Getting written into the spec: how to get specified by architects

By the time a contractor calls for a price, the decision that matters has often been made. Somewhere in the project manual sits a specification section that names your product, names a competitor’s, or describes a product so precisely that only one company can supply it. If you are the basis of design, contractors price you first. If you are listed as an “or equal,” you are defending against substitution. If you are not there at all, you are hoping a contractor will propose you and the architect will accept it.

That makes the spec a sales channel you do not staff. The architect or specification writer who drafts it will use whatever is easiest to find, easiest to edit and easiest to trust, without calling you to ask what to write. This guide covers commercial work, where the architect’s spec decides; if you also sell to home builders and dealers, our IBS 2027 and KBIS plan covers that channel.

How does a spec section work?

Most US specifications are organized by CSI MasterFormat, a list of numbers and titles arranged in 50 divisions, each broken into sections. Every section follows the same three parts:

• Part 1, General: the administrative and procedural requirements for that section.
• Part 2, Products: the quality of the items required. This is where you want your name.
• Part 3, Execution: how the products in Part 2 are prepared for and installed.

There are four ways to specify a product. A proprietary spec names the brand. It is “closed” when no equivalents are allowed, and “open” when it adds “or equal” plus the characteristics a substitute must meet. A descriptive spec lists the product’s properties without brand names. A performance spec states the results required, not the means. A reference standard spec points to standards set by bodies such as ASTM. Many owners also use a basis of design approach: one manufacturer’s product is named to set the qualities required, and the contractor may supply it or a comparable product from the other named manufacturers.

Your goal is to be the product the writer names, or the one whose characteristics define “equal.”

	Names a brand	What the spec states
Proprietary, closed	Yes	The brand, with no equivalents allowed
Proprietary, open	Yes	The brand plus "or equal" and the characteristics a substitute must meet
Descriptive	No	The product's properties, without brand names
Performance	No	The results required, not the means
Reference standard	No	Standards set by bodies such as ASTM
Basis of design	Yes	One product named to set the qualities; comparable products from the other named manufacturers allowed

Every MasterFormat section has three parts: Part 1, General; Part 2, Products; Part 3, Execution. Part 2 is where a product gets named, and the method decides whether a competitor can be swapped in. Source: Whole Building Design Guide; University of California Facilities Manual; University of Houston Section 01 60 00.

Where do architects look for product information?

The most useful data comes from AIA’s “The Architect’s Journey to Specification 2023,” a survey of 183 architects run with Deltek, ConstructConnect and Anguleris.

• To keep up with product and material trends, 83% use continuing education and webinars, 79% use manufacturer websites and 77% use lunch and learns.
• 72% named manufacturers as the largest outside influence on how they learn about products.
• More than half look for technical descriptions, product specs, design guides, CAD and BIM files, and pricing when selecting products.
• Satisfaction with BIM object availability was the lowest of every attribute measured. Website navigation ranked among the attributes architects care about most, and the report says manufacturers are “still falling short in their websites.”

AIA’s follow-up study, released Feb. 25, 2026, found that the share of architects who proactively recommend sustainability options rose from 58% in 2020 to 79% in 2025, and that 72% prefer US-manufactured products. If either applies to you, say so plainly on your specifier pages.

Architects lean on manufacturers more than on any other outside source, and they are least satisfied with things a manufacturer controls: its BIM content and its website.

Continuing education and webinars83%

Manufacturer websites79%

Lunch and learns77%

How architects keep up with product and material trends

Item	Value (%)
Continuing education and webinars	83%
Manufacturer websites	79%
Lunch and learns	77%

Share of 183 architects surveyed. Manufacturers were also named the largest outside influence on product learning, by 72%. Source: AIA, The Architect's Journey to Specification 2023.

Five things spec-friendly manufacturers do

We reviewed the architect and specifier pages of five building products manufacturers on Oct. 26, 2026, and checked the same five features on each: spec software, editable guide specs, BIM and details, continuing education, and a next step for the spec writer. Each does at least one thing well, and together they make a working checklist.

1. Be inside the software the spec writer already uses

American Specialties (ASI), which makes commercial partitions, washroom accessories, lockers and visual display products, is the only one of the five whose pages link into the spec-writing platforms themselves. Its specifications page offers MasterSpec content in full-length, short-form and outline formats, links to its Deltek Specpoint listings for five product lines, a RIB SpecLink Cloud login and AIA and CSI guide specifications for download. A writer working in MasterSpec or SpecLink never has to leave the tool to find ASI. Bobrick takes a different route. Its Digital Spec Builder runs on ATS Spec and covers Bobrick products only, behind a separate login. We found no MasterSpec or SpecLink links on the Dri-Design, Construction Specialties or Nichiha pages we checked.

Context for anyone new to these tools: AIA MasterSpec is now delivered through Deltek Specpoint, which lists more than 50,000 building product listings, and SpecLink is a RIB Software product.

