The New Role of Lighting Sales By JOANNE EMER, LC
Omnilumen Technical Products
The lighting industry has evolved significantly in the last five years, and the impact on agency representatives has been substantial. Their role has expanded from the traditional position of promoting and selling lighting products to clients, to now being involved in design input, budgets, product customization, inclusion of after-sales support, knowledge and education. Global events have accelerated advancements in science and technology. Embracing the changes has led to new paths to selling and collaboration.
Changing Project Focus The COVID-19 pandemic changed the global landscape. People became more mindful of health and wellness. Governments reacted to the need for more hospitals and long term care facilities, and the pandemic highlighted the need for more focused spending on infrastructure for healthcare, schools, and transportation developments. The lighting industry’s projects changed to focus on these core sectors. Project development included more human centric lighting. Design elements centred on visual comfort, dynamic lighting, smart controls systems, and automation. Scientific and technological developments were integrated into luminaire solutions. The luminaire’s design and function allowed lighting to improve safety and health, with products like anti-ligature luminaires and UV-C disinfection and sterilization lighting. Agency representatives faced a challenge, having to quickly understand these new innovations and then share this information with their clients.
Changing Modes of Client Collaboration As projects evolved, so did the way industry professionals connected to make them happen. Closures of offices and general shutdowns forced us to be in our separate bubbles, and so the adoption of digital tools accelerated, with remote communication becoming the new standard. The dynamics in specifier offices changed from an almost 60
designing lighting
completely in-person relationship between specifier and agency sales representative to a completely virtual interaction, and then back to a hybrid of both. In-person meetings, design presentations, and site visits were replaced with digital communication programs like Zoom and Teams. Projects were reviewed through screen sharing on collaborative platforms. Architectural, design, and engineering offices also changed during this time, with the specifiers spending limited time in the actual offices, instead working from home and hotelling their desk spaces when working back in the office. This change in dynamic posed challenges for the agency representative in communicating and reaching all the potential clients during an in-person visit. The agency representative role evolved to offer lighting as a service in photometric design work and digital presentations. Digital online sales and communication became the new norm, with the adoption of digital design tools, remote manufacturer product presentations and virtual mock-ups. Luminaire product libraries and IES files could be delivered with the click of a button. The increased use of lighting design software became a collaboration tool. Remote co-design and document sharing were possible through platforms like Revit and BIM 360. Virtual showrooms, virtual lighting visualization programs, and online catalogs all reshaped how products were being presented and sold.