Latin America. Specifi IO, an innovative proposal tool with project and business management functions, made its debut in the US market at CEDIA 2023 and won the Best Startup award from the TechStarter competition.
Based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and launched in the UK and Ireland in 2021, Specifi is designed to help AV integrators produce professional propositions and get more business done with unique, time-saving features.
Specifi was originally developed in 2017 by founder and CEO Matthew Booth for the e-commerce website of his AV distribution company (Indigo Distribution). The platform enabled Indigo's customers to produce professional quotes and installation documents using Indigo's products.
Specifi was born, and Booth invited 40 key suppliers and manufacturers from 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 US at CEDIA 2023.
According to Booth, the fact that Specifi introduces more than 20 key time-saving features, including the ability to automatically generate custom installation documents, such as cable schedules and network maps, while designing a system, is what separates Specifi from other proposal tools. In addition, an intuitive CRM allows the integrator to capture a lead from the first contact, nurture it all the way to installation, and then continue the relationship with lifetime support.
What's more, Specifi comes to the U.S. market with the industry's first AI-backed proposal creation tool. By entering some simple details about any project, Specifi-AI writes a copy of the proposal that the distributor can review and edit before sending it to their clients.
Specifi's integrated CRM manages all communications between the distributor and the customer.
The Specifi Customer Portal allows the customer to track all project details (proposal, invoices, payments, project progression details, product warranty information, support contract status) and allows customers to log technical support issues and schedule service calls. Fully linked to the installer's CRM and time management features, synchronized with Office 365 and Google Calendars, distributors have a complete overview of all activities related to a project or client. Specifi manages the distributor's customer-customer journey from first contact to the lifetime support needs of any project, offering an intuitive CRM that can be tailored to the distributor's sales funnel.
"Specifi incorporates all the tools an AV distributor needs to design and manage a facility and its business," added Booth. "There are audiovisual proposal tools, but distributors still had multiple subscriptions to other platforms to address business management aspects. Specifi already includes much of this by giving the distributor a complete overview of their sales funnel."
Another industry first is the ability to share system designs with suppliers. The Specifi Collaboration feature allows the integrator to share a design with a chosen vendor for review and ensure accuracy. The supplier can then edit or modify the system in real time, minimizing the usual exchange between supplier and integrator. In addition, Specifi affiliated suppliers can create system templates for their customers, providing a unique sales platform and strengthening the supplier-distributor relationship.
Specifi is now available in the United States with a 14-day free trial offer. "We encourage distributors to get a demo, use our 14-day free trial if needed, and join Specifi," Lautner emphasized. "We have an excellent onboarding process that gets distributors working quickly. Our team stands ready to help set them up for success."
