The construction of a building involves many people: Architects; Designers; Engineers; Contractors; Sub-Contractors all working together to meet the needs of the Client. The Client is at the head of the procurement chain; ultimately the Client decides what is to be constructed, where, when and by whom. In this blog we take a look at […]
During 2015 the Competitive Advantage team has published just short of 100 blogs! The overriding theme from our most popular blogs in 2015 can be summarised as: “understanding specifiers and the specification process”. With topics covering: CPD: Selling without the Sales Pitch Creating an Effective Specification Strategy Communicating Effectively with Specifiers Building Information Modelling Understanding […]
Over June and August this year we asked 478 construction professionals how they gather information to inform their product and design decisions. We asked them questions about their journal readership, blog readership, social media activity, use of product directories and CPD requirements. This information is presented in full in our research The Construction Media Index, […]
Is it a bird, is it a plane…? No it is a specification sales advisor. The construction sector has a complex Decision Making Unit (DMU) providing a challenge for those selling building products. The answer is to empower your team to sell on benefits and not on price alone. In this blog we review how […]
Specification Sales Steve Rogan has written an article entitled What is specification sales and is it for you? Vocational Place provide a check list of the six habits of a great sales team. And expert market provide some advice on how to get what you want on the phone. Much of this advice is covered […]
To establish an effective specification strategy you need to know what is important to each decision maker, how this will influence their product choice and then demonstrate the value of your offering. In a recent Twitter Chat, hosted by Barbour News, I answered questions on how to establish effective specification selling. [<a href=”//storify.com/CompetitiveA/effective-specification” target=”_blank”>View the story “Do you have […]
Conducting regular research into construction markets gives insight into the specifier’s decision making process and the influences on product specification. In this blog we review the do’s and don’ts when conducting research, to help you use research effectively to inform your decisions and ultimately contribute to the growth of your company. 1 – You have […]
Do you truly understand how your customers select their products, what they have used before and how they source product information? In this blog we take a look at reasons why your construction product may not be specified and suggest ways to improve your specification sales approach. 1 – You are selling on price alone […]
Architects, Engineers and other design professional want informative and accurate CPD material, they do not want to be sold to. For this reason the CPD accreditation bodies vet material to ensure it meets this criteria. Although an overt sales message is frowned upon the audience want an inspirational CPD seminars. As a construction product manufacturer […]
Marketing strategy With the end of the year approaching many of you will be reviewing your marketing strategy and considering your goals for 2015. Here is a summary of the articles we have come across. Hubspot review setting proper goals to get results and budget templates. Also drawing on their findings from the 2014 State […]
