits of your building material or product is very clear and easily-digestible. (Hint: Architects are visual creatures. We love a clear diagram or image that tells the story quickly…)

The Client

The client will have a different set of concerns that need to be met and addressed.

He or she might be concerned about the following:

• Aesthetics – Does this material project the right image for our building?

• Cost – Is it within our project budget? Is this an upgrade that we’ll have to give up something else to get it? Is it worth it?

• Maintenance – Is it going to create a maintenance headache for us? Will we have to repaint or re-caulk every year?

• Energy Efficiency – If applicable, is it going to save us money in the long run?

While the client does want a building that looks great and projects an impressive image, he has a broader view to keep in mind and others he may need to sell the idea to. So once again, I’ll need to make sure I have the proper information and materials to sell him on these key points.

Or, as I mentioned above, I may be handing off the materials to another team member to sell the idea to the client.

The Contractor

From an architect’s point-of-view, we tend to see the contractor’s concerns as more short-sighted. They’re more concerned about RIGHT NOW. It’s not always the case, like when it’s a contractor or construction manager who has an on-going relationship with the client. But here are the key concerns I see when a contractor is considering a new product for a job:

• Cost – What’s the initial product cost and/or installed cost? What’s the overall impact on the bottom line of the construction costs?

• Constructability – Can it actually be constructed as detailed? Is it compatible with the adjacent materials or will I need to consider additional materials or structure to make it work?

• Installation – How easily is it installed? Does it require a specialty contractor or can general labor get it done?

• Reliability – Am I going to get callbacks in a couple months? Will there be warranty issues? Or will this product perform as promised?

Once again, even though this perspective is different, it’s just as valid. If you provide me with the backup information, case studies and testimonial of how well it worked, it makes it easier for me to get your product into the project. Especially if those stories are coming from other contractors.

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Specifying & Detailing …

Once everybody is on-board with your building material or product, I need to go to work getting it folded into the project documents. So now I’m looking for an “easy button” to help make that as quick and painless as possible.

Are specifications available?

Do you have easy access to different spec formats I can use as a starting point to make the spec writing as easy as possible?

In most cases, the architect won’t use the manufacturer’s spec verbatim. In many project types, it’s important to keep the spec as non-proprietary as possible.

Also, depending on the firm, the specs might be written by the project architect or they may be handed off to a spec writer. So that’s a good reason to provide a spec that has some guidance notes included to help clarify when different options might be more appropriate. Including any key differentiating features your product has that competitors don’t. Otherwise, they could be overlooked or omitted in the final spec that goes out.

Are details available?

Do you have typical details that can be modified for different project conditions? Do you provide a service to help with custom details?

These are key selling points to make sure you don’t lose me after I’ve gotten to this point. If it looks like it will be too much work to get your product worked into my tight deadline, all the upfront research and time might be thrown out the window to get the project out.

So, make sure it’s crystal clear what resources are available to me. And don’t be afraid to reach out shortly after our initial conversations to remind me of those resources and see if there’s anything you can send me to help. Offer to take a quick look at a snapshot PDF of my details and offer any advice.

Defending your Specs…

The design team and I have to defend our product and system choices. We have to defend your product as the best choice for the job. So make sure you’ve prepared me for the fight…

During bidding – Most jobs have an opportunity for substitution requests to be made during bidding. If the substituting manufacturer has followed the proper procedure (which is often NOT the case), they have a good chance of being considered.

If they provide a good argument why their product should be considered and can offer additional benefits, they’ll get a thumbs up.

This is where your upfront education efforts are critical. If you’ve done a good job of highlighting why your product is the best choice, then I can make a better judgement when the time comes. If there’s something your product offers that your competitors don’t, then I can make the argument on your behalf during this phase.

During construction – Even if you make it through the bidding process, there’s still an opportunity on some projects for a competitor to kick you out. If they can prove their product can save the owner money, or if they’re willing to pay any additional costs associated with using their product, they’ll get a look.

It’s hard to win the pricing game. It’s like a race to the bottom where nobody wins. So, you’ve got to have presented your product on value for the money to truly win this game.

