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Educating the Young Professionals

5/2/2017

4 Comments

 
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Contributed by Cherise Lakeside
If you already know me, you know that young professional development is an area in AEC that is very important to me.  I have had mentors and guidance throughout my career that has helped me in my growth and success.  I still have amazing people helping and supporting me every day.  Because of that, I feel a burning need to give back what I have been given and help our younger professionals get ahead and succeed.

I have become more and more aware of an area where our young professionals are being neglected at an extremely critical time.  We need to fix this.

A few things happened recently that motivated me to write this blog:
  1. I was having lunch with a product rep friend from my CSI Chapter.  I asked why I hadn’t seen him at our firm doing a lunch and learn.  He responded that his product was already in our specs and a product that is widely specified so he didn’t feel the need to come in very often.
  2. I attended a conference last month in Miami geared toward pairing product manufacturers with PRINCIPALS in larger firms.
  3. I met another product rep at a different conference.  I asked who their product rep was in my area and she told me.  I had never heard of him or seen him at our firm.  My firm has 3 offices and over 300 people, so I found that odd.
  4. We get calls from product reps all the time who want to meet with the specifiers or the project managers, but rarely ask to include the designers in those meetings.
  5. I have had product reps complain to me that they were disappointed after a lunch and learn because there were no Principals in attendance.
  6. I often notice at my CSI Meetings that the product reps are only talking to the most experienced professionals in the room.
 
BREAKING NEWS: Manufacturers, you are missing the boat in a very big way.  You are missing the boat in marketing, you are missing the boat in risk management and you are missing the boat in educating the right people about your product.
​
Consider This:
  1. There are 75 million Baby Boomers in the workforce that are retiring or preparing to retire.  There are only 45 million Gen X’ers (that’s me) to fill their shoes.  There are 75 million Millennials coming right behind me.  This generational gap is even wider in AEC because we lost so many Gen X’ers during two recessions who never returned.
  2. If we have this major gap, who is going to fill the Baby Boomers shoes?  We don’t have enough experienced Gen X’ers to do it.  Somebody is going to have to.
  3. What does that leave?  It leaves Millennials.  Millennials have tools and resources that we did not have.  The best and the brightest are well equipped to learn faster and step up into major positions of responsibility 10, 15 and even 20 years earlier than ever before in the AEC industry.  I am already watching it happen, I love it and I embrace it.  I am excited to work side by side with this fresh and exciting group.
So, what does that have to do with Manufacturers?  Why am I writing this blog to you?

Because you are missing the boat!

The millennials don’t know who you are, they are not learning about your products and they are creating risk when they are not educated about your product when they design it into our projects. 

While you are chasing the Principal in any given firm, who by the way rarely choose the products on a project, these young professionals are learning about your few competitors that are smart enough to have a long-term vision and recognize that these young professionals WILL BE THE BOSS very, very soon.

Manufacturers and Product Reps – What do you need to do?
  • You need to get out and hit the lunch and learn circuit hard and get our YP’s well versed in the products, how they work, when they should be used and when they should not.  We need this education for our YP’s and L&L’s are the best way to do it.  Most firms have billable time requirements.  Lunch hours are the only time they are given to learn from you.  They are smart enough to have a life after work.  You need to educate them when they can get there.
 
  • You need to start including a contingent of these bright YP’s at your events, conferences, seminars and tours.  It may be next year that they are choosing your product over someone else’s.  That Principal that you just invited to the all-expenses paid retreat (who doesn’t choose products) is retiring next year.  Do you know who is taking his or her place?
 
  • You need to stop being complacent that you are securely in a firm’s Master Specification and you don’t need to visit them so often.  If I get hit by a truck tomorrow, a younger professional who has never seen you may be taking my place because Gen X specifiers are super hard to find right now.  Have they ever heard of you?  They are bright and are not afraid of change.  It is very likely they will research something else and that comfortable spot you had in our office Master will be gone.
 
  • You need to limit risk.  Both yours and mine.  If our YP’s have not had experience or education with your product and they make a mistake in the design or specs, we now have a big problem and we have it together.  We all know that profit-eating hours during construction due to errors, omissions or disputes are not good for anyone.  If there is a failure, it may hurt your product reputation.  If these YP’s are well versed in your product and proper procedures, the risk of failure is much less.