2. Hand over an editable guide spec, not a PDF brochure

Bobrick, a washroom accessories and toilet partition maker, offers its guide specifications in both Word and PDF, organized by section numbers such as 10 28 00 for washroom accessories and 10 21 13 for toilet partitions. Dri-Design, which makes metal wall panels, posts Word guide specs numbered to section 07 42 13. The other three also hand over Word files. ASI’s guide specification packages bundle a Word spec for section 10 28 00 with Revit objects, data sheets and a schedule of materials. Construction Specialties posts Word and PDF specifications on its product pages, such as Acrovyn Doors. Nichiha posts Word three-part specs for section 07 42 43. A spec writer can paste and edit a Word file in minutes. A brochure PDF has to be retyped, and retyping is where your product gets swapped for a generic description.

3. Make BIM and details easy to find

BIM availability scored lowest in AIA’s survey, so this is where a smaller company can stand out. Construction Specialties, which makes louvers, sun controls and wall protection, links its resources page to a Revit and BIM library and to its listings on BIMsmith, a free platform where building professionals already search. Nichiha, a fiber cement wall panel maker, puts an Architectural Detail Finder next to its CAD and BIM files on its architects page. Dri-Design’s resource center offers a Revit-based BIM Bundle LITE, DWG and PDF architectural details and a 3D viewer. ASI includes Revit objects in every guide spec package.

4. Teach, and leave the pitch out

Continuing education is how manufacturers get in front of architects on the architects’ terms, and four of the five run AIA courses, from ASI’s five online courses to Construction Specialties’ list of 16; we found none on Dri-Design’s site. AIA’s continuing education standards say courses “must not promote or market products or services,” so the topic has to be bigger than your product. Our guide to building an AIA continuing education course covers the provider subscription, the approval rules and what gets a course booked.

5. Put a person and a physical sample one click away

Nichiha pairs its specs with free sample ordering, “Contact a Rep” buttons and complimentary take-off services. Construction Specialties offers a Submittal Builder and finish and swatch sample portals. Bobrick offers a Digital Spec Builder and cost savings calculators. ASI’s guide spec page sends spec writers to a local architectural representative, and Dri-Design takes color sample orders through a form. Each one turns a spec writer’s research visit into a next step with your company in it.

	Spec software	Editable guide specs	BIM and details	Continuing education	Next step offered
ASI	MasterSpec (full length, short form, outline); Deltek Specpoint for five lines; RIB SpecLink Cloud	Word specs for 10 28 00 in AIA and CSI packages, short and long form	Revit objects in every guide spec package; BIM content page	AIA CES provider; 5 online courses on BNP Media's CE platform; lunch and learn signup	Find a Representative; architectural rep named on the guide spec page
Bobrick	Digital Spec Builder on ATS Spec, Bobrick products only; no MasterSpec or SpecLink link found	Word and PDF, sections 10 28 00 and 10 21 13	BIM objects, CAD	6 courses, 1 LU each; AEC Daily, Hanley Wood University or in-firm	Digital Spec Builder; cost savings calculators
Dri-Design	None found	Word, section 07 42 13	BIM Bundle LITE (Revit); DWG and PDF details; 3D viewer	None found	Contact form and phone; color sample orders
Construction Specialties	None found	Word and PDF specs on product pages	Revit and BIM library; BIMsmith	16 courses (15 at 1 LU, 1 at 4 LU); academy up to 8 LU	Submittal Builder; swatch sample portals
Nichiha	None found	Word three-part specs, section 07 42 43	CAD and BIM files; Architectural Detail Finder	AIA Approved Provider; live and on-demand lunch and learns	Free samples; Contact a Rep; complimentary take-off

The same five features checked on every manufacturer's specifier pages on Oct. 26, 2026. "None found" means we did not find the feature on the pages we checked, listed below. Source: Our review, Oct. 26, 2026, of americanspecialties.com/specifications, /guide-specifications, /continuing-education and /representatives; bobrick.com/resource-center-2 (guide specifications, continuing education, Digital Spec Builder, BIM objects); dri-design.com/specifications, /resource-center, /bim-bundle-lite, /architectural-details, /order-samples and its sitemap; c-sgroup.com/resources, /continuing-education-programs and product pages; nichiha.com/architects, /resources (3-part specs) and /continuing-education.

How to get specified by architects with a team of one

You do not need all five on day one. In order of what moves specifications soonest:

1. Run the two-click test. From your homepage, can an architect reach an editable three-part spec for your top product in two clicks, without a form? If not, fix that before anything else.
2. Publish a Word guide spec for every core product, numbered to the right MasterFormat section, with your product as basis of design and the characteristics that define “equal” written your way.
3. Put your top products’ BIM objects on one platform where specifiers already download content, such as BIMsmith or ARCAT, and link to it from your own site.
4. Name a spec support contact. A real person who answers technical questions within a day is worth more to a spec writer than any feature on your site.
5. Build one AIA course on a topic your product touches but does not own: code changes, moisture management, acoustic performance. Teach it well and the course does your relationship building for years.
6. Start counting. Track spec and BIM downloads, CE sessions delivered, and the projects where you were named basis of design. Ask your reps to log that last one. Then compare your win rate on specified projects with the rest. That number is the business case for everything above.