The Spec Shaman

The Spec Shaman - Getting Specified

Building product manufacturers who want to get specified by architects can find strategies and suggestions in our weekly blog posts. Building product specification is crucial for manufacturers and our team offers the best resources available. Blog post topics include: 3 part CSI guide specifications, AIA continuing education, and building product rep training. Building product manufacturers who want to get their products specified can check our platform every week for valuable information about the AEC industry. Guest bloggers are always welcome. Please contact us for submission information and requirements.

On: Aug 31, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
How Construction Technology Startups are Changing the Game
In the past, construction has primarily been a skilled labor job that offered a decent wage and required specialized skill set. While it’s an innovative industry, its use and integration of cutting edge technology has been slower when compared to other industries, maybe because there hasn’t seemed like a crossover was needed. Traditional construction has been the way things have always been done, and even with challenges, it presses on. But things are changing, and it’s exciting.
On: Aug 28, 2018 By: Brad Blank
Awesome Attributes of a Building Product Rep
It is crucial that building product reps ask the right questions in meetings with design professionals. The building product rep must understand the customer’s concerns, objections, budget, timeline, needs, etc. It is important that a building rep determines the client’s major problems and how to solve them.
On: Aug 24, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
3D Printing and its Impact on the Construction Industry
I’ll admit, 3D printing has intrigued and confused me since I first learned of it. I didn’t understand the materials used or the processes, especially in reference to big things like organs and buildings and medical devices! But last month, I read an article about Project Milestone in the Dutch city of Eindhoven. It is a planned community of five homes built through 3D printer fabrication.
On: Aug 20, 2018 By: Brad Blank
The Hierarchy of Manufacturer Building Product Reps
According to author Steven Pressfield, in the animal kingdom, individuals define themselves in one of two ways- by their rank or by their connection to a territory. Many people define themselves in society according to a pecking order like a wolf pack. Others define themselves in the hierarchy by their connection to territory such as a home base or hunting territory. How does this theory apply to building product reps?
On: Aug 17, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Regenerative Architecture and its Relationship to Product Manufacturers
Regenerative and sustainable. I thought they were the same thing and interchangeable. But was caught in the internet spiral of clicking from one article to the next the other day and I discovered that, while they are similar concepts, they differ in one pivotal way. Linguistically, both terms have meanings that differ a bit from how they’re actually used.
On: Aug 13, 2018 By: Brad Blank
4 Steps to Getting Your Building Products Specified
Are there four magic steps to getting your product specified? According to best-selling author Jeffery Fox, there are four steps to every sale. Product reps should always be working on these various steps through the work day to close any deal. What are the four steps of every deal that can be applied to getting specified?
On: Aug 10, 2018 By: Brad Blank
The Adverse Effects of Specification Supplements
Do you need a prescription for your condition? Are your products not getting specified? Are you suffering adverse effects due to specification starvation like lost revenue, bankruptcy, or losing your log cabin on beautiful Lake Eerie? Specification supplements maybe the answer for you.
On: Aug 7, 2018 By: Brad Blank
5 Signs of Visionary Product Manufacturers and How They Avoid Extinction
How does a building product manufacturer avoid extinction? As the marketplace changes from the age of the seller to the age of the customer, the rules of the game have dramatically changed. Only visionary manufacturers stand a chance of succeeding in the 21st century. What are the 5 signs of a visionary product manufacturer?
On: Aug 3, 2018 By: Stacie Townsend
Creating Space to Nurture Our Human Nature in the Built World
In 1925, Henry Beston wrote The Outermost House, in which he chronicled a year spent alone on a Cape Cod beach. His solitary time revealed truths relevant to nature, including human nature. Beston said, “Nature is a part of our humanity, and without some awareness and experience of that divine mystery, man ceases to be man.” All our evolution toward a more civilized society has crippled our connection to an elemental part of the human experience.
On: Jul 27, 2018 By: Brad Blank
How Risk Simulation, Uncertainty, and Randomness May Affect Building Product Manufacturers
How can building product manufacturers distinguish between luck and skill? How can product reps determine if their specification efforts got them specified on a large NFL football stadium or if it was simply chance and good luck? Being at the right place at the right time. We’ve all seen the lucky fool who benefitted from a disproportionate share of luck but attributed their success to their skillset.

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GreenCE offers AIA HSW online continuing education, LEED online courses, ADA online courses, and LEED Exam Prep. GreenCE helps design professionals obtain their AIA HSW hours, LEED-specific hours, barrier-free hours, and IDCEC CE hours. The website delivers LEED Exam Prep for the LEED Green Associate exam, LEED BD+C exam, and LEED O+M exam. The online LEED certification courses educate architects, engineers, interior designers, contractors, and students.

GreenCE is a USGBC Education Partner that offers the only free LEED exam prep in the country. The LEED certification course includes a free LEED exam study guide, free LEED practice questions, and LEED certification tips and strategies. In addition, GreenCE offers free courses for LEED APs to obtain their LEED BD+C hours, LEED ID+C hours, and LEED O+M hours. Most GBCI courses are free and in video format.

GreenCE is an AIA Education Provider and offers free AIA online courses. The free AIA courses are sponsored by building product manufacturers. In addition, the platform offers barrier-free ADA courses for Texas and California architects. Texas barrier-free online courses and California Accessibility courses meet state requirements. TX ADA courses and CA ADA courses are created by the top ADA experts in the country.

Building product manufacturers can get specified by using GreenCE services. GreenCE develops AIA and LEED courses for product manufacturers to educate architects. The online architect courses help build brand awareness about building products. In addition, GreenCE hosts manufacturer webinars for 200-300 architects at a time. The AIA webinars and LEED webinars are free for architects who can learn about various products.

Finally, GreenCE helps manufacturers develop Health Product Declarations (HPDs), LEED v4 product documentation, mindful MATERIALS documentation, Google Portico documentation, and Declare Labels. We value our relationships with design professionals and building product manufacturers. They are crucial to our success.