{"id":12760,"date":"2013-05-01T15:46:50","date_gmt":"2013-05-01T19:46:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/?p=12760"},"modified":"2017-01-11T15:19:24","modified_gmt":"2017-01-11T20:19:24","slug":"poems-for-product-reps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionspecifier.com\/poems-for-product-reps\/","title":{"rendered":"Poems for product reps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Joy_Davis_2652_BEST_BW\"<\/a>INSIDE CSI<\/span><\/strong><\/span>
\nJoy Davis, CSI, CCPR
\n<\/strong>Roses are red<\/i>
\nViolets are blue<\/i>
\nIf not for your boxed lunch<\/i>
\nMy project\u2019s doors would be screwed<\/i><\/p>\n

I\u2019m thinking about producing a line of cards for architects and specifiers to send to product representatives. We could establish \u201cRecognize Your Golden Reps Day\u201d on the calendar, and take a day to appreciate those who make a design professional\u2019s job easier. Possibly, firms could buy particularly helpful representatives coffee\u2014in a to-go cup, given representatives are always coming or going.<\/p>\n

I recently visited CSI\u2019s Metropolitan New York and Allentown chapters to present
\n\u201cCan This Marriage Be Saved? Relationship Advice for Product Reps and the Architects Who Need Them.\u201d (Download the slides from my Slideshare account at tinyurl.com\/trustcsi<\/a>.) We spent hours discussing a few deceptively simple statements that were drawn from CSI\u2019s Construction Document Technologist (CDT) program (www.csinet.org\/CDT<\/a>):<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u0007Specifiers don\u2019t buy products\u2014they evaluate, select, and specify them.<\/li>\n
  2. Product representatives should be \u201ctrusted advisors\u201d to their clients.<\/li>\n
  3. \u0007Architects are looking for representatives who are honest and ethical.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    CSI\u2019s Project Delivery Practice Guide<\/i> (PDPG<\/i>)\u2014the main source for the CDT exam\u2014makes it all sound simple. Relationships are never simple, though, and architects and the product representatives helping them are in long-term, complex, trust-based ones.<\/p>\n

    Both parties have roles to play in creating a strong relationship. We often focus on what representatives must do\u2014be honest, be ethical, and take all the content available on the manufacturer\u2019s website and turn it into one coherent solution to a very specific problem. Oh, and accept phone calls at strange hours.<\/p>\n

    Let\u2019s not overlook what architects and specifiers need to do: know the project\u2019s requirements, and listen when a representative is trying to explain something. There is not a rep in the world that can help an architect who does not listen. (Or only listens when the words are, \u201cThat violates the warranty.\u201d) In other words, please put down your phone during the boxed-lunch presentation. And please call the representative and ask for an opinion when the substitution request arrives.<\/p>\n

    CSI cares about the relationship between architects and representatives. It is the only organization welcoming both specifiers and manufacturers, and encouraging relationship-building between them. CSI believes manufacturers can help solve many of the challenges specifiers face when designing high-performance buildings. A strong relationship between these groups benefits all.<\/p>\n

    If you read CSI\u2019s strategic plan (found at www.csinet.org\/strategicplan<\/a>), the first core value listed under the mission is: \u201cA diversified membership base of allied professionals involved in the creation and management of the built environment.\u201d One way CSI lives this value is by providing unique education for representatives. It helps them talk to specifiers and architects. This is why CSI is:<\/p>\n