What is it about?
In the seminar »Architekt:innen erreichen« (Reaching architects), you learn how project sales work and how to approach the key target groups in the specification-led project business. The two days help you position your company, your product solutions and yourselves with architects, interior architects and property developers.
The seminar suits sales and marketing alike, from territory sales and key account management to career changers from the design side and team leaders who want to train their team. Exchange between participants is a firm part of the approach, so we deliberately put together a mixed group from different segments.
What do you get out of it?
The group was limited to 15 people. That left room for discussion with everyone and for individual questions. You go back to your day-to-day work with concrete recommendations and practical tips, and with a better understanding of how architects, interior architects and property developers work. That is the basis for working together as equals, which makes it more likely that your building products are included in the tender, where products are specified for a project.
How does it work?
The seminar starts with an online kick-off so everyone can get to know each other. At the venue, the content builds step by step: basics of architecture and design, reports from practice and concrete recommendations for approaching the target groups in marketing and sales, plus the milestones and stumbling blocks on the way to getting specified in projects. In a Q&A with Christiane Will of MÄCKLER ARCHITEKTEN, you talk directly with the target group. All course notes and materials were provided digitally, including further content for self-study.
A central location above the rooftops of Frankfurt
The conference room at MÄCKLER ARCHITEKTEN, with views of the Westhafen Tower and the skyline, sets the scene for two intensive seminar days.
The agenda
| Time | Session | Details |
|---|---|---|
| from 08:45 | Arrival and check-in | |
| 09:00–10:00 | Welcome | |
| 10:00–12:15 | Introduction to specification consultancy |
|
| 12:30–13:00 | Daily business, part 1 |
|
| 13:00–13:45 | Lunch together | |
| 13:45–14:45 | Daily business, part 2 |
|
| 14:45–17:45 | Strategic and operational project business |
|
| 18:15–19:30 | Architecture walk through Frankfurt | |
| from 19:30 | Dinner together |
- What makes architects tick?
- Revealing facts and figures
- The professions of architect and interior architect
- Information sources, media and groundwork
- Reference projects in specification consultancy
- Building a network in a structured way
- Identifying projects and the parties involved
- Structured »working towards the tender«
- Responding to project-related enquiries
- Design processes and how architects and interior architects look for information
| Time | Session | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30–09:00 | Recap of day 1 | |
| 09:00–11:00 | Q&A with Christiane Will of MÄCKLER ARCHITEKTEN |
|
| 11:15–12:15 | The consultation and sales meeting, part 1 |
|
| 12:15–13:00 | Lunch together | |
| 13:00–15:00 | The consultation and sales meeting, part 2 |
|
| 15:00–16:00 | Wrap-up and checkout |
- What the target group needs
- What architects value
- Dos and don’ts for consultancy and sales
- How do I present myself in a meeting?
- The »architect meeting«
- Practical examples
- Focusing on results
The experts
Michael Schuster
Long-standing specification consultant, including at TECE Deutschland, JUNG, HEWI and Dornbracht, and active in BDA, BDIA, VfA and DGNB. Editor-in-chief of the architecture magazine DBZ since July 2022 and member of the senior management team at the publisher Bauverlag.
Franziska Holzmann
Dipl.-Ing. in Interior Architecture (FH), MA Spatial Design. Interior architect and designer, trained in Germany and Finland. Combines design, strategic planning and architecture communication. Previously a property developer and founder of a design consultancy.
Christiane Will
Studied architecture at TU Kaiserslautern. After working at Kahlfeldt Architekten in Berlin, she joined MÄCKLER ARCHITEKTEN in Frankfurt in 2012 and has been Managing Director since 2022. Responsible for technical design and detailing, with a focus on material selection and sustainable building solutions.