Transform Your Marketing With This Powerful Tip

by Erik Cofield in Articles 1/8/2010 1:20:00 AM

What helps sell more homes faster? A) construction science, B) deep pockets C) stellar sales people D) strategic marketing?

 

You guessed it, strategic marketing. You might have said all of the above, but not really because of the word “faster”. Why?  Construction science can build it faster. Money is great, but not if you waste it on poor marketing choices. Sales people help, but only if they have leads.  So, strategic marketing fits that bill.  

Do you think you are in construction? Too bad, you are also in marketing. You may have gotten in to this industry because you are a construction science guru, or maybe you are a brilliant architect, or you graduated from Business College and you got in it for the money or your parents gave you the business. It doesn’t matter, congratulations, you are now in marketing.

 

While most builders don’t usually do blow away marketing, some do. You can too. Whether you could build a home blind-folded, or you are a Harvard business grad, or you were a superintendent and are starting your own company, none of that matters if you are not marketing like a Transformer!  So here is a tip many builders overlook. It will help you out-position your competition. More...


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BuildTopia in St. Louis - Seminar - Successful Selling Strategies

by Erik Cofield in Articles | News and Events 12/27/2009 1:43:00 PM

Join us as we head to St. Louis!  Erik will present his "Managing Leads Like a Super-Hero!" as one of the presenters with Builder Homesite.  BuildTopia is part of a road show with Builder Homesite as we head to Home Builder Associations around the country giving builders real world advice on successful selling strategies to sell homes online, or anywhere else. Carol Flammer with mRelevance joins as well.

RSVP details are in the flyer below.

If you would like this at your HBA, contact Erik Cofield at ecofield@buildtopia.com.

St Louis 1-5-10 seminar on selling homes.pdf (54.78 kb)


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BuildTopia on Builder Radio - CRM systems making money for builders!

by Erik Cofield in Articles 11/9/2009 3:18:00 PM

Erik Cofield, VP of BuildTopia, is interviewed by Jerry Roleau and Scott Stroud from Builder Radio. It is all about CRM systems. Listen to unbiased real world best practices and judge for yourself if you are profiting from a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.

You can listen to the 30 minute audio from their main site. It will only be here for 1 week, then archived.
http://builderradio.com/

The article that accompanies the interview is below! Download it. Share it. Strategize with your team. It is all about CRM systems. Are you leveraging your system to the max? Let us know what you think. We provide builders with real world best practices, every day, whether you use BuildTopia or not!

Want the presentation at your company, or at your home builder association? Contact Erik at ecofield@buildtopia.com

CRM Systems: Real World Q &A (Not Product Specific)
August, 2009

INTRODUCTION
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is misunderstood, because the actual subject matter is wide, the issues diverse and the needs are different based on volume size of builder, number of staff, type of product built, method of obtaining leads, and more.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Many builders are either not benefitting from a CRM system or not using the one they have to their full potential. They think they don’t need one, can’t afford one, or wouldn’t benefit from one, their staff would not use one or that it is just an expense, instead of an investment with a qualified quick return. Some builders even think there are just too many options and get stuck in the “fear of change” category.

PREVIOUS OPTIONS
There are a myriad of options currently available, which still include hard copy (paper), spreadsheets, contact management systems (Outlook) and then the entire world of real CRM software applications, not to mention the industry specific CRM systems specially designed for the needs of the residential construction industry.

SOLUTION
The following questions were gathered from real world sessions with Builders, specifically and exclusively on the subject of CRM (not BuildTopia products).  This content is provided as industry best practices advice.

Benefit 1
With a CRM System, a builder can out position, and out perform, their competition.

Benefit 2
With a CRM System, a builder can minimize pricing mistakes on options and inventory.

Benefit 3
With a CRM System, a builder can get immediate access to accurate results and make real time qualified decisions.

*There are dozens of additional benefits!

IMPLEMENTATION
Implementation varies widely depending on several factors, including, the level of capability (functionality) in the system chosen, the skill level of the staff involved, and the amount and type of support the vendor company offers the builder. The investment costs of implementation from the vendor company for the solution can vary tremendously as well. This can range from nothing for a self-implemented system, to many thousands of dollars. Some systems offer methods for the builder to self-implement and/or utilize highly skilled project managers, usually for an additional investment. Factor the return on investment against the cost of the system, cost of implementation, ongoing technical support costs, and version upgrades, if any.

SUMMARY
BuildTopia has been helping builders of all sizes and types, as well as thousands of their trade partners, for over 10 years. We hope you find this information helpful in your search to improve your company performance and maximize your potential to profit. The questions and answers are in their original conversational style. They were asked from a wide variety of builders in residential construction.

CRM Systems: Real World Q &A

What does CRM stand for?

