Cover 1_rto4 - Illuminating Engineering Society

SPECIFICATION SALES
STRATEGIES
Li Huang
Principal,
FTC
In the last issue, we discussed the
range of professionals that make
up the lighting specifier community.
This diversity of backgrounds
also exists within the lighting design
community. Despite this, one does
find that lighting designers and
specifiers have common needs and
wants. In this column, we will concentrate
on the lighting design community
and its specific needs.
I recently conducted a small survey.
The survey participants were
lighting designers whose livelihood
is lighting design only. The survey
respondents (eight designers from
seven well-known firms) come from
diverse educational backgrounds.
Their backgrounds are in architecture,
theater lighting, industrial
design, electrical engineering and
architectural engineering. The
seven design firms are located in
Philadelphia, New York, and Boston.
This group of participants is small,
but I felt the quality of the results
was high, due to the caliber of the
participants involved.
All participants said they are currently
called on by numerous manufacturer
sales representatives. All
but one is also called on directly by
manufacturers. This survey asked
the participants to specify the services
they would like to see from
sales representatives during the
specification period, the construction
period and the post-construction
period.
During specification
During the specification period,
the most important services that
respondents would like to see from
sales are 1) accurate project pricing
(with some asking for distributor
net pricing) for project budgeting
purposes; 2) access to samples for
mock-ups in a timely manner; 3)
close direct working relationships
with the manufacturers when developing
custom products; 4) up-todate
product literature and information
(through sales visits or lunchand-learn
sessions); 5) help with
solutions that will resolve challenging
project situations; and 6) honest
and timely responses to information
requests.
During construction
The services the survey participants
felt were most important during
the construction period include
1) respecting the specification (no
“packaging” and product substitution);
2) involving the sales representatives
in the field to resolve
issues; 3) keeping specifiers informed
of the progress of the order;
4) making available product installation
details and shop drawings
when needed; 5) keeping specifiers
informed of delivery dates; 6) coordinating
closely with the distributor
and contractor, even for “out of territory”
projects; 7) assisting in expediting
delivery on fast-track projects;
and 8) responding to information
requests honestly and timely.
During post-construction
The services the survey participants
felt were most important during
the post construction period
include 1) timely and pro-active
response to any field issues; 2)
commissioning help when applicable;
3) follow-up on issues (i.e., do
not drop the ball); and, again, 4)
honest and timely responses to
information requests.
The survey also asked the participants
to list services that they
would expect from the manufacturers
they specify often. These services
include 1) timely and accurate
responses; 2) no overbearing
used-car sales mentality and behavior;
3) making appointments ahead
of time for a meeting (no “dropins”);
4) honest answers (don’t tell
the designer one answer and the
contractor another); 5) greater
comparisons with their competitors’
products, so the designer
knows how to defend the specification
when facing challenges from
contactor or owner; 6) respect the
“no substitutions allowed” specification’
7) help with the lead time of
products specified; 8) project budget
pricing, timely responses to
information requests; and 9) facing
up to issues when they arise (stand
behind your product).
When asked to rate the specification
sales people who are currently
calling on them from 1-10,
with 10 as most satisfying, the
results favored the fixture manufacturers’
sales representatives with
better ratings than the manufacturers’
direct sales force. However,
this could be based on the fact that
more fixture sales representatives
call on specifiers than manufacturers’
direct sales people. Designers
who are called on by manufacturers
do not usually see their sales representatives
as often either.
A few additional issues surfaced
in the general comments section
from the specifiers:
1) Better in-house coordination
between the specification
sales force and distributor
sales force in the larger fixture
sales agencies to help the
specification survive the process
is needed.
2) The practice of pricing a
project as a package has become
popular. This practice of
packaging is making lighting
design more difficult, especially
on “high-end” projects. Designers
feel that they are often
forced to evaluate equals when
no true equals exist. Often
times, the design quality gets
sacrificed.
3) Manufacturers direct sales
representatives are becoming
less visible to the design community.
That situation is sometimes
remedied using a quality
toll-free customer service line.
Although I was not surprised by
any of the responses in the returned
surveys, I was grateful for the participants’
time and effort, for they
made this article more complete by
identifying the many issues facing
lighting specifiers today. Many of
these issues have been around for
years. However, this discussion is
not complete without also understanding
the other side of the equation
— the feelings and issues of
the manufacturers. That will be a
topic for a later issue.
For now, our conclusion is this:
Designers and manufacturers need
each other to succeed. It is the
challenge of the lighting industry to
address the issues and concerns of
every group together, in order to
devise creative solutions that bring
both parties to a middle ground.
8 LD+A/May 2001 www.iesna.org