In preparation for a recent Whizard Summit, we interviewed each of the attendees to find out which big challenges they want us to help them solve and what they would like to learn more about.
We learned a lot about what worries building materials companies today, and I thought it would be a good idea to share it with you. I hope it will help you see where others are facing the same issues as you and help you see what other issues you might want to start thinking about.
What Building Materials Companies Are Worried About
One. How can my company keep up with the tremendous pace of change that we are facing? Customer needs are changing. The pace of business continues to speed up. Entire markets are being turned upside down. The most effective ways to sell and market our products are constantly changing.
Two. The culture of our company will only allow so much change. How can I stay focused on the areas we can improve instead of worrying about changes that will take more time?
Three. Because the economy is good, business is good. This has led to a little too much comfort and complacency in our company. How can I instill a sense of urgency in our team?
Four. The roles and importance of our customers are changing. While architects, contractors, and builders are still very important customers, new types of customers and influencers are playing a larger role. How can we be more proactive with these changes instead of just reacting to them?
Five. How do we keep pace with how fast customers are moving? An architect can contact us by phone or email with an inquiry. How do we respond fast enough to keep them from losing interest or contacting our competitor?
Six. How do we decide which of our traditional sales and marketing methods we should keep and which ones we should stop so we can redirect the resources to newer, more effective methods?
Seven. We are overwhelmed with all the new marketing tools that are available. Because we have little or no experience with them, how can we decide which ones are best for us? And how do we find the resources to help us best use these new tools?
Eight. How can we get better insights into the changing needs of our customers? And how can we communicate that information to the areas of our company that need this information to better meet the needs of the customers?
Nine. What does the shift to more panelized, modular construction mean to us? How much will it hurt our business? And how can we turn these companies into customers?
Ten. What is the current status of online sales of building materials? What should be our approach to online sales?
Eleven. The salaries and expenses of our salespeople are one of our biggest expenses. How do we improve their performance and increase our return on this investment?
Twelve. How do we better use the data that is finally available to us in building materials? We are used to making decisions based on subjective opinions. Now we have data that can help us make better decisions, but we don’t know how to use it.
What Worries You?
If you’re facing some of these same issues, I will be providing solutions to them in my newsletters over the coming weeks. If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up here.
If you’re worried about another issue that I have not included, please let me know, and I will add it to my list of subjects to write about.
If these subjects are of interest to you, you should consider attending my next Whizard Summit. Click here if you’d like to be kept informed.
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Thanks for the following comments. I’d like to hear your feedback and suggestions on how to sell architects.
“No worries … change is going to do ya good. Good stuff!”
Todd Wolf
President
Field General, Inc.
“Very good, Mark Mitchell”
Amelia Conrado
Water Counselor
The Source H20