In other words, if you have demonstrated that your product will be maintenance-free, and more durable than your competitor. Or the quicker, cleaner installation saves the contractor a month. The client may be willing to pay the additional money to get those added values.

But again, you have to have explicitly educated me (and the contractor, if possible), so these facts can be considered before final approval of a substitution.

Assessing the Performance …

Once construction is complete, I’m going to assess how well your product was liked by the contractor, as well as how well it’s performing for the client.

This assessment is key to deciding if I continue to recommend and specify your product in the future.

Reports from the contractor/installer — If I can get these reports, they usually happen toward the end of construction.

Unless I’m on a site visit when the install is actually happening — then I’ll ask the installer how they like working with the product. They’re usually quick to say if it’s a pain or if it’s a dream to work with.

Most times, I don’t get the opportunity to talk directly with the installer, so I’ll depend on the general contractor’s input about your product’s performance. If he had headaches to deal with in terms of coordination with other trades or delays due to the delivery or installation process… I’ll usually hear about it.

To be honest, unless it’s a new product I specifically ask about, I’ll only get the negative reports. So, that’s a good reason to follow up with me during construction. Put a bug in my ear to remember to ask the contractor how your product is working out.

Otherwise, I’m likely to forget about it until it’s too late and everybody has moved on to the next project.

Reports from building owner/manager — Ideally, I’ll have an opportunity to do a one-year check-in with a client to see how the building is performing.

Again, this check-in doesn’t always happen, but it’s the best way to make this assessment of good performance. Of course, if there’s a poor performance, I’ll hear about it whether I check-in or not.

These one-year reviews usually revolve around how the layout of the interior spaces are working. But if I make a specific attempt to talk with the facility manager and maintenance folks, that’s where I’ll get the straight shooting about your product’s performance.

There are also situations where I’ll be working on a large campus with a lot of buildings being built or remodeled. In these cases, it’s especially important to make sure your product performs well (and you remind me of that fact).

I’ve been in several meetings where a university client says they won’t allow a certain manufacturer’s product on their campus because they had a failure 10 years ago. A lot can change in that time, but once that opinion is formed it can stick for a long time.

And if I don’t have the most current information on your product or have a good track record of using your product to share with that client, then I’ll usually just go with a product they’re OK with. And this might even bleed into other projects, where I’ll remember their issues and decide against your product.

Adding to Best Practices …

Once I’ve established your product did what was promised and will be a good choice for future projects, I’ll add it to our firm’s best practices. This can take a couple different forms…

Typical Details – Before a product can earn its place in a firm’s library of typical details, it has to have been used successfully on a project. Once it has proven itself, it can have the honors.

But a couple things have to happen first (Hint: here’s where you come in) …

First, I need to remember to take the associated details and share them with the rest of the office. That might be placing them in our designated folder for details. Or it might be submitting them to the Revit content team to incorporate into the standard project templates.

If you follow up with me after a successful project, you can offer to send the final project-specific shop drawings or as-built details to help make that process simpler on my end.

Master Specs – Many firms will maintain a set of master specifications that they will use as a model for projects. Maybe you can offer to review my master specification and offer some ways to update it to current codes and standards and, of course, make sure your product is included as the base manufacturer.

As you most likely know, the master specification will rarely be proprietary, so keep that in mind as you provide this follow up. If you get too heavy-handed and try to make it too specific to your product, I may just toss your recommendations and stick with the more general master we’ve been using.

So tread carefully with this strategy.

Share with co-workers – This last one is good, old-fashioned word-of-mouth around the office. We’re constantly asking each other for product recommendations. So if your product is applicable to a co-worker’s project and it’s fresh on my mind, I’ll tell them to use your product. And share my details and specs you helped me develop and perfect.

Many offices will also do internal presentations sharing lessons learned and successful project experiences. Maybe you offer to come in a present something with me. Or, you could share any project photos you might have taken in the field, so I can include them in my presentation.

Be creative and find those simple little ways to help make me shine with my colleagues.

Alright, I hope you’ve learned a lot from the architect’s point of view.

