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The Changing Face of Specification When I was first introduced to specification selling in the mid 1980’s it was a very simple process; you visited an architect or engineer, told him what to put on his drawings and in the fullness of time the product would be purchased and installed. Then along came the recession of the late 1980’s/early 1990’s and things started to change, with the increasing occurrence of spec switching by the sub-contractor to save money. More recently we have seen a whole new set of drivers, the latest of which is the desire to give buildings smaller carbon footprints and achieve a high BREEAM rating. [Read more] Tuesday 2nd August, 2011 posted by Chris Ashworth

Does your marketing effort get recognised? Does your marketing effort get recognised? Today I attended the Glenigan Breakfast Briefing when we were updated on the latest state of the construction market, infrastructure opportunities and what’s going on in government. My impression was that during 2006-7 we just did not appreciate how lucky we were. Now we see falls in activity quoted for most sectors, but in many cases this just takes us back to levels in the early 2000s. As we look forward there are still plenty of opportunities; retail development, London offices, railway stations, renewable and insulation upgrades to name but a few. We are also hearing hints that PFI might be back (perhaps we can call it PFI 1.2 in best Microsoft tradition). The government has said it wants to restructure the economy with more industry and an export lead recovery, so perhaps we can even hope for some industrial activity. Even for housing there are suggestions that after a poor 2011 the market should recover (unless Greece defaults and the banks are without cash again). [Read more] Thursday 7th July, 2011 posted by Chris Ashworth

Does your company support BIM Building Information Modelling One of the popular words being used in the press this month is “BIM” or Building Information Modelling. This follows Paul Morrell statement that he expects it to be used on practically every government project within five years. Consultancies and contractors are starting to fret about the cost of training architects, engineers and quantity surveyors in the use of the systems. But manufacturers should not ignore this, thinking it has nothing to do with them. As you will have heard me say if you have attended my Effective Specification Selling course, it is the next BIG OPPORTUNITY and like so many opportunities, if you fail to take advantage of it, it will become a threat as your competitors act. [Read more] Friday 27th May, 2011 posted by Chris Ashworth

Do you tell your customers how good you are? Today, delivering high levels of customer service has become a key objective for most successful businesses, and quite right to. But do you remind your customers about the level of service they receive from you? Perhaps they just take the service they receive for granted and view you as the same as all of the others. [Read more] Wednesday 27th April, 2011 posted by Chris Ashworth

Just how Digital should you be? This month I want to talk about using Social Media such as blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter to communicate with specifiers. There has been a lot of debate about this subject, with CIMCIG’s recent seminar presenting some of the tactics that can be used. But first is it worthwhile? [Read more] Wednesday 23rd March, 2011 posted by Chris Ashworth

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