How do you influence building product specifications? How can a product manufacturer increase ROI? Motivation, ability, and individual triggers are three factors that play an important role in the specification process.

In a previous blog, How To Get Specified By Architects Part 2, we discussed how building products can create habits by solving problems. If an architect’s pain point can be solved by using your product successfully, your product might become habit-forming. There are several triggers that can help motivate a specifier, architect, and other design professional during the product selection phase. Fear is one of the biggest triggers.

The Fear Factor

Fear in human beings may occur in response to a specific stimulus occurring in the present, or expectation of a future threat perceived as a risk. A solution to a problem can ease one’s fears. Building product manufacturers that can solve an architect’s problem for a project will be an asset for future projects. Besides fear acting as a trigger, what else affects product specification opportunities?

What Motivates Architects To Specify Certain Products?

Specifiers, architects, interior designers, engineers, and other professionals must have sufficient motivation to select your product. Architects are motivated by selecting the ideal product. The building product specification can be influenced by cost, aesthetics, performance attributes, owner preferences, maintenance, LEED points, and transparency documentation.

Product manufacturers must have the proper tools to help motivate and influence building product specifications and increase ROI. Those tools may include LEED product documentation which provides a credit-by-credit list of product contributions. Another crucial tool to get your product specified is the Health Product Declaration (HPD).

Another significant tool to help educate and motivate architects is AIA continuing education. There is no better resource to open the door to specification opportunities than an online AIA course, lunch and learn, or webinar. AIA courses educate architects, generate leads, and build brand awareness.

The Architect’s Ability to Specify A Product

Finally, we arrive at ability. The design professional must have the ability to specify the building product. Ability is influenced by cost, time, acceptance, industry approval, and other factors. If a building product doesn’t solve the designer’s pain point and doesn’t meet the project requirements, then the architect won’t have the ability to specify the given product.

Building Products That Are Specified Repeatedly

Every building product rep wants their products specified repeatedly. There’s nothing like a big commission to light a fire under a salesperson’s tail-end. Mr. Joey Domingo wants to buy himself a brand-new Cadillac Escalade with carbon fiber wheels, Pioneer sound system, and Belltronics GT-7 radar detector. Manufacturers who create products that solve problems for architects will form strong relationships and their products will forge positive associations over time. How does your company motivate architects to specify your building products?