A new proposal tool, Specifi IO, with project and business management features made its first U.S. market debut at CEDIA 2023 and won the TechStarter Competition Best Startup award. Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and released in the UK and Ireland in 2021, Specifi is designed to help AV integrators produce professional proposals and win more business with unique and time savings features.

Per a statement, Specifi was originally developed in 2017 by founder and managing director Matthew Booth for his AV Distribution company’s eCommerce website (Indigo Distribution). The platform allowed Indigo customers to produce professional quotes and installation documents using Indigo’s products. “It was really innovative and saved dealers a lot of time,” Booth says. “Integrators became reliant on the tool and began expressing interest in using it with other brands and suppliers.”

From this, Specifi was born, and Booth invited 40 key suppliers and manufacturers in the UK and Ireland to list their products on the platform. After two years of success in the UK and Ireland, Specifi launched in the U.S. at CEDIA Expo 2023, the company adds.

According to Booth, the fact that Specifi features over 20 time-saving key features, including the ability to automatically generate customized installation documents such as cable schedules and network maps while a system is designed, is what separates Specifi from other proposal tools. Plus, the CRM allows integrators to capture a prospect from first contact, nurture them through to installation and then continue the relationship with support.

Specifi Outlines AI-Supported Proposal Creation Tool

Per a statement, Specifi comes to the U.S. market with an AI-supported proposal creation tool. By entering details on any project Specifi-AI writes copy for the proposal that the dealer can review and edit before submitting it to their customers.

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Specifi’s built-in CRM manages all communications between the dealer and client. The Specifi Customer Portal lets a customer keep track of all project details (proposal, invoices, payments, project progression details, product warranty information, support contract status), and allows clients to log tech support issues and schedule service calls.

The tool comes fully linked to Installer Portal CRM and time management features, and synced with Office 365 and Google Calendars. As a result, dealers have complete overview of all activities related to a project or client. Specifi also manages the dealer’s client-journey from first contact through the lifetime support needs of any project by offering a CRM that can be tailored to the dealer’s sales funnel from prospecting to installation and even support.

“Specifi incorporates all the tools an AV dealer needs to design and manage an installation and their business,” Booth adds. “There are existing AV proposal tools, but the dealers were still holding multiple subscriptions to other platforms to deal with the business management aspects. Specifi includes much of this already by providing the dealer with a complete overview of their sales funnel.”

TechStarter Winner Touts Collaboration feature

Per a statement, Specifi also offers the ability to share system designs with suppliers. The Specifi Collaboration feature lets integrators share a design with a chosen supplier for review to ensure accuracy. The supplier can then edit or amend the system in real-time, minimizing back and forth between supplier and integrator.

Additionally, suppliers who are affiliated with Specifi can create system templates for their customers, providing a unique selling platform and strengthening the supplier-dealer relationship.

“What’s more, there is no cost to the supplier to participate,” explains custom integration industry veteran Joe Lautner, executive vice president of Strategy, who is heading up Specifi’s U.S. market expansion.

“Specifi integrates the manufacturer’s product data and pricing, making it easy for the dealer to develop a proposal. For dealers who opt-in, Specifi provides valuable analytics into their pipeline and product usage. With my 20 years as a custom integrator supplier, this tool is quite a valuable way to support supplier dealer partnerships,” adds Lautner, who spent many years with the former Nortek Security & Controls and Core Brands outfit (now Nice North America).

Specifi is now available in the U.S. with a 14-day free trial offer. “We encourage dealers to get a demo, use our 14-day free trial if needed, and join Specifi,” Lautner emphasizes, “We have a great onboarding process that gets dealers going quickly. Our team is ready to help them get set-up for success.”

Integrators can book a demo now.

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