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How to Get in the Front Door and Close Builders
By Charles C. Shinn, Jr., PhD
During the many years I have been in the homebuilding industry, I have observed so many mistakes being made by the manufacturer's sales team on how to approach and sell products to homebuilders. This year Builder Partnerships offered two webinars and a meeting presentation for manufacturer sales staffs, including national and regional sales managers and local distribution sales teams. Purchasing managers for a number of private builders-ranging in size from 75 homes a year to one of the largest privately owned builders-explained how to sell to builders. This article will summarize some of the critical points they made. The webinars were recorded and are available in the Home Builders University section of Builder Partnerships website.
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 Selling Has Changed-Are You Up To Speed? By Tom Richey, Richey Resources Co., Houston, Texas When a builder friend of mine visits Houston and enters 16 new home sales offices with an engaging move motive and is registered only twice, receives just one model presentation, and zero follow up, something is wrong! Very wrong!
The art of new home selling is in regression. The average sales velocity of a model home across the U.S. is 0.44 sales per month! Some builders are turning their sales staffs three times a year! Conversion rates have fallen off the cliff. The reason? Selling has changed. We are selling the way we sold in the 70s and 80s and it is turning buyers off. They are hearing the spiel and not coming back. Let's see why. Read more...
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 The Spec Dilemma
By Charlie Scott, Woodland, O'Brien and Scott
(Reprinted by permission of Professional Builder.)
In a market where every house sold is critical, many home builders unconsciously make choices that cost them at least three to five sales annually for every hundred homes sold. Even more frustrating is the fact that generating those "lost" sales costs no more than what builders are currently spending.
As a home builder, I knew there was something significantly different about a customer buying a "to-be-built" home versus a completed-inventory home. Now, after 20 years of pondering this issue and armed with a new study from our database of well over half a million customer surveys, the truth can be told: there is a difference, but it's not the customers. The difference is the builders. That's right, while builders are well accomplished at building homes, they're not quite as skilled at building relationships, especially with buyers of completed-inventory (aka spec) homes, losing 30 percent of their referring activity.
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Product Features
Small Bathrooms:
You Really Can Have It All
By Stacy Zar, Aquatic
 Today's homeowners who are remodeling their bathrooms often have big ideas for small spaces.
Popular media - such as HGTV as well as countless design and décor magazines and websites - can be a primary source of inspiration, continually beaming stories and ads to consumers that show things like a beautiful woman entranced as she luxuriates in a sculptural, freestanding bathtub set in the middle of a palatial room, illuminated by a large chandelier.
Let's be honest - most people will never have bathrooms like that for several reasons including, first and foremost, a lack of space. Although the average size of bathrooms in new residential construction has nearly doubled over the past 30 years, bathrooms in old houses average a modest 5- by 8-feet, according to This Old House.
But homeowners and remodeling professionals need not despair. You really can create a comparable bathing experience and have it all if you change your thinking about size, keep things simple and select the right bathing fixtures.
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Builder Partnerships News
 Signature Homes Earns Builder Partnerships Achievement Award
Signature Homes of Birmingham, Ala., earned the Builder Partnerships Achievement Award for distinction in customer satisfaction by having more than 86 percent of its buyers "willing to recommend" to friends and family as measured by Woodland, O'Brien and Scott.
The Builder Partnerships Achievement Awards were founded in January 2011 and recognize home builders who greatly surpass industry standards for customer satisfaction. Signature Homes is the 11th home builder to be so recognized.
