Estimates Go Better When Bid Partners Speak The Same Language - Part 2
Bill Floyd
Click here to read Part 1
Sync Don't Sink.
Last article talked about synching data by having the same Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) information reside in both the Distributor's and Contractor's database. It's all about communicating. And, having the same data means you have the same vocabulary and can have an understandable digital conversation. IDW's role is establishing that common language. Your role as a Manufacturer is to help them get this fully populated and for you and your Distributors, as well as partners like ElectricSmarts to help spread this as the industry's standard. The more permeated this becomes, the easier and less costly it will be for all parties to do business. But there is still more synchronizing to be done.
Come bid time a Contractor does his best to select products from the data that is available to him. He may pick products that were pre-populated into the estimating software database he bought. He may bid material that was suggested by the specifying engineer or architect or he may just select items with which he is familiar, a knee-jerk pick. Many times his product choices are not cast in stone. Even specifying engineers and architects often allow leeway to the Contractor to pick a more suitable product once they've actually seen the job site. So what do you as a Distributor or Manufacturer do to encourage Contractors to pick your products?
Human nature suggests that the easier it is to select a product, the more likely it is to be chosen. Manufacturers or Wholesalers may pitch products, show benefits, offer samples and more. But if a Contractor whose under pressure to bid and win jobs can find what he wants easier from the competition, he's very likely to do it. The item selected might not be one he's thought a lot about, but it satisfies his need to plug in a product and number as quickly as possible so he can get this project bid and move onto the next one. Winning bids is his job more than picking products.
Study after study shows that a Contractor first bonds with his Distributor and then buys the products they carry. If he's learned to trust them, he's learned to believe they will supply him with the quality of products he needs as well. Once he gets his bid submitted, he trusts that his Wholesaler-partner will make suggestions as to how to use better, or labor saving products. But first and foremost a Supplier wants his products included in the bid wherever possible. Let the competition do the work to try to displace them from consideration. Here's where ElectricSmarts' NetPak helps.
While bids can have hundreds of products associated with it, no Distributor carries every line. In today's world, where much of the Contractor - Distributor dialog is electronic, pricing happens in the blink of an eye over the internet. But what happens when a Contractor pulls item x out of his estimating software database to price but his Distributor carries item y? Neither one wants the RFQ returned without a price applied. And, realistically the Contractor can most often accept the product that is Distributor gives him. This becomes a "Sync Point". NetPricer compares the Bidder's request with the Distributor's line card and offers a product that the Distributor carries instead. This satisfies the bid request, saves the Distributor and Contractor enormous amounts of time, helps his Manufacturer get his products included into more bids. It simply gives the Contractor the tools he needs to compete.
Sync Points are electronic conversations along purchase points. This happen when Distributors use the Esmarts Content Package to gain mindshare with their customers, or when they push out content with an Esmarts eNewsletter Builder or Mobile App, or when they price jobs for customers. It also happens when the Contractor opens the Esmarts "Gateway" to pull in IDW data to bid with. It's all about getting on the same page in the "e" world. Today - Its Sync or Sink.
ElectricSmarts NetPak Video
Estimating Software Package Integration Video (developed for their customers)
Sync Don't Sink.
Last article talked about synching data by having the same Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) information reside in both the Distributor's and Contractor's database. It's all about communicating. And, having the same data means you have the same vocabulary and can have an understandable digital conversation. IDW's role is establishing that common language. Your role as a Manufacturer is to help them get this fully populated and for you and your Distributors, as well as partners like ElectricSmarts to help spread this as the industry's standard. The more permeated this becomes, the easier and less costly it will be for all parties to do business. But there is still more synchronizing to be done.
Come bid time a Contractor does his best to select products from the data that is available to him. He may pick products that were pre-populated into the estimating software database he bought. He may bid material that was suggested by the specifying engineer or architect or he may just select items with which he is familiar, a knee-jerk pick. Many times his product choices are not cast in stone. Even specifying engineers and architects often allow leeway to the Contractor to pick a more suitable product once they've actually seen the job site. So what do you as a Distributor or Manufacturer do to encourage Contractors to pick your products?
Human nature suggests that the easier it is to select a product, the more likely it is to be chosen. Manufacturers or Wholesalers may pitch products, show benefits, offer samples and more. But if a Contractor whose under pressure to bid and win jobs can find what he wants easier from the competition, he's very likely to do it. The item selected might not be one he's thought a lot about, but it satisfies his need to plug in a product and number as quickly as possible so he can get this project bid and move onto the next one. Winning bids is his job more than picking products.
Study after study shows that a Contractor first bonds with his Distributor and then buys the products they carry. If he's learned to trust them, he's learned to believe they will supply him with the quality of products he needs as well. Once he gets his bid submitted, he trusts that his Wholesaler-partner will make suggestions as to how to use better, or labor saving products. But first and foremost a Supplier wants his products included in the bid wherever possible. Let the competition do the work to try to displace them from consideration. Here's where ElectricSmarts' NetPak helps.
While bids can have hundreds of products associated with it, no Distributor carries every line. In today's world, where much of the Contractor - Distributor dialog is electronic, pricing happens in the blink of an eye over the internet. But what happens when a Contractor pulls item x out of his estimating software database to price but his Distributor carries item y? Neither one wants the RFQ returned without a price applied. And, realistically the Contractor can most often accept the product that is Distributor gives him. This becomes a "Sync Point". NetPricer compares the Bidder's request with the Distributor's line card and offers a product that the Distributor carries instead. This satisfies the bid request, saves the Distributor and Contractor enormous amounts of time, helps his Manufacturer get his products included into more bids. It simply gives the Contractor the tools he needs to compete.
Sync Points are electronic conversations along purchase points. This happen when Distributors use the Esmarts Content Package to gain mindshare with their customers, or when they push out content with an Esmarts eNewsletter Builder or Mobile App, or when they price jobs for customers. It also happens when the Contractor opens the Esmarts "Gateway" to pull in IDW data to bid with. It's all about getting on the same page in the "e" world. Today - Its Sync or Sink.
ElectricSmarts NetPak Video
Estimating Software Package Integration Video (developed for their customers)