Go back and re-read Part I & II again and come up with an action list of things to do. There’s a ton of ideas there, and you should be able to find something to do at whatever stage you are with your prospects.

And go ahead and congratulate yourself if you’re already doing some of these things.

As always, if there’s anything you need help with in the way of high-quality visualizations — let’s talk. We can get you set up with installation animations and 3D renderings to help tell the story of your building material or building product and sell it to your next project’s decision makers.

About the Author :

Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.

His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.

The key to getting in front of the architect’s product decisions is to understand his process

Inside the architect’s mind… that’s a place you’d like to be to help fine-tune your building product marketing efforts. Am I right?

It’s like the copywriting legend, Robert Collier, once wrote, “a good ad begins with entering the conversation already taking place in your prospect’s mind.” That goes for all your marketing efforts and strategies.

So, that’s where I’m taking you today — inside the architect’s mind to see his decision-making process first hand.

Getting inside…

I recently heard they can study living animals through something called “intravital microscopy.” They attach a glass “window” to the animal and use a microscope to see how different internal systems work.

After I threw up in my mouth a little, I got to thinking, “Man, that would be nice if it could help see what some people are thinking…”

What’s that? You see where I’m going with this? Yes, that’s right. For you – my faithful reader – I tried my little heart out…

…But try as I might – with all my persuasiveness – I failed. I couldn’t find any architects who’d sit still long enough for me to attach this little looking glass I created to the top of their head.

Go figure.

So I found you the next best thing: An architect willing to share his thinking process as he searches for a new product. That’s what today’s post is about…

If you pay close attention, I think you’ll see a lot of great opportunities here. To get in front of some of these decision points and help you fine-tune your marketing to architects. I’ll be highlighting some of those key points along the way…

Discovering the need…

Alright, to set the stage for you a little, our architect friend here has a project that’s an addition to an existing building.

The existing building was built in the 1970s and has an exterior material – a fascia panel – that’s made of asbestos. So he needs to replace the material on the existing building and match it in the design of the new addition.

Let’s hear it straight from him on how he starts his search for the perfect product:

Thanks, Jason.

So, whenever I find myself at the beginning of my search for a new building product, I take stock of what factors are most important. In some cases, it’s part of a bigger picture and I need to consider all the adjacent materials around the product.

In this case, for simplicity, I’m able to focus on just this fascia panel material and walk you through my architectural decision tree. And then see how it progresses at each phase of the building project’s phases.

So the big question I need to start with is a common first question in most B2B buyers’ decision trees:

What’s important for my decision?

Here’s a list of the handful of points I was considering for this example product:

• Weight – The existing panels are about 4 feet wide and 3 feet tall. That means I look at materials that are lightweight, so the existing supporting structure can hold it.
• Durability – The building is out in the middle of a rural area, so it’ll see a lot of weather and wind. That means the panels need to be thick enough and perhaps a solid color (not painted), so they’ll stand up to the environment over time.
• Maintenance – The existing product requires little maintenance, so the replacement needs to have the same (or better) performance. In other words… no caulk joints to maintain… minimal painting required… easy replacement of a single panel…
• Cost – What costs are assumed in the preliminary estimates and the project budget? The proposed products need to be within the range, or close to what’s been assumed for the project.
• Design Options – Does the manufacturer provide a sufficient variety of standard colors, textures and standard sizes to choose from? Or will there be added costs to meet this project’s requirements?

Once I have my list of things I need to consider in my search, I start looking…

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Researching my options (Phase I) …

It wasn’t that long ago that my research would begin with opening a few volumes of Sweets catalogues. Or searching the shelves for a manufacturer’s product guide that might lead me to the right product.

But, as I’m sure you know, those days are pretty well gone. Our office still has a few product guides on the shelves. But those are mostly the ones that have other important information that we use during design. (…like a drywall manufacturer who provide guides to fire-rated wall assemblies…) 

In today’s world, my search starts in one of three places:

• 4specs.com – or – Sweets.com

• Local suppliers’ and installers’ websites

• Google

On a product directory website like Sweets.com or 4specs.com, I go right to the division I think I’ll find the product I’m looking for. In this case, it’s Division 7 – Thermal and Moisture Protection. I drill down to the different siding panels and rain screen options to see what manufacturers are listed there.