My friends, you not only need to stop ignoring the YP’s with the misguided notion that you can’t sell them anything for many years, but you need to be embracing them, teaching them, inviting them, courting them and supporting their success.  You will be dealing with them much, much sooner than you think. 

​Then again, maybe you won’t.  Your choice! 
4 Comments
Andre Kenstowicz link
5/3/2017 12:55:38 am

Great post Cherise. A common perception among product reps is that principals and spec writers are the most important (and sometimes only) contacts to make, you're correct. But, who are the firm leaders and decision makers of tomorrow? As a millennial and a product rep I absolutely see the value in a perception shift on this topic. This post has made me think differently about firm contacts and attendees at product tabletop and lunch and learn presentations.

PS I am presenting a L&L at Ankrom Moisan Portland next Thursday. Hopefully a diverse range of ages and backgrounds will attend!

Reply
Cherise Lakeside
5/3/2017 09:00:42 am

Hi Andre! There is always a diverse group in the room at AMA. Those future leaders are going to be running the show in the NEAR future. Recognizing the importance of that is key for all types of education in AEC right now. Kudos to you for seeing the value! Thank you for your kind words. See you next week.

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Sheldon link
5/3/2017 12:03:03 pm

Many reps don't seem to understand that while specifiers want to know everything about everything, several products (mostly finish and appearance products) are chosen before specifiers are involved. If the designers don't know about the rep's products those products won't be used, and by the time the specifier is deeply involved, it's too late to change.

I regularly tell reps for some types of products to contact our design leaders, and if they set up a meeting, to invite the specifiers as well.

As for YPs, we have one or two lunch & learns for architects each week, a lunch & learn for the interiors group each week, and three or four in-house pizza programs dealing with a variety of issues each month. All the reps I know recognize the value of these presentations; most of the people in the room aren't in a position to choose the reps' products, but they eventually will become project architects, project managers, and principals.

Reply
Evan Adams
5/3/2017 01:01:51 pm

I'm going to be a bit of a contrarian here. I think L&L are great for the 'self sealing stembolt' crowd. I.e. the products where there are 5 'or equals' in a spec and you just want to get listed to be in the bidding game.

They are also great for company reps who have unlimited marketing budgets & just have to show contact with X people every Y days.

They are also great for products that are used every day on every project.

However, as an independent rep for specialty products I have discovered a few things.

First, the average 'company' rep gets the company credit card to bear these costs. Independent reps have to carry the costs of these events and often an independent rep doesn't have the income or margins so do this base level marketing. I appreciate the firms who understand the smaller brands/products just don't have the mega budgets of your larger suppliers.

Secondly, it makes it very difficult for independent reps when firms use the L&L as a pre-requisite to meeting. That is asking the independent rep to take a great leap of faith that not only does the firm have a project in 6-12 months that will help pay for the L&L but that the right people will attend to put us in contact with the right people. That is a big leap of faith to take.

Thirdly, please try to make it easy for us. I have one firm who has one person who sets up lunch and learns. He/She has a standard email with like 5 links to different firm favorite local lunch places. I pick one and they have a +/- standard set of things people like, or they will even put the order list out on the firms sharefile and people will put in what they want. Then I know who will attend & if not enough people sign up they will cancel the L&L, I know they will get what they want, and my overhead is minimal. It is also a huge help in towns where I as a traveling regional rep might not know well. + wouldn't you rather have that sandwich from your favorite place? We want you happy, help us keep you happy.

Finally, please AED people. Please. Don't come in, take your food and leave. I know you have a deadline but when 2 people show up to listen and 10 just use me as their lunch delivery person... that is so rude. I'll never forget one week a few years back.

Just remember you have a business to run, hours to meet, projects to complete. So do reps. Respect is a two way street. We are all in this industry together, lets try to treat everyone with respect... even us reps.

And perhaps the most important piece of advice I can give designers from a rep to make sure we do not waste your time. We (reps) all use Reed & Dodge to find projects & check schedules. We know you don't want to talk to us at bid stage, it is too late. We also know you don't want to talk to us at Pre-Design, it is too early. If you would cooperate with the CMD & Dodge people when they call we can better serve you. We know the CMD & Dodge people are usually just in a call center somewhere but good data out to them means you will get good service in from the industry. It really is worth your time to give CMD & Dodge good data.

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