Show Up Like You Mean It: Getting Noticed in a Growing Industry

By: Steve Dubin

Offsite construction is a big idea living in a small neighborhood. (or maybe a big idea trying to actually BUILD small neighborhoods, as it were) Modular, panelized, volumetric, or on the supply side like I am, we all keep running into the same faces at the same events, in the same comment threads, and on the same project teams. That's one of the best things about this industry. It's also why how you show up matters so much.

Over the last few weeks, I've been putting together a presentation for my company's upcoming National Sales Meeting, and it boils down to one question: how can I help get my fellow sales reps more visible in their community in a way that's actually worth something, like I feel that I have been able to do with some success? The tactics are pretty simple. The hard part is doing them honestly.

Social media: join the conversation, don't just broadcast

Most of us now know we should be active on social media, and still most of us treat it like a chore. Most post when they have news about their job or product, then vanish until the next announcement.

A better way to think on it: it's a conversation, not a billboard. Read what other people in the industry are sharing. Notice who's working on cool projects. And when you comment, say something that proves you actually read the post. Ask a question, share a related experience, respectfully disagree, or just say "huh, I hadn't thought about it that way."

What doesn't work is the copy-and-paste comment. You know the ones: "Great post!

Thanks for sharing!" or a row of “likes” dropped under fifty posts in one afternoon. In a community this tight, people notice. It doesn't come across as interest in the person or the industry. I’ve seen several long form comments put into threads that are very multi-syllable professional sounding blurbs that actually say nothing at all when you translate it into.. lets call it “modern English.” This comes across as engagement farming, and the obvious question is: for what? A few extra impressions? A nudge from an algorithm? None of that turns into a relationship, a referral, or a project. Meanwhile you've spent a little of the one thing that's hard to rebuild, your credibility. 

A few thoughtful comments a week will do more for your reputation than a hundred reflex ones, or worse, ones that people can say “your ChatGPT is showing.”

Editors are looking for people like you

Trade magazine editors are always on the hunt for knowledgeable voices, and plenty of them lean on freelance contributors to fill their pages. Those of us who live in this work every day are sitting on exactly the kind of insight readers want: what customers are asking about, what's working, and what isn't, what’s changing, what’s not.

Most in this mod world aren’t really "writers" (myself included) and never reach out. But editors aren't necessarily looking for polish. They want a point of view and expertise. A short pitch that shows you know their publication and its readers goes a long way. Same rule as before: pitch something you actually know, to a magazine you actually read. And- unless you want it to be a “paid article”- keep it brand agnostic. Focus on what you or your product do in general terms, how it makes the business easier, or makes the market or world a better place. For me- maybe that’s a focus on energy efficiency, control layers in a wall assembly, sustainability, etc.., etc…

Your vendors are part of your ecosystem

Offsite construction is a small enough niche right now that sometimes we feel it’s an echo chamber, but it doesn't happen in a vacuum. Behind every finished module or panel is a network of suppliers of material or services. They live together in the same wall assembly.

I rep for a polyiso wall insulation company. One of the professional relationships I've built is with the national modular market manager at Nichiha, a fiber cement cladding manufacturer. On paper, we sell different products. In practice, our materials sit on the same wall and are listed in the same stringent tests and code requirements. So the questions our customers ask tend to overlap. How does the assembly perform as a whole? What do builders need to know about how the layers work together?

Spending time together, on joint calls and on the road, taught each of us far more about the entire wall assembly than either of us would have learned alone. We understood our own products better by understanding the ones next to them, and we could answer customer questions with more confidence.. 

Along the way, we introduced each other to contacts in the offsite world. Those introductions turned into meaningful relationships and conversations that kept going long after the original call or event ended. We started as just people in the same space curious about each other's expertise, and were generous with our networks, and we both came out ahead.

So look at the vendors whose products share a wall, a floor system, or a jobsite with yours, and start there. Even folks who aren't modular-focused can offer useful perspective, and showing up in their circles opens doors that cold calls rarely will. In a small industry, the relationship that feels like a once a year handshake at a trade show today becomes the introduction that matters tomorrow.

Pick your rooms carefully

Speaking of trade shows, it's tempting to judge a trade show by its size. Bigger floor, bigger crowd, bigger opportunity. But the all-skate shows like the International Builders' Show seem to cover the entire building world, and an offsite focused company or product rep can burn a lot of energy trying to be heard over everyone else.

Events and organizations built around offsite and modular construction, or around the specific niche you serve, put you in front of people who already get what you do.

Conversations start further along and relationships form faster, because everyone in the room cares about the same thing. Fewer badge scans, better conversations. When your time and budget are limited, depth usually beats breadth. (Makes sense when so many trade show organizers are competing for your booth and sponsorship dollars!)

The common thread

Social media, magazines, vendors, trade shows: it all comes back to the same thing. Be genuinely interested in the people around you and the “journey” that they are on. In a community this small, reputation travels faster than marketing campaigns. People remember who asked good questions, and who showed up when it wasn't convenient.

You can't fake that for long, and you shouldn't. Be useful, be consistent. In an industry this connected, the rest follows.

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