Being specified is a top priority for many manufacturers. There are so many layers to what makes or breaks the decision to include materials in the spec, and then there’s the added complexity of value engineering which can put everything in question all over again. On this episode, we bring on a specification expert to talk about what he sees as the main reasons manufacturers are being left out of specs and some great insights on how to avoid the dreaded value engineering phase.

Over the past several months, Amazon has been strategically making moves to break into the multifamily construction industry, and there are three key reasons what they’re doing is working so well.

On today’s episode, Zach and Beth talk through the driving factors behind Amazon’s success and how manufacturers can take and apply those same methods to their products.

Finding your audience online is just the first step to a successful digital strategy.

Today, we’re joined by one of the leading customer-data researchers in the building materials industry to talk about their latest look at what the channel is doing online, where they’re spending their time and most importantly, what they want from manufacturers.

Listen to hear where you can make the biggest impact, reach the largest audience and deliver the most value.

No manufacturer wants to be seen as just a commodity.

Being lumped in with dozens of other products like yours is a race to the bottom, but building a brand that’s sought after and respected takes a strategic understanding of both your brand and your audience—not to mention perfect execution.

Today, we’re talking to a manufacturer who is in one of the most highly commoditized product categories in the industry but has managed to carve out a significant name and reputation for his company.

He shares what he’s done to move from a commodity to a prized product in the kitchen and bathroom industry and how he continues to stay on top of trends and in front of customers.

There are significant changes happening on some of the most used platforms online.

Listen to hear about the biggest changes to Google, Facebook and LinkedIn, how you can make those changes work to your advantage and what they mean for the building materials industry and the future of the building materials distribution channel.

In order to win in your industry, you need to be able to sell to builders and contractors effectively, in a way that resonates with them.

If you try to market to a professional audience the same way you market to distributors or homeowners, you won’t be able to connect with them in a way that drives leads and sales.

In this episode, we talk to a builder about how to get pros to switch to a new product or try a new one.

Having a “green” building product doesn’t mean what it once did, but there’s a wave of new demand in this building products category that most companies don’t know about.

In this episode, we interview an expert who shares how manufacturers can use the right language and positioning to grow sales with green products.

There is a lot of conversation being had about modular offsite prefab and what this means for building products.

Today we bring on a manufacturer who is spearheading this initiative for his business.

He shares some insights as to why this happening and how to stay ahead of the shifts in front of us.

Learn how you can begin to make this a bigger part of your business, and grow your sales in the process.

With digital marketing, it’s easy to get caught up in the metrics - the number of website visitors or number of leads generated.

Instead, building material manufacturers need to switch their focus from metrics to relationships.

In this week's episode we talk about conversation marketing, what it is, and why manufacturers should utilize this tactic to drive sales.

For most manufacturers, using external sales reps is necessary, but comes with a list of common frustrations.

Today, we’re talking to a manufacturer who has implemented some simple strategies to keep their external reps engaged and build their relationship and trust.

Having a sales team that’s bought-in to you, your product and your company’s success is crucial … but easier said than done.

Listen to hear how they’re winning their sales reps over, what they’ve learned from their sales reps about common mistakes manufacturers make, and how you can start building better relationships and growing sales through your external sales rep team.