Construction headlines in 2021 were dominated by material cost increases, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Despite these challenges, based on our recently completed Starnet State of the Group Survey, our members continued to add sales professionals and invest in specification and business development roles. Starnet members identified more than one hundred associates across the network dedicated to specification and business development. They clearly differentiated the specification and business development roles from other job descriptions in their organizations such as account managers, project managers and estimators, which had greater populations of associates.
End user clients trust the Starnet specifier and business development professionals to provide successful systems combining multiple manufacturers and services. This requires ongoing training and professional development. Through monthly committee work and annual training events the Starnet members refresh their professional skills and share best practices between members focused on specification and business development. Starnet professionals in these roles balance the realities of the construction industry with the outcome desired by the end user, their influencers from the design community, and organize the series of manufacturers needed to properly complete every project.