Architects specify makers they already know and trust. To get specified, give them the technical information they need, answer quickly, and stay in front of them between projects, so yours is the name they remember when a job comes up. For a UK bespoke maker, the most direct way to do that is a steady, personal presence on LinkedIn, in the owner's own name.
Why do architects specify the same makers for years?
When an architect writes your name into a drawing, they put their own name next to it. If the doors arrive late, leak or fail a fire test, it is their client on the phone and their reputation on the line. So once they find a maker who delivers, they keep coming back. Changing is a risk, and staying is free.
They also rarely have time to look around. In an NBS survey with more than 500 responses, six out of 10 specifiers admitted to rushing the specification process. Under that kind of pressure, people reach for the names they already know.
That is why the same makers appear on drawing after drawing. It is not always the best product that wins. It is the one the architect remembers, and trusts, at the moment they need it.
What do architects look for in a maker?
87%
of architects use manufacturers' technical literature always or most of the time (Building Boardroom, 300+ architects)
13%
have near or full confidence in marketing information, the least trusted source in the same survey
58%
do not fully trust manufacturer product information (survey of 80 UK architects commissioned by a manufacturer, via NBS)
Technical information they can use. Sizes, fire ratings, thermal and acoustic performance, finishes, lead times and details they can drop into a drawing. Architects lean on technical literature far more than on brochures. When a question comes, it is usually a precise one:
"Do you make fire rated doors? ...that's where these systems usually let us down."
Director of Architecture, to a steel door maker, day 12
A fast, straight answer. An architect with a deadline will not wait a week for a reply. The maker who answers the same day, with the right detail, is the one who gets the next question too.
Reasons to trust you. Since the Building Safety Act, architects check more. In the same manufacturer-commissioned survey, architects estimate they spend an additional 4 hours each week reviewing claims, certificates and performance data. Finished projects, real photos, a showroom they can visit and other architects who have used you all cut that work down.
Why aren't ads and directories enough?
Ads and directories help an architect find you once they are already looking. They do little to make an architect know you before that moment.
- Ads read as marketing, and marketing is the source architects trust least.
- Directories put you in a list next to everyone else in your trade, often sorted by who paid more.
- Neither starts a conversation. An architect who has never spoken to you has no reason to pick you over the maker they already know.
Keep your technical data listed where architects search for it. But the relationship, the part that gets your name written in, has to be built person to person.
How do you build relationships with architects on LinkedIn?
Plenty of architects use LinkedIn for work, and it lets a maker be known as a person rather than a logo. What matters is how you use it.
Use your own name, not only a company page
People trust people. An architect is far more likely to start a conversation with the owner of a workshop than with a logo. And the relationships you build stay with you, on your profile.
Post about real work
The job, the detail that was hard, the problem you solved on site, the client who came back. Written in your voice, from your own stories. Nothing goes out until you have approved it. A good post shows an architect how you think, which is exactly what they cannot see in a brochure.
Connect with the right architects and talk to them
Connect with architects who work on the kind of projects you make for, and start real conversations: about their work, not your price list. No pitching. The aim is that when they next need what you make, you are someone they have already spoken to.
Keep going every week
Architects specify when a project comes up, not when you post. Turning up every week means you are there when that happens. This is the part most makers cannot keep up alongside running a workshop.
Take the call when they are ready
When an architect asks about a real project, the conversation is yours. That is the moment all the work leads to.
What does it look like in practice?
One of our clients makes luxury steel doors in London. We started running her LinkedIn on 6 July. Her account had been flat for eight months before that. These are excerpts from architects' messages in her first 90 days, in their exact words, with names removed.
"I have a client at the moment thinking of a crital style partition and have another client... also thinking of steel frame internal doors."
Founder and architect, day 18
"I've got a project starting next week where this type of door could be utilised... I'll pass your details to the contractor who's doing the procurement."
Project architect, ARB, day 73
"The value of the window package is in six figures. I would like to visit your showroom with my clients..."
Chartered architect, RIBA, day 86
"I am truly impressed witht the products you make and will be more than happy to specify them..."
Architect, after a showroom visit, day 88
One architect went from her first message to "more than happy to specify them" in 18 days: she read the posts, suggested a coffee, talked with the maker on LinkedIn, visited the showroom and said she would specify. No ads and no cold calls.
Over the same period her account gained 1,348 new followers (4 July to 2 November), and her posts reached 116,005 impressions in 365 days, up 916% on the year before. See the full case study, with screenshots.
When won't this work?
An honest filter. This approach is not for you if:
- You want orders next week. Relationships with architects take months, and projects take longer still.
- You aren't proud of what you make. Architects will see your work up close. It has to stand up.
- You'd rather not show your work. The whole method rests on showing real jobs, in your name.
- You're just after followers. Followers are a side effect. The goal is architects who write you into their projects.
Questions makers ask
How long does it take to get specified by architects?
Expect months, not weeks. In the example above, the first architect messages arrived within the first two weeks, and a six-figure window package came up on day 86. Every category and every region is different, so treat that as an example, not a promise.
Should I use my personal LinkedIn profile or a company page?
Your personal profile. Architects build relationships with people, not logos, and the relationships stay with you, in your name. A company page is fine to have alongside it.
How much of my time does it take?
With Forge Lead: two one-hour calls to start, then approving your posts. I write the posts from those calls and run the conversations with architects from your account. When an architect asks about a real project, you take the call.
What should a bespoke maker post on LinkedIn?
Real jobs and the thinking behind them: a tricky detail, a site problem you solved, a finish you are proud of, a client who came back. Write it the way you would tell it to an architect over coffee. Skip the hard sell.
Are product listings and directories still worth it?
Yes, for the technical data: architects look things up when a project is live. But a listing will not make an architect know you. Use listings for the data and LinkedIn for the relationship.
Why does Forge Lead work with only one maker per category?
Because I would be introducing you to the same architects. One maker per category, and once it's taken, it's closed. See which categories are still open.
Is your category still open?
Book a short call and find out.
Sources
- Building Boardroom, "Product specification for architects: information sources", Building, 27 April 2022: building.co.uk
- NBS Specification Report 2017 (more than 500 responses), reported by PBC Today: pbctoday.co.uk
- wienerberger UK, "The Cost of Compliance" whitepaper, survey of 80 UK architects commissioned by wienerberger (a manufacturer), reported by NBS, 11 June 2026: thenbs.com