The Monday Morning Building Product Advisor
​Issue #113

Quick question before we get started.

Think about the last really good meeting you had with an architect. You remember the one… Where the conversation went well, and they opened up about a project. And then they shared a problem they’d been struggling with.

How much of that conversation do you remember right now?

Not the general feel of the meeting, but the specifics. Like the project type, the timeline he mentioned, the exact problem they talked about. The kind of detail that lets you walk back in 6 weeks & say something that makes them think, “This rep actually pays attention.”

If the honest answer is “not much”… you’re not alone.

But don’t worry. It’s not a problem with your memory.

It’s easily fixable with two handy-dandy routines that take less than 10 minutes in total. These habits will help you gather insights that most of your competitors miss every day.

Let’s get into it.

This 80/20 rule changes how you think about your time

Think about every project you’ve won in the last 2 or 3 years. The project is done, your product is installed, and you received your commission.

Now think about which architect relationships led to most of those wins. In my coaching experience, about 20% of relationships bring in around 80% of the results.

What about the other 80% of your activities? You know… like those lunches, the AIA presentations, and follow-up calls? Those have only led to about 20% of your specifications.

Hey now! Buck up, little camper!

Don’t let that get you down. Instead, let it help you see things more clearly.

If 20% of your relationships are doing 80% of the work, your intelligence about those relationships is your #1 professional asset.

It’s NOT your sample kit or your library of AIA presentations. It’s not even your super-duper-long contact list.

When you know your ideal architects’ problems, projects, and schedules, you become valuable to them. But for most reps, that information only stays in their heads. So every time they leave a good meeting, some of those details fade away.

Memory alone will always let you down :(

Over the years, I’ve met an awful lot of reps. The ones who struggle most really do care about their relationships with their architects.

But they’re relying entirely on memory to maintain them.

Here’s what that might look like in real life:

Imagine you’ve just finished a great meeting. The architect tells you about a moisture problem they’ve been dealing with on envelope assemblies. You make a mental note and intend to follow up.

Then you get in the car and pull out your phone.

You’ve got 3 texts waiting for you…

…and there’s a voicemail from a manufacturer rep…

…Plus, you have to get to an appointment across town in 40 minutes.

As you leave the parking lot, the architect’s problem is already competing with several other things for your headspace.

And by the time you get to your next appointment, the exact details are gone.

All you remember is that it was a good meeting. But that general feeling doesn’t mean diddly when you need to send a relevant, problem-focused email 6 weeks later.

Do you remember the rep we talked about back in Issue #110, who landed the specification you missed?

She didn’t have some Megamind memory.

She just used a better system. You don’t need anything complicated. In fact, the simpler the system, the more likely you’ll stick with it.

Here are the two routines…

Routine 1: The 90-second parking lot voice memo

This routine happens before you start the car.

After every meeting with an architect, spend 60 to 90 seconds recording a voice memo on your phone. Don’t overthink it. Just talk about what happened while it’s still fresh in your mind.

[Unless it went like hot garbage… then maybe it’s best to wipe it from your memo– No! Nope… Never mind. I guess you still need to capture what went wrong and why. Let’s keep going.]

Your recording could be something like:

“Good meeting with Bob at ABC Architects. He mentioned they’ve got a healthcare project coming up in Q3. It’s still early, but it’s worth watching. He’s been dealing with acoustic complaints between exam rooms on his last two projects. Clients keep getting complaints about it after occupancy. He lit up a bit when I mentioned we’d solved that for another firm. Worth following up in about 6 weeks.”

That’s 90 seconds. Done before you’ve even buckled your seatbelt.

The voice memo does two things for you.

This helps you catch important details while they’re still fresh. Talking about the meeting out loud also helps you spot small but important points. If you wait, you’ll only remember the simple stuff.

You might think you can skip this step because the meeting is still fresh and you believe you’ll remember everything.

Spoiler: You won’t. I won’t. Even Megamind won’t.

We won’t remember the specifics. Not the details that matter.

Spending 90 seconds in the parking lot recording a voice memo can really help. With those details, you can come back in six weeks with a useful question or solution. If you skip it, you’ll just show up next time with a smile and maybe some donuts.

Which one do you think will work out better for you?

Routine 2: The 4-field weekly note.

Spend 20 minutes every Thursday afternoon turning your voice memos into a short note for each architect you visited.

You only need 4 fields. That’s it.

• Problem: What specific challenge or issue did they share this week?
• Project: What’s coming up, and what’s a realistic timeline?
• Signal: Did they seem interested, or were they just being courteous? Are they moving up the 6-star ladder or holding steady?
• Next question: What’s the most relevant problem-focused question to ask next time?

The ‘Next question’ field is the one most reps skip, but it’s the most important!

Here’s why: It turns your notes from a simple record into a plan for your next visit. Don’t just write down what happened. Prepare for your next conversation before you even leave the parking lot.

If you do this consistently for 6 months, you’ll have something no competitor can buy or borrow. You’ll know exactly what matters most to each of your top architect relationships. Not just in general, but for each current project and client.

That’s what makes it possible to ask the right, problem-focused question. It’s not intuition or charm. It’s having a written record of what matters to each person.

Together, these 2 routines take less than 10 minutes per architect visit.

1) 90-second voice memo in the parking lot
2) 4-field note on Thursday afternoon

That’s the whole system.

Over time, this system leads to results that are hard to match. You’ll be the rep who walks back into a conversation six weeks later and says:

“Last time we talked, you mentioned acoustic issues between exam rooms. Did you ever get that resolved?”

To an architect, that question feels like magic.

But it's not magic. It’s that voice memo and the 4-field note. That’s all.

If you do this consistently, you'll become someone different in your territory. Not just more organized, but more worth calling. And architects can feel that difference the moment you walk back in.

Next week, we’ll wrap up this series with the question that you’ve probably been asking yourself along the way.

You now know how to score your territory. You can sort your relationships and document what matters. And you can also invest your energy where it really counts.

But what about the other 80%? The architects who aren’t ready yet. The ones on the low-cost track.

Do you just let them go cold and hope they get in touch when the time is right?

No, there’s a better answer. It’s simpler and much more valuable than most reps expect.

More on that next week.

​
That's it for this week!

Here's to building more than just buildings, and see you next week,

Neil "mind like a steel trap" Sutton
​Architect | Speaker | The Product Rep Coach

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P.S. Do you really want inside an architect's head?

When you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can start working with me:

• Product reps: If you want to be better at connecting with architects, reply, and let's chat.
• Business owners or Team Leaders: You can book an Architect Connections Training for your team. Reply, and I'll send you the details.
• Speaking: If you need me to present at an upcoming group meeting, get in touch, and let’s talk!

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