In this episode of Building Products Ecosystem Unboxed, we talk with Kevin Dean, CEO, and President of ManoByte, about how HubSpot can help you create a connected experience for your customer and your customer's customer through effective channel management.

Topics Discussed:

What does the "Ecosystem" in "Building Products Ecosystem" mean?

What makes Hubspot work for building products manufacturers?

The current state of marketing for building products manufacturers

Exciting HubSpot updates to look out for

The best HubSpot features for building product manufacturers

What to look forward to at the LIVE HubSpot INBOUND conference

Hidden HubSpot features that commonly go unnoticed

Full Live Episode on YouTube

In this episode of Building Products Ecosystem Unboxed, we talk with Janis Hubina of Warmup North America about TikTok and YouTube strategies for Building Product Brands. She shares her secrets for success in navigating her journey using TikTok and YouTube in the Building Products space.

View the entire episode here on YouTube. 

In this episode, we are joined by Mark Allen Roberts from OTB Solutions. Mark is the CEO of OTB Solutions and an expert in Sales Effectiveness Improvement. He has served sales teams for over 36 years. He speaks to us about the new way of selling Building Products in 2022, how to evaluate your sales teams, set them up for success, and more.

The 2022 International Builders' Show did not disappoint! If we didn't get to see you there, we'll catch you in Vegas next year. Until then, Kevin, Jillian, Danielle, and Will compiled our top 13 takeaways from this year's event.

1. Digital selling is not going away.

2. Trade shows are going to start supplementing digital selling rather than be the primary source of interactions.

3. The role of distributors is changing.

4. Customer loyalty, especially builder and contractor brand loyalty, is low because of pricing and communication pressures.

5. Builders are adopting technology and looking to adopt more of it.

6. Transparency and fulfillment are the top pain points that building products manufacturers needs to be solving for in 2022 using self-service tools.

7. Strategic collaborations are being staked out with top players in the industry and building products manufacturers need to stay aware of these collaborations and involved in establishing themselves with collaborators to remain relevant to specifiers, retailers, and installers.

8. Use influencer marketing and indirect sales enablement tactics to increase impact of your messaging and awareness efforts.

9. More building products manufacturers are starting to think like tech companies. Market demand for smart home automation has presented an opportunity for building products manufacturers to build relationships with systems integrators and technology platforms.

10. Thoughtful outdoor living and pools used to seem like a luxury, but are becoming more of a commonplace ask.

11. New entrants are coming in with a tech-first mindset, both in the product offering but also in how they go-to-market.

12. It's harder to maintain your status as a preferred brand right now and there's room for new entrants in ways there haven't been before in the building products industry.

13. Now is the time that a focus on customer service and connecting customers with highly informed product specialists to answer questions is critical to the success of your brand among specifiers, retailers, and installers.

Episode Links:

ManoByte

YouTube

In this episode, Erica Thompson of Rio Grande Co., shares her unique perspective as an architectural products sales rep regarding what she looks for from manufacturers.

Episode Highlights:

• Meet Erica Thompson
• What Everyone in Building Products Sales Should Stop Doing with Regards to their Competitors
• What the Manufacturers Who Are Succeeding Are Doing in Their Marketing and Partner Enablement Efforts to Get the Spec from Architects
• How Architectural Sales Reps are Handling Supply Chain Disruptions and Representing Them to Your Clients
• The Three Biggest Things Manufacturers Need to Do To Gain the Loyalty of Distributor Sales Reps
• How Distributor Sales Reps are Using Manufacturer's Customer / Partner Portals
• What Architectural Sales Reps Prefer in a Manufacturer's Website
• How Value Engineering Impacts Architectural Sales
• The Top Three  Realities to Understand About The Day-to-Day Work of Architects
• Top Two Challenges Still Facing Distributors in 2022
• Factors Influencing Brand Switching Among Distributor's Sales Reps 
• The Surprising Impact of Product Visualization and Project Photos on Sales

Watch the full episode here: https://www.manobyte.com/growth-strategy/architectural-sales

In this episode, Susan Milne, founder, and CEO of Epiphany Studios shares her advice for creating an authentic, consistent, and transparent building products brand.

