Let’s face it, getting your products specified in new construction projects can be a challenge. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the complexities of the process and recommend options for how to get your products specified in new construction projects.

What is a commercial construction product specification? 

It’s a document outlining the work and building materials, and building products needed to complete a construction project. The goal for manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers are to have their construction materials “specified.” That is, included in a major (500,000+) project proposal before it goes to bid.

Common Ways of Getting a Commercial Construction Product Specification

When most people think of construction, hardhats and heavy equipment come to mind. Yet, as the saying goes, connections are everything. That’s where the B2B product sales teams come into the picture.

Construction specs are usually prepared by architects, designers, and engineers. For the hardworking salespeople, architects and their colleagues are the primary marketing strategy focus. They are the companies putting together the product specifications for their projects; and, therefore, are the key decision-makers to build relationships with. 

Know Your Product and Its Niche

Any successful salesperson will know their product information and its manufacturer inside and out—every last detail.

Be sure to identify—and address—any knowledge gaps before proceeding any further. Prepare yourself for some of the very challenging questions architects might ask you.

If necessary, be ready to offer to find more material on the topic, should they request information you don’t have. Send it immediately, accompanied by a note highlighting some of the key points.

Build and Maintain a Network

It might not seem this way to an outsider, but insiders know that commercial construction depends a great deal on relationships. Building a strong one between your local sales rep and the specification community is critical.

What’s an excellent way to start? Have your local sales reps join and play active roles in the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). Doing this is one way to make essential connections.

Learn How to Work With Architects

A naive construction salesperson might think approaching an architect with a sales pitch is a good insider move. However, do you know that, when surveyed, 40% of architects said they receive unsolicited sales calls weekly?

Along with trade shows, marketing and cold-selling are among the most hackneyed ways of reaching out to architects. Many will simply tune out.

Architects tend to respond well when you offer to help them solve a problem rather than pitching directly. That way, you can provide helpful context for your product and offer the chance to ask for details.

Architect magazine also points out that architects fall into categories. These range from “professionally conservative” to “risk-takers.” They recommend pitching new products to the latter, the innovators and early adopters.

Optimize the Product’s Page on Your Website

Doing this will bring you more specific queries from firms looking for products like yours. It also will direct architects and others you’ve helped to educate on its benefits. Plus, they can read about it without pressure to act.

What follows are some excellent ways to optimize product pages:

• Use high-quality images, especially those with various components. 
• Embed relevant organic keywords in the page’s title tags and product descriptions.
• Place all testimonials and customer reviews front and center on the page.
• Leave plenty of negative space to help the product and its features stand out.
• Incorporate a video or two, if possible.
• Don’t forget to include your logo and branding language.

The better-optimized the product page, the greater is the likelihood of the intended audience finding it. Then they can specify it in their construction project details.

How to Get Commercial Construction Leads (Contacts)

Competition for construction projects today is fierce in today’s market. That’s why you need to get ahead of your competition early in the game. If you’ve tried what we have already discussed but with little success, consider purchasing leads.

It isn’t always easy to find leads, at least not ones specific to your needs. That’s why our innovative company maintains a pervasive database. It comprises commercial construction leads for virtually every project type.

We’ve been doing this work for many years. That’s enough to have built an extensive network of routinely updated commercial construction contacts. Their details are also researched and verified by our staff.

Our database offers a striking degree of searchable data. It also boasts an array of integrated tools for organizing and saving the data you need.

What New Construction Projects Can We Help With?

Our leads database runs the gamut of commercial construction contacts. They represent housing projects for multiple occupants to manufacturing facilities and warehouses.

We even help with building movie theaters, hotels, shopping centers, and much more.

And we serve a broad range of pivotal individuals in the building industry. Many are engineers, manufacturers, suppliers, general contractors, and sub-contractors. And because we’re an online company, we operate in all regions of the U.S.

Manufacturers and material suppliers struggle when looking for excellent outlets for construction products. Our online construction project data repository assists those seeking contacts for construction. These contracts might lead to sales. 

In 2020, Construct-A-Lead added over 100,000 new construction projects to our lead database. This has helped those in construction manufacturing and related industries a lot. Now they can find project specifications and contact information that are hard to access by other means.

Get Products Specified in New Construction Projects

Yes, there are new construction projects at various points in the pipeline. Some are in the early planning stages, while others have reached the bidding process and might be finalists.

Are you are a construction producer manufacturer, distributor, or supplier? If so, buy a Construct-A-Lead subscription from us. You will improve your sales contacts and project pipeline.

At Construct-A-Lead, we work behind the scenes to ensure the success of your product. We want it to take its well-deserved place in the construction project details of a winning bid and, eventually, a contract.

Get started today.