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Partners Notes NAHB calls for submissions for the Lee S. Evans Endowment Scholarships Students majoring in construction related fields should submit entries for the Lee S. Evans Endowment Scholarships by October 23. Founded by industry legend Lee Evans and his wife, Virginia, the scholarships provide up to $5,000 for graduate and undergraduate students pursuing degrees in residential construction. To read more, click here. Housingzone.com Notes DSLD Homes' Customer Satisfaction; Quotes Woodland, O'Brien and Scott Denham Springs, La.-based DSLD Homes' achieves "industry leading customer-satisfaction scores" that are unique for such a new company, reports Pat Curry in HousingZone.com. Keith O'Brien of customer-satisfaction survey company Woodland, O'Brien and Scott praises Trendmaker Homes' response to customer complaints and credits it with their success during the housing downturn. To read more, click here. Baldwin Hardware Re-tools Website Baldwin Hardware, a producer of architectural hardware products, redesigned its website, incorporating more imagery and an innovative hardware design tool. To visit Baldwin's cool new site, click here. Builder magazine Notes Wieland Homes High Ranking Builder magazine reports Atlanta-based Wieland Homes celebrates its 40th anniversary with a sixth place ranking among Atlanta homebuilders. For Builder's coverage, click here. For Wieland Homes' announcement, click here. |
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Upcoming Events
Webinars Economic Overview WITH Mark Vitner, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo
Friday, September 23 at 11am EDT
In this webinar, Charles C. Shinn, Jr., PhD and Mark Vitner, Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, provide an overview for what we can expect for the housing market over the next year. They will start with a brief review historic performance and what that means for the industry. Focus will be on leading indicators that builders can evaluate in their local markets to get a clearer picture for what to expect locally.
Mark Vitner is a managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends. Based in Charlotte, N.C., he also writes for the company's Monthly Economic Outlook report, the Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary, and provides regular updates on the housing markets, commercial real estate, regional economies, and inflation. Mark's commentary has been feature in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and many other publications.
To register, click here
Pulte Homes Case Study: Estimating with Built-In Option Costing Friday, September 30 at 11am EDT BlackPoint provides a comprehensive set of solutions to manage plan catalogs, option libraries, and marketing & construction documents...all from a single location, where users can generate lot-specific plans in 2D or 3D and automate quantity take-offs.
Join us for the first webinar in a series highlighting the BlackPoint Suite of design products with real live builder case studies. Richard Kashian will present how Pulte Homes has used BlackPoint to improve their estimating process with built-in option costing.
To register, click here
Oakwood Homes Case Study: CAD Option Management Friday, October 21, 2011 at 11am EDT Blackpoint provides a comprehensive set of solutions to manage plan catalogs, option libraries, and marketing & construction documents...all from a single location, where users can generate lot-specific plans in 2D or 3D and automate quantity take-offs.
Join us for the second webinar in a series highlighting the BlackPoint Suite of design products with real live builder case studies. Richard Kashian will present how Oakwood Homes has used BlackPoint to improve their CAD option management process.
To register, click here
Financial Planning: Strategies for Success Friday, October 28, 2011 at 11am EDT Being able to measure and demonstrate results is crucial to finding financing and keeping your business on course. Emma S. Shinn, author of Accounting & Financial Management for Residential Construction, along with Jim Weigel, Shinn Consulting, present the key indicators management teams should monitor to evaluate progress and report the viability of the company to existing lenders and investors.
Emma and Jim round out the discussion by emphasizing the importance of rigorous planning and continued course correction to ensure the company is on the right track.
To register, click here
Million Dollar Sizzle with Affordable Merchandising Friday, November 11, 2011 at 11am EST Lita Dirks, Lita Dirks & Co., reveals untapped opportunities to make lasting, memorable impressions on your target market through effective merchandising strategies. Consumers want to be educated and entertained as part of their buying process. Learn how to merchandise your models with sizzle that will create emotional attachment, leading to increased sales for a successful community.
To register, click here
Live Events
Greening Midwest Communities October 18 - 19 Jefferson City, Mo.
Collaborate and learn with building, development, and storm water professionals from across the Midwest. This 2-day conference brings together members of industry, municipalities, and agencies working in many aspects of community development and energy-efficient "green" home building and remodeling.
For more information, click here
How to Get Organized for Profits The Shinn Group November 2 - 4 Denver, Colo. How to Get Organized for Growth and Profits is an intensive group consulting session that will help owners and key personnel maximize profit and prepare for success through effective organization and management. Chuck Shinn and selected speakers will present methods and forms that can be used immediately to improve the performance of your company. It is also a tremendous opportunity to have your company financials analyzed by Emma Shinn, CPA
For more information, click here
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The Shinn Group has over 500 builder clients, located across the U.S. and Canada, including top performers among regional homebuilders. For more information, visit www.theshinngroup.com.
Builder Partnerships represents nearly 500 builders in the US and Canada who build an average of over 25,000 units annually. To be added to our distribution list or contribute an article to the newsletter, please contact us at info@builderpartnerships.com.
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