Start With the Why: Fundamentals of the Custom Builder Business
In our inaugural episode of Taking Care of Business, host and custom builder Duane Johns sits down with Scott Beebe, head coach and founder of My Business on Purpose, to talk vision, purpose, mission, values, and more
Business
Why AI Is Now Key to Our Trade Partner Strategy
Thompson Custom Homes Business Manager Erin Day explains how AI became a crucial part of building and maintaining successful trade partner relationships
Business
Thriving in 2024: Tips for Succeeding in an Uncertain Environment
Author and sales expert Mark Richardson shares his insights on the industry and how to rethink your approach to success in the new year
Custom Builder
Understanding Your Biggest Competitor
You may not think of yourself as a tour guide, therapist, doctor, marriage counselor, or investment advisor. But those are the skills custom builders need in today's market
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Leadership
Value Versus Reduction
When you discount, you undermine the value of the service you are offering. The way to improve the bottom line and make it more resilient to the ups and downs of the economy and the regulatory market is to increase the value of what you deliver.
Leadership
Winning Ingredients
If successful custom home building was a recipe, the ingredient list would be one part skilled builder and trades; one part good land, floor plans and options; and two parts satisfied customers. Because customer satisfaction is such an integral part of the custom home building recipe, custom home builders are focusing more than ever on improving their customer satisfaction ratings.
Leadership
"New" Luxury Market Demands
For pre-baby boomers, luxury was about the intrinsic qualities of the things acquired — price, exclusivity, quality of materials and workmanship. The old European concept of luxury reflects this mode of thinking. Class distinctions were rigid, and the accumulation of wealth through fortune or celebrity did not necessarily provide access to the accoutrements of the upper classes.
Leadership
Is a Parade of Homes Right for You?
When it comes to building custom homes, Russell Burton, managing member, Burton Custom LLC, Littleton, Colo., thinks big. Although it is the smallest home in Denver's 2005 Parade of Homes, at "only" 5700 sq. ft., the Retreat, shown left, proves that choosing good details can have mammoth buyer appeal.
Marketing & Sales
Sizzling Sales for 2005
At this year's International Builders' Show in Orlando, national sales trainer Bonnie Alfriend, MIRM, president of Alfriend Sales and Marketing Solutions, Pebble Beach, Calif., presented advice for putting sizzle back into selling in 2005. Titled "105 Ideas for the Year 2005," her seminar included the following tips: When relying on technology to communicate, don't forget the personal touch.
Marketing & Sales
Selling Energy Efficiency
Fifty members of Connecticut's home building industry attended a pilot event in November to learn how to sell homes with the ENERGY STAR® rating, how to approach customers about building an energy-efficient home and how building energy efficient homes can increase their sales. Sponsored by United Illuminating Company, a Connecticut utility company, lighting retailers and manufacturers who'...
Leadership
A House Without Right Angles
Architect Matt Schlueb, principal of Schlueb Architecture, recently designed his own home in Pittsburgh, Pa., with virtually no right angles. Villa Vuoto features 2,600 square feet of living space, three levels, and simple and compounded curves, sloping walls and circular rooms. Designed to provide a stimulating environment for the architect's young son, the project was a prototype for explorin...
Leadership
Creating a Community Theme
A sense of place matters just as much to luxury home buyers as the details of the floorplan and the quality of the finishes. To deliver on this desire, custom builders can borrow a page from their production builder counterparts. Here Terry Smith of architecture firm Bloodgood Sharp Buster gives a quick tutorial in creating a community theme.
Leadership
Insurance Woes Top Concern List
The price of general liability insurance and the ongoing shortage of carriers willing to write such policies for builders pushed these issue to the top of NAHB's annual critical issues surveys. On a scale of one to five, where one equals not at all critical and five equals very critical, general liability insurance cost scored 4.
Marketing & Sales
Best Doughnuts in the World
I spent the entire holiday season reading about selling. In particular, I read everything I could about closing a sale. No other area of selling seems as popular as closing. More words, more pages and more books are dedicated to closing than any other ...