Is it time to change

I have left this blog alone for some time, but times are a changing, and I think it high time I picked it up and made more of it, the reason being my mind is wondering Backwards and sideways about marketing to Technologists again, simply because of the pile of paper spec magazines I have on my desk, is it really the way forward, I work electronically, I communicate almost most of the time via email, twitter, facebook and my other blog Konstrukshon CPD weblog and if you have the same family name as me the Scaysbrook.com family site.

Why is it we the use are constantly told what's best, is it not time for us the technologist to make the rules.

Plan your day and week

Image by Scays via Flickr

I used to work with many reps who took each day as it came, phone calls came in and appointments were made, there was no real plan, I could not work this way, I needed to plan, have a strategy about just where I wanted to be, by looking at reports of jobs and potential clients, who the big specifiers are, who has work on and at the right stage of specification.

Waiting for cals to come in and planning a week like that is a real waste of time,

But saying that, calls do come in and you have to react, can it wait, or do you strike, well I also planned for that eventuality, and kept at least one day free for such events, but for the remainder of the week, I alway planned well in advance, I told my secretary this and gave her access to my diary, well in those days she kept my paper diary, so I was constantly on the phone to her to checking and planning.

The message here is simple, don't let fate rule your life plan and prepare, but leave just a little room for the unexpected.

Day book

Image by Scays via FlickrThere can be no rep in the world who can remember all he is told buy clients, take notes, on everything, from the moment you step into the office, mentally take stock of everything you see, but once in front of the client, do not be afraid to pull out your day book and pencil, and make notes, it shows you are interested, it allows you to express detail in the way Architects and Technologist think, with drawings, It allows you to get his or her name right, if your given a card clip it to the page.

Never write down anything you would not want the client to see and read, save that for your cal reports on another system, more about that in another blog, but for the day book keep it clean and safe.

learn to write quickly, develop your own shorthand, date and time any comment you make. My own daybook is a ring binder, with loose pages, it allows me to take sections out and add them to another main day dinder, this prevents me leaving it anywhere and loosing valuable notes, it prevents others from reading notes and gaining client info, it always looks good to have a clean pad. In the main cover, I keep my cards, its just so easy to give out.

Develop a good hand style, and if drawing, make it look  like your an Architectural Technologist,

Should you use an iPad or other electronic tool, simple answer is, it's up to you, I am the first to use my iPad, but in front of a client, paper and pencil /pen just works so much easier, no wrong keys or hanging.

First blog, first comment, first step...............

Image by Scays via FlickrThis blog is really for construction trained Architectural Technologists who want to move away from main stream Architecture and try their hand as being a sales representative.

So if your at all interested, I for my sins trained as an Architectural Technologist, I have been a member if CIAT since about 1978, and I am now a Chartered Architectural Technologist. and I have been a sales representative and Sales Manager for several major construction product manufacturers. Make no mistake, I will not tell you how to do your job, but I will show you the way it should be done, how you interoperate these notes is entirely up to you.

This first blog is really a scene setter, about what will come later, and more, what will not come, being successful is not something that comes because you have secured a new job, success comes from knowing your industry, your products and more the products that are surrounding it.

Knowing your market intimately is also a key requisite, knowing the in's and out of every Architectural Practice, distributor, contractor, and most important, your competitors, networking the market for every nock and cranny of knowledge often means being aware of every sales man on your patch.

Record keeping, report writing, and office communication will be dealt with, you state of mind, dress and most importantly your car, will all be covered, what kit you should be carrying, and what should be in your boot, your phone, your answer phone, your email signature, are all as important as the name of your sales manager or MD. What you will not be is scruffy, inadequately prepared,  late or just not interested.

Being a rep is not a 9-5 job, its a commitment, and time does not come into it. keeping your targets, achieving budget, and making your bonus is key, let not quibble here, all the above are the tools of your trade, and you'll need to know them, and the reasons why, to succeed in this market. Long gone are the days of starting at 10 am swanning about looking for specs to turn, having lunch and leaving at 4pm. this market is lean, specs are none existent, and worst of all, you have competitors who are looking to kill you at first sight.

But its the greastest market in the world, its been there since the dawn of time, it will always be there, construction never stops it just slows down every now and then, and manufacturers want qualified construction trained staff to design sell and support there product line.

Construction knowledge is important, but a sense of yourself, and the ability to stand in front of some one and sell is also needed, the timid should not apply.

Continued professional development is a must so don't think for one moment you have to stop learning about construction, you have only just scratched the surface, you now have to learn your company product line, how it works, why, and all the construction that surrounds it. So although I will cover this here, I also write a CPD blog over at Konstrukshon CPD Weblog, ( www.konstrukshon.com ) so head over there and read more on this subject