Customer Relationship Management. But the term “CRM” typically refers to a system or software application that allows for processing all the elements of the “day in the life of” a contact. Industry specific systems manage leads to prospect to homebuyers to home owners.
_
What is a lead management system?

Leads are just one type of contact. A lead management system can be a stand alone system, but is really only one part of a total CRM system.
_
What is the difference between a CRM, a CMS and a Sales System?

A CMS is a Contact Management System. Typically, a CMS is not as in-depth in terms of ability or functionality. It is managing a contact in terms of data, as opposed to a total relationship.  A CRM system provides in-depth customer relationship issues, such as tasks, multiple emails, multiple phone numbers, notes, documents, dates, contact information, etc. It allows you to not just track contact data, but ultimately, the entire relationship with marketing campaigns, lead sources, reporting tools and more. A Sales System is a CRM system that is industry specific and takes CRM to a whole new level with added functionality. For this industry, it would include management of contracts, options, incentives, campaigns, survey cards, associated people such as Realtors, Brokers and harmonious things such as interaction points with the consumer, such as home buyer home pages (portals).
_
How do you use sign-in cards in a system or electronic database?

You have to More...


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Hanley Wood’s Fall Update on the 20 Healthiest Markets in Housing Industry

by Erik Cofield in Articles 10/6/2009 11:05:00 AM

More information at www.builderonline.com or http://bit.ly/pVkkf

#1 Austin

Market Health Indicator: 50.3

Even though it took a step backward during the last six months, Austin happens to be the only market on our list that is genuinely close to healthy. Home prices, which rose in 2008, finally declined this year—they are down 4.6% through September—as this Texas metro ended a long run of employment growth and lost some jobs. But its population has expanded by 4.3% during the first half of 2009, which should add housing demand and help firm up home pricing. It was the same story with Austin-area employment numbers, which remained in positive territory until mid-2009, when its manufacturing segment began losing jobs. Still, unemployment in this progressive city runs only about 7%, significantly below the national average. Dell Computer is Austin’s largest employer, with about 17,000 jobs. Austin continues to draw population, especially retirees, with its low cost of living, inexpensive housing, and warm-weather climate. The city had the third highest household growth rate in percentage terms among the top 100 market. Even so, permit activity fell by 38% during the first half of the year.More...


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Business Week Posts 30 Strongest Housing Markets-See the list!

by Erik Cofield in Articles 8/18/2009 12:21:00 PM
According to Business Week online, located at:
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/aug2009/bw20090810_741278.htm
they have come up with a list of the 30 strongest housing markets in the U.S.

I am not sure how they can qualify Bay City Michigan above Knoxville Tennessee, but they have.

By "strongest" they do not mean positive growth in all cases. However, the list has a lot of information, statistics and numerous images.

Like many online sources, they have manipulated the data so you have to click through over 30 pages to get the data, which annoys me. So, you can see the quick list below, but the link above will give you all of their statistics. There does seem to be a strong overall presence in the southeast.

Speaking of the southeast...I will be speaking at the 21st Century Building Expo & Conference to be held Sept.16-18, 2009 at the Charlotte Convention Center. Maybe the show will be much stronger than anticipated!

For more information visit their website at www.21buildingexpo.com.

Here is the Business Week List:

1

Boulder, CO

2

Spartanburg, SC

3

New Orleans, LA

4

Binghampton, NY

5

Fayetteville, NC

6

Pittsburgh, PA

7

Little Rock, AR

8

Gainesville, GA

9

Burlington, NC

10

Oklahoma City, OK

11

Cumberland, MD

12

Jacksonville, NC

13

Yakima, WA

14

Springfield, OH

15

Tulsa, OK

16

Champaign-Urbana, IL

17

Albany, NY

18

Lancaster, PA

19

Fort Collins, CO

20

Durham, NC

21

Augusta, GA

22

Bay City, MI

23

Corvallis, OR

24

Greenville, SC

25

Santa Cruz, CA

26

Greensboro, NC

27

Mobile, AL

28

Columbus, OH

29

Knoxville, TN

30

Sumter, SC


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Teaching a Builder to Fish? No, Teaching a Builder to Magnetize!

by Erik Cofield in Articles 5/27/2009 4:48:00 AM

We all know the story of teaching a man to fish is better than just fishing for them. Many of us may realize through times of adversity come opportunity. How are these connected to home building?

For decades, in cycles, builders have made money. When times were good, they simply fished with a big net. It was more or less easy to find a buyer for a home one was building.

This concept of throwing a net out there to catch what you can is changing in the world, and especially fast in the United States.  Instead of going out and scooping up, the new way is to become a magnet.  Builders will have to change from being fishermen, to being high powered magnets. Some builders already are, others are planning to catch up, and some have not yet put the planning in place.

