Building Materials Sales & Marketing

A podcast of a live stream event, I did with 5 other sales and marketing experts that I respect. This is the fourth of a four part series. I learned a lot from the others that you also can learn from. I hope you enjoy it.

A podcast of a live stream event, I did with 5 other sales and marketing experts that I respect. This is the third of a four part series. I learned a lot from the others that you also can learn from. I hope you enjoy it.

A podcast of a live stream event, I did with 5 other sales and marketing experts that I respect. This is the second of a four part series. I learned a lot from the others that you also can learn from. I hope you enjoy it.

A podcast of a live stream event, I did with 5 other sales and marketing experts that I respect. This is the first of a four part series. I learned a lot from the others that you also can learn from. I hope you enjoy it.

Making customers feel important is a very smart way to build stronger relationships with them.

If you are losing sales to value engineering, this episode is for you.

With the growth of digital media, CRM and marketing automation, the building materials sales person needs to develop some new skills in order to stay successful.

Many building materials companies approach their sales and marketing as if they are following a rule book. The most successful companies make their own rules.

LinkedIn is the best social media program for the business of building materials.  Find out why and learn how to grow your business with LinkedIn on this podcast.

Testimonials from customers are a very effective way to grow your business that is often overlooked in building materials.

Building materials companies who nurture their leads or inquiries are turning more of them into sales or new customers.

Most building materials people have product knowledge but they don't have enough customer knowledge. The more customer knowledge you have, the easier it will be to sell your customer.

If you want to grow the sales of your commercial building product, in new construction, may be you should stop calling on architects. If you are having trouble getting in the spec perhaps you should focus on the owner or contractor. They have more power today and can change products.

The levels of customer service and support that building materials companies are declining. As their sales go up they are not investing in the areas that affect their customers such as customer service, technical support, shipping, and accounts receivable. Contractors, builders, dealers and distributors are all seeing how companies make it harder to do business with them. The companies who make it easy on their customers will grow faster.

If you are not active on LinkedIn and Twitter you are making it harder on yourself and your building materials company to grow your sales. There are a large number of architects, builders, contractors, dealers and distributor companies and employees who are very active on LinkedIn and Twitter. There are many social media channels but I find that LinkedIn and Twitter are the leaders in reaching business to business customers.

The building materials industry is traditionally resistent and slow to change. This is now changing making it a great time to convert customers to your products. New products are being accepted faster than ever before. Builders, contractors, architects, and owners are all looking for how to reduce waste and inefficiency. If you can show them how your products improve productivity, they want to hear from you.

I found three key messages in Warren Buffet's 2019 letter to shareholders that building materials companies can learn from.

I learned a lot at the IBS show about how the needs of builders and other customers are changing. Too many manufacturers are stuck in the past by promoting how their product is better, when the customer is not looking for a better product.

If you want to be viewed by your customers as the best company to deal with, you want to help them to be more successful. One way to do this is to remind them that, at some point, there will be another recession and to provide them with some advice on how to be prepared.

The marketing departments of many building materials companies do not perform as well as they should. They function more as art studios who do what they are told instead of leading the marketing efforts with more effective programs.