(Surprise! You're getting this newsletter a few days early because I need your feedback ASAP on something. See my questions below and let me know.) The Monday Friday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #95 Almost 400 books line the bookshelves in my office. If you’ve ever had a Zoom call with me, you’ve likely seen them. One interesting business book I came across and now sits on my shelf is called Will It Make the Boat Go Faster? The British rowing team that inspired the book had one big...
15 days ago • 3 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #94 The call came on a Thursday afternoon in 2004, right after the elevator inspector left. “We’ve got a problem with the elevator glass,” Paul said. He was the job superintendent. “What kind of problem?” “The inspector flagged it. The elevator code requires laminated glass.” “Jeez… How’d the elevator manufacturer miss that? Tell them they need to replace it.” Long pause. “No… they got their glass right. It’s the 8 stories of curtain wall glass...
19 days ago • 8 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #93 How to stop your architectural product website from “sucking wind” Here’s something I know about your website that I’ve probably never even seen. It’s probably not generating the leads you need. How do I know? Because I’ve spent decades on both sides of this equation. As an architect, I’ve specified 100s of millions of dollars’ worth of products. As a copywriter and product rep coach, I help manufacturers and reps connect with architects...
26 days ago • 6 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #92 It was 7:42 a.m. on Monday. My inbox was already a hot mess. Reps were asking for 15 minutes to chat. Reps saying their product is the “perfect fit.” Reps who clearly haven’t looked at a single thing we’ve designed. And I get it. They’ve got quotas. Architects have deadlines. But we get tired. Tired of smiling politely, then secretly asking AI, “Please craft an email to blow off a product rep without sounding like a jerk.” What most reps...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #91 Here’s the scenario that likely keeps you up at night. You closed a major spec 18 months ago. Phase 1 of a hospital campus expansion. The architect loved your product. Installation went smoothly. Everyone’s happy. But Phase 2 won’t start design for another two years. Your CRM shows zero activity. Your manager asks about it. You think about reaching out, but “just checking in” feels hollow when there’s no active project. Yet staying silent...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #90 Selling outcomes, not products: The “peace-of-mind” pitch Architects aren’t just specifying a product; we’re “buying” an outcome. I talked to an architect friend about this last week. Asked her what makes her pick one product over another when she’s spec’ing a project. She didn’t mention performance specs. She said, “I choose whoever makes me confident this won’t blow up during construction.” That’s it. She’s not specifying your envelope...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #89 $@#%&*!!! Well, that sucked! I was just finishing editing today’s newsletter in Notion when there was a glitch, and I lost the whole thing. Just like that. I tried a few things and couldn’t resurrect the text. So, since it was already 5:00 AM, I had to decide whether I skip today, or come up with something valuable fast. After I kicked my keyboard across the room, crossed my eyes for 5 minutes, slammed the rest of my coffee, I decided I’d...
2 months ago • 4 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #88 You could see it in her body language. She wasn’t typing. Wasn’t taking notes. Wasn’t even pretending to care. Just that glazed-over stare architects reserve for presentations that feel like code compliance checklists. This first product rep had been talking for 6 minutes. Still no mention of the project. No hint he understood the design intent. Just kinda’ stuck on thermal bridging coefficients. So I leaned back and watched the inevitable...
2 months ago • 3 min read
The Monday Morning Building Product AdvisorIssue #87 When “getting it wrong” was the best part When my son was younger, we’d read Redwall together at bedtime. If you’ve read it, you know the vibe: castles... medieval mice… warrior badgers with the bloodlust… epic battles. But in our house, Redwall was a full-blown performance. Every character had a different voice […whether it made sense or not!] The hare spoke like a pompous British colonel. The mole mumbled in some mix of Yorkshire farmer...
3 months ago • 3 min read