How do you pull, instead of scoop? The shift will require companies, including builders, to push out quality content, in mass, very quickly, but in a more sophisticated way than previously done. Builders will have to be more than providers of product; they will need to become trusted resources and destinations of information. They are already a destination for decorating advice; consider the many “looky-loos” using your model homes as examples of decorating advice. Society will force builders, at least highly profitable ones, to do a better job of attracting people. Why? Because people have more choice than ever before, but less time, and therefore can only go where they are strongly attracted. Enter the magnet builder. More...


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Using Twitter for Your Business

by Erik Cofield in Articles 5/11/2009 8:07:00 AM

This article was created by, and reprinted with permission from, Blue Tangerine Solutions

How to Use Twitter To Reach A Local Audience For Your Business
It seems that everyone is talking about Twitter these days, and the top two questions seem to be:
1.  What exactly is Twitter?
2.  Can I really use this to grow my business?

What is Twitter?
We’ve addressed the “what is Twitter” in other blog articles, but I must admit that I’ve found an even better definition than ever before.  Yes, it’s microblogging.  Yes, it’s social networking.  However, the best description that I can provide is that it is a lot like CB Radio.  (Those of you who are old enough to remember the CB Radio craze of the 1970’s can appreciate that analogy.)  With Twitter, you can reach out and follow people and even jump in and out of their conversations.  The people can be complete strangers, but once you find them, it’s easy to connect with them and continue conversations.More...

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The Builders Trifecta - of Marketing Anyway

by Erik Cofield in Articles 4/7/2009 4:39:00 AM

For builders, the future is always intrinsically connected to what you are doing right this minute. When it comes to marketing, it is really like a trifecta.  Trifecta?  Is that a word? Sort of. You see language, like your marketing, is an ever evolving thing. The word trifecta came about in the 1970s as an offshoot of perfecta.  But trifecta is usually used in gambling. Gambling is exactly what marketing is all about, only with better odds.  When you do your marketing, you want a return.  A trifecta is a type of bet [usually on horse races] in which you, the bettor, must select the FIRST 3 finishers in EXACT order.  So, here is the builder’s trifecta, or the 3 finishers in your marketing package.  Here is my bet on the winning strategy for your marketing efforts. More...


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10 Things to Improve Your Education Program Immediately

by Erik Cofield in Articles 2/8/2009 11:55:00 AM
By Erik Cofield, CGA 

It was my privilege to be tasked with managing the education department for the Greater Houston Builders Association.  We took a curriculum of nearly 30 courses per year, to 110 courses per year. Not only did we offer tremendous value to the membership, help internal departments grow, but obviously significantly raised non-dues revenue for the association. Whether you already have an education department, or are considering one, we hope you find the following information helpful as you seek to provide the highest level of service and professionalism for your association, while making more money of course! 

1) Use CertificatesCreate certificates of completion for all courses other than NAHB courses since NAHB sends their own. Hand these out at the end of the class.  Keep in mind employees like to have things to show their boss. Business owners like to have things to show their consumer customers. The HBA should get templates as well as gold embossed seals professionally printed. This allows the HBA staff to manually write in the person’s name and class title, or to print these out, customized for every class. Applying a pre printed gold embossed seal makes the certificate more prestigious. 

2) Survey SaysBeyond the NAHB form, create your own survey form, with as few as 5 questions or as many as you feel will be tolerated. Make it obvious the form should be anonymous. Communicate about the survey forms before the class, and be there at the end to collect them.  You are trying to find out: was it easy to register, did the class meet the stated objective, was the instructor competent and prepared or did they sell their products and services. You also want to know if the price was correct, or if they have any suggestions for future content, types of food, location, hours, etc. The education department must be continually developed and created to serve the membership.More...

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Industry Best Practices Lead, Prospect & Contact Code List

by Erik Cofield in Articles 1/10/2009 8:20:00 AM

Every company, especially builders, should have a contact management system. A more advanced contact management system allows you to manage the relationships of your customers and is referred to as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management). In any of these types of systems, one should have defined codes for all contact types, and stages of those types. 

The list below is a basic list.  For example, It can be even more sophisticated to include a code denoting the source from which the lead came.  From the list below, instead of 08-B, one could have subsets such as 08-B-Web and 08-B-News, denoting a source of web and newspaper respectively.  The idea is always striving to push a prospect to a number 1. At a glance one can understand where in the buying process a prospect is, simply by looking at the number. For example, with the list below, a 9 is not as good as a 7, and a 7 is not as good as a 5, and none of them are as good as a 1.  

Be careful not to use terms that are subjective in their identification, without the clarification.Not every team member will think of terms such as “interested” or “immediate” in the same way, so those terms must be defined for whatever works for your company.  The term “immediate” must be defined by a number of days so you entire team is using it the same way. Otherwise, your reports are meaningless. 

Keep in mind your codes can, or even should, be alpha numeric.  In the list below, More...


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