Offer alternative products to meet a defined need

Sell & distribute | SD015

This activity is about providing alterntive options where a requested product is unavailable, based on existing published information e.g. if a product is out of stock and would take too long to order in. This activity is likely to be carried out by counter staff within a distributor.

Culture & behaviour

Core abilities

Culture & behaviour
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Effective working behaviours

You must:

  • Work within limits of own capability and know when to seek advice from others
  • Manage own time effectively
  • Work effectively individually and as part of a team
  • Communicate effectively
  • Undertake personal development activities to maintain currency of competence
Culture & behaviour
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Sales & distribution behaviours

You must:

  • Challenge unsafe behaviours and activities, and report where necessary
  • Work in accordance with quality requirements and challenge where they are not being met
  • Act ethically to ensure safe outcomes
Currency of competence
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Experience offering product alternatives

You must have:

  • Five instances of correctly offering product alternatives, per year
Core abilities
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Core passive fire knowledge

You must:

  • Know the importance of passive fire protection in safeguarding buildings and people
    • To include: compartmentation; how PFP impedes fire to protect structures and people.
  • Know suitable vocabulary to discuss passive fire protection products
Core abilities
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Limits of responsibility

You must:

  • Know that you can offer a construction product choice, but not a substitution or recommendation
  • Understand the importance of not making a product substitution or recommendation
Specific abilities
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Finding and interpreting basic information on passive fire protection products

You must:

  • Know where to find basic information on passive fire protection products
  • Know how to interpret information on passive fire protection products
  • Know the impact of getting information wrong
  • Know organisational processes for highlighting and resolving inaccurate or incomplete product information and why it is important that they are followed
Specific abilities
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Offer alternative products to meet a defined need

You must:

  • Know how to identify product alternatives
  • Know the organisational processes for escalating queries and why it is important that they are followed

You must be able to:

  • Identify when a product alternative is required
  • Question customers to clarify their needs
  • Collate information on customer requirements
    • To include: where and how the product is to be used; the type of building that the product is to be used in; required performance characteristics
  • Locate and interpret information about passive fire protection products
  • Recognise when there isn't enough information to provide a choice of alternative products and escalate the query accordingly
  • Identify potential alternative products with the same characteristics
  • Provide information on alternative products to customers accurately
  • Identify missing product information and seek guidance to resolve issues
  • Use organisational procedures to escalate non-routine or complex product queries

Currency of competence

Specific abilities

Culture & behaviour

Core abilities

Currency of competence

Specific abilities

This is a newly defined activity profile. If you have any comments, please get in touch.
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