Then I start poking around each of these manufacturer’s websites to see if there’s anything that fits the bill. If I see something promising, I’ll bookmark the page, or download some of the brochures or other readily available PDFs I come across.

Then I jump to the other options…

After this search, I’ll go to my trusted local suppliers’ websites to see if they carry any of these products. If they do, that product will start moving toward the top of my list. I’ll also search their website for any other products my initial search didn’t turn up.

Finally, I’ll hit a Google search. I’ll try a series of keywords that I think will turn up what I’m looking for. I’ll usually have some key phrase ideas in mind from the sites I’ve looked at so far. For this example, I’ve come up with “metal wall panels” and “fiber cement wall panels.” There might be a few others I use, depending on what these basic searches bring up.

Whatever terms I do use, I rarely go past the first page of search results to look for options.

Once I’ve got that initial short-list of options pared down, I’ll move on to the next step…

Initiating contact with a sales rep…

I start this next step by calling a rep or filling out a form on the manufacturer’s or local supplier’s website. It depends on what looks like the easiest way to get ahold of someone. If I have a good relationship with a product rep, I’ll usually have their contact information in my Outlook files.

If I can’t easily find any contact information on their website, I’ll just skip them, and go to the next supplier or product rep.

My goal here is to set up a call or a face-to-face meeting with the product rep to see the options. Or get supporting materials to help me in my continuing search and eventual next step of selling the idea to other project team members.

As we’re having our discussion, I’m looking at the following to decide if I continue down the path with this product rep:

Proper presentation of options – Are they able to show me all my viable options for my specific situation? If they just offer me the same generic information I can find on their website then I’m no better off.

I’m looking for photos of similar past projects. Illustrations or details of their product used in my specific application. And maybe a case study of a successful project that featured their product.

Open discussion about cost options – Do they discuss cost options and how their product might compare to other options? If not, I’m hesitant to take the chance that I’ll bust the budget with their product when the actual costs come in.

Do they install the product, or just supply? – This isn’t usually clear on a supplier’s website, but it’s important to be clear who installs the product. If it’s another sub-contractor, I want to know what kind of support the supplier or manufacturer provides during the installation.

Researching my options (Phase II) …

Once I’ve met with or spoken to the product reps, I move onto another level of research. This is digging in deeper with the more specific information I’ve received on their products.

What’s important here is that the supplier or product rep has left me with the following information:

• Case Studies – It’s important to know that other architects have used this product and speak highly of its benefits.
• Photos – I want to see images of the product in similar installations as the one I’m looking at.
• Building types – If the product provides certain benefits to my specific building type, it’s a definite plus.
• Detail conditions – Provide me with details that match my condition I’m looking at – a canopy fascia, an entrance portal, large wall surface… Whatever the case might be.
• Availability – I need to know if they have the colors & textures I’m looking for readily available. It would be even better if they have a good selection of photos in the finishes I need.

This second phase of research is where I’m preparing to select and sell the product I will recommend we use…

Whew – that’s a lot to take in. I hope you’re seeing the value of getting all of this valuable information straight from your prospect’s mouth.

I had to shut him down for now, or this post might have gone on forever. But don’t worry — I’m going to bring him back for another post. Part 2 of this series of posts, so stay tuned.

Coming up next in part two . . .

• How the architect sells your product to his project team…

• What you can do to make the architect’s job easier during the construction document phase…

• How you can arm the architect to defend your product from substitutions…

• What you need to be doing to follow-up and remind the architect of the benefits you provided…

• …And finally, how your product can become part of the architect’s “best practices” for future projects.

About the Author :

Jason Yana has 2 decades of experience in architectural technology, 3d graphics and construction marketing. This unique combination provides highly-effective visual representations of building products that fuel marketing and support efforts.

His award-winning body of work informs, inspires and educates building product customers.