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Key Factors for Successful Specification Selling – No. 1: Technical Expertise As a general rule specifiers (architects, engineers, interior designers) do not want to talk to salesmen. In fact it is best to even avoid the word ‘sales’ in the job description of your specification salesman. What they do want is technical information and advice and they will be prepared to have a dialogue with a manufacturer or supplier who can provide good quality, comprehensive information on demand. [Read more] Thursday 5th August, 2010 posted by Chris Ashworth

Creating New Opportunities As the UK’s new government’s announcements sink in the construction industry has gone through a period of relief that the budget was not as severe as it might be, followed by concern as we read of the withdrawal of planning approvals for housing developments and the loss of many BSF projects. A harsh reality is that as an industry we can no longer rely on the public sector for work. [Read more] Wednesday 7th July, 2010 posted by Chris Ashworth

The dawn of a new era first signs of recovery Last month I wrote about the first signs of recovery. This month I want to continue the theme by considering the start of a new era. In the UK we have a new government who are promising all manner of cuts in construction. Over the last two years it has been the public sector which was responsible for supporting construction, and while this is unlikely to come to a total halt the likely trend in new project is down rather then up. [Read more] Wednesday 2nd June, 2010 posted by Chris Ashworth

The first signs of recovery I’m pleased to see that the housing sector seems to have started to lead the construction industry recovery. Competitive Advantage’s recently completed survey, Housebuilder Watch, shows the most optimistic picture for some time with Starts in the last quarter up and strong expectation for further increases in the coming months. This is reinforced by reports from the NHBC that new registrations in March were up 85% on the same month last year and we are also being told that prices are likely to increase by 5% during 2010. As a result of all of this the Construction Products Association are also revising their forecasts upwards. [Read more] Wednesday 5th May, 2010 posted by Chris Ashworth

Making your people your USP This week I was delivering some training for a company who could boast of a stable sales team with masses of experience. In fact we worked out that the 30 people on the course had over 800 years of industry experience between them. This is a company who believe in investing in their people and recognise the benefits of a stable and established team. And they get a return from this investment in business won. In fact, we identified this extensive experience as one of their USPs. [Read more] Friday 9th April, 2010 posted by Chris Ashworth

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