Episode Highlights:

• Meet Susan Milne
• How Susan Began Branding for Architectural Products
• Selling to Your Customer's Customer & Overcoming Brand Messaging Challenges
• The 3 Attributes of a Successful Brand & Positive Customer Experience
• Where to Start When Building Your Building Products Brand
• Causes of Brand Switching
• What Customers Still Want from Manufacturers in 2022
• Considerations for How to Match Your Brand With Your Digital Presence
• Why Help Facilitate Customer's Virtual Teams Workflow
• The Best Advice Susan Has Ever Received

In this episode, Brian Beck, Managing Partner at Enceiba and author of "Billion Dollar B2B Ecommerce" digs into the 5 Mistakes to Avoid When Launching eCommerce for Building Products and shares the 6 Most Impactful Features Customers Want.

Episode Highlights:

• Misconception of eCommerce in Building Products Manufacturing Digital Transformation
• How Leaders Can Get Buy-In from Key Decisions Makers and Stakeholders, Like Sales Teams, Who are Perceiving Channel Conflict
• Top Reasons Manufacturers Aren't Further Along Implementing eCommerce
• The Fine Line of Discomfort and Organizational Change
• How The Building Products Market Has Already Changed and Is Changing More
• Is It Better to Sell via Owned eCommerce or Third-Party Marketplaces?
• 5 Mistakes to Avoid / Common Pitfalls When Launching eCommerce to Augment Channel Sales of Building Products
• The 6 Most Impactful Features Used by B2B eCommerce That Has Come Out of B2C
• How to Meet the Buyer Expectation of an "Amazon Prime" Shipping Mentality
  • Example from Bosch
• Recent Result that Enceiba is Proud of
• The Best Advice Brian Has Ever Received

More on the episode here. 

Chris Camfferman, Managing Director of Marketing at UFP Industries walks us through their successful implementation of the HubSpot CRM. Chris will speak about how UFP handled change management, what UFP was using before moving to the HubSpot CRM, and the lessons learned during this digital transformation.

Episode Highlights:

• Meet Chris Camfferman
• Context of the CRM Implementation for UFP Industries
  • $5 Billion company, 130 locations globally, with 14,000 employees and 300 salespeople using the CRM daily
• What were the major challenges in implementing a CRM for such a large organization?
• What UFP was using to manage sales previously? What was working well already?
• What internal systems and processes were kept and enhanced for sales and marketing teams through the CRM implementation
• How long did it take for the CRM Implementation process and adoption?
• What was required to incentivize HubSpot adoption to make it successful?
• Surprising benefits for UFPs sales and marketing teams after implementing HubSpot CRM
• How to create a competitive advantage in the changing building materials marketplace
• The surprising benefit of working with influencers for 
• The value of HubSpot's sales playbooks
• How to source social media influencers
• The best piece of advice Chris has ever received

Building Materials Sales & Marketing Consultant, Mark Mitchell of Whizard Strategies Joins Us Again. This Time, Mark Shares His Perspective on How Pull-Through Sales Actually Works in Building Materials and What Actually Matters to Your Channel Partners.

Highlights:

• Meet Mark Mitchell
• How Pull-Through Sales [with Partners] Works in Building Materials (versus CPG)
• Ask Yourself, “Where are You Pulling From?”
• How to Go To Market when Pulling Sales Through
• How Manufacturers Can Help Increase Distributor’s Ability to Sell
• The Critical Role of Data Management Across the Channel
• Proper Stakeholder Management and Sales Positioning
• Looking Ahead While Dealing with Fires of Today
• What Causes Preference for Contractors and Builders Prefer, Examples Being
  • Marvin Windows
  • Rigid Tools
  • Simpson Strong Tie
• Information about the December 13th, 2021 Whizard Summit