Getting a product specified often begins long before a contractor requests a quote. Architects, interior designers, and other design professionals regularly influence which products and manufacturers are included in construction projects.

For building product suppliers, one of the most effective ways to develop these relationships is through education.

But a successful lunch-and-learn is much more than a product presentation. It's an opportunity to become a trusted resource, understand upcoming projects, and make it easier for designers to confidently specify your products.

Drawing on his experience as both a specifier and product sales representative, Michael explains how suppliers can use lunch-and-learns and other educational approaches to build lasting relationships with design professionals that may lead to specifications in drawings.

Attendees will learn how to identify the right firms, create presentations that designers want to attend, and develop a follow-up process that generates specification opportunities and new sales.

Course Outline:

1. Understanding How Products Get Specified: How architects, designers, and other project stakeholders influence product selection and why relationships matter.

2. Finding the Right Design Firms: How to identify architects and specifiers working on projects where your products are relevant.

3. Getting Invited to Present: Practical ways to approach firms, introduce educational topics, and secure lunch-and-learn opportunities.

4. Creating Lunch-and-Learns That Build Trust: How to provide useful education rather than a sales pitch, while establishing your company as a valuable technical resource.

5. Making Your Products Easier to Specify: Providing drawings, three-part specifications, product data, and other resources that help designers confidently incorporate your products.

6. Turning Education Into Specification Opportunities: How to follow up, support active projects, build recurring relationships, and measure results.