Find projects early, support the specifier until your product is written in, defend the specification at bid with documents and contractor support, pull the order through the distributor, and track each project in a CRM by stage. Marketing feeds each stage with content, campaigns and tools.
Measure projects by stage, specifications held through bid, and orders.
The stages of a building materials sale
Most projects pass through five stages, and a product can be won or lost at each:
Find projects early
The earlier you know about a project, the more you can influence it. Sources include architects you already work with, project lead services, public notices, distributors and contractors who hear about jobs first, and inquiries from your own content. Log every project in your CRM with its stage, the people involved and the products in play.
Win the specification
Specifiers choose products they can check. Give them guide specification text in your own format, since CSI's MasterFormat FAQs note that MasterFormat holds no specification text and CSI avoids product names in its titles; plus data sheets, details, test reports and any ICC-ES evaluation report you hold. Continuing education helps: AIA says 83% of architects report CE and webinars as their most widely used source for staying updated on new products and materials. Our marketing to architects guide covers this stage in depth.
Defend the specification at bid
At bid, contractors look for savings, and substitutes are proposed. Defend with evidence the substitute must match: performance data, evaluation reports, warranty and installation support. Help the contractor price your product with confidence: quantities, installation time, delivery dates. For public projects, follow each solicitation's rules on contact and questions exactly; contact through any other channel can disqualify a bidder.
Pull the order through the distributor
A specified product still has to be on the shelf. Tell distributors which projects in their area carry your product, so they stock ahead; support their quotes; and answer contractor questions fast. A where-to-buy tool and an order-status contact make the last step easy.
A CRM that follows the project
Track each project, not just each company: stage, architect, contractor, distributor, products specified, competing products, and the next action. Report on projects by stage, specifications held through bid, and orders placed. Our CRM implementation service sets up this pipeline and connects it to your website inquiries.
Marketing at every stage
Content and campaigns feed the pipeline: CE and specification content for designers, installation and pricing help for contractors, sales kits for distributors. LinkedIn's ad targeting reaches architects, specification writers, estimators and distributor buyers by title and company. Follow up with consented email, under the FTC's CAN-SPAM guide in the USA and CASL in Canada. Our LinkedIn ads service runs the campaigns.
How to measure a building material sales strategy
Projects found by source and stage, specifications won, specifications held through bid and submittals, orders placed and their value, and the time from first contact to order. Review lost projects by stage to see where the process needs work.
What we do and do not do
PromotEdge International is an international strategy, technology, marketing and design company, and our delivery team is in India. We set up CRM pipelines, write specification and sales content, and run campaigns to designers, contractors and distributors. We do no events or printing, and we do not prepare bids. Building products clients we have worked for include Viva Composite Panel and Crescent Foundry. That work was for their business in India and was delivered by our team there. Our building products marketing page describes the work. This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Facts we rely on: see our company facts for what we state about ourselves and where each fact comes from.