Construction specifiers and architects are a tough audience. They are busy and not interested in your sales pitch. But you need their business and snagging their attention is half the battle.
…Closing and winning the bid is the other half.
It’s a hard battle, but one that you can enter with tactics that make you a better sales rep.
In this blog, we will cover the best ways to connect with specifiers through online marketing so they turn to you when they are ready to buy.
How to Sell to Construction Specifiers and Architects
Your audience is only going to give you a few seconds online and a few minutes in person. How do you make the most of your interactions when selling to specifiers?
Present Your Case Online
Stop doing all the legwork and let your online presence do a lot of it for you.
You can answer questions and present thought-provoking, industry-relevant articles that are likely to be read and shared by contractor specifiers as they look for solutions.
Specifier Insights found that nearly 99% of building product research is done online.
Your audience is checking online way before they ever start talking to you. So, be there for them. Work hard to build up a library of answers, ideas, solutions, and topics that they might be out there looking for. And then write provoking and surprising pieces that might spark them to share with their peers.
Not only do you become the solution—you become the authority.
In order to become that authority, your approach will have to be buyer-focused, authentic, and considerate. The next five points could be applied to your online content just as much as your in-person pitches.
Let Your Passion Shine Through
You know every finish, sealant, valve, knob, and spec of what you are selling. You know why all of it matters and how it will impact their projects in terms of attractiveness, longevity, and use. These are valuable insights and your passion is going to be important. Your buyer wants to know you have a vested interest in their project and not just your sale.
Keep that passion and let it shine through your posts as you create educational topics that cover various materials and how they differ. Allow it to seep into your pitches when you are selling to specifiers and don’t let failed bids bring you down. Take pride in your contributions that build up your community and supply the industry.
Listen to Your Audience
You might feel like you have to be an authority, but first you have to learn the information that gets you there. You have to ask. If you don’t know what the contractor specifiers and architects know, it’s going to be painfully obvious. When in doubt, ask your audience. Helpful questions might include:
- What could a rep do to help your firm?
- Do you have any problems with [whichever product type you will be pitching]?
- Do you have any questions about [product type]?
- How do you decide on products or materials?
When you hear frustrations, listen. Address them in your solutions moving forward. Learn more about your customer’s pains so that you can aptly provide those solutions. Every meeting is an opportunity to ask a few pointed questions that will give you invaluable insight.
Appeal to the Entire Team
You might feel like you only have to convince a key decision-maker—but anyone on the team can bring up a problem or different solution. You have to appeal to all members. From the architects to the designers, you could be overturned by anyone along the way if you don’t appeal to the entire team.
Online, you have an easy way to write to different team members about the different appeals of a given product. One blog post could cover why a certain product is ideal from the angle of everyone involved in the decision. Then, you can send this to anyone you talk to about the product as a backup resource to refer to if there are objections or questions from a team member.
Don’t Just Self-Sell—Offer Value
This process isn’t about you—it’s about your buyer. Use the opportunity to show you are more than just a quick sale. Present valuable information that solves their pains in ways that are related to your products, but not selling them directly. You can help them find solutions while presenting yourself as an authority. This increases your reach and indirectly promotes sales.
If you get too caught up in self-centered marketing and promotion, you will just find most of your audience ignores you until the very last step of their buying process when they are considering individual products.
Imagine all the business you lost during that process!
There are many who could have noticed your brand when they were first trying to determine a solution to a somewhat unrelated problem. Most of the time, we stumble onto solutions when we are browsing for something else entirely. Fill those gaps and provide value that will draw in your audience, even if they aren’t currently looking for the products you sell.
Appeal to Pain, Not Just Technicalities
A huge misconception with B2B sales is that the other buyer is strictly business and just cares about technical details. Yes, your contractor specifiers and architects do care about all those details. But, deep down they are humans with busy lives. Boredom is the fastest way to lose their attention. Being too wordy is second.
Get to the point. Keep it moving. But appeal to their pains.
Don’t start with your solutions—start with their problems. Include the details needed to make an informed decision, but only after addressing why it is important to them.
Once they see the value you offer as a rep, they will be interested in what you can tell them about your product.
