Some builders fear Web sites as a new or unknown technology, but it is the sales and marketing team who stands to gain, or lose, the most from a company’s Web site.  Like many other technological advances, the Web site was a little known, or used, resource 20 years ago, but now has become a staple of both the consumer and businesses.  

Many who have ignored the cyber world by keeping their head in the sand have done so to resist learning a new culture and language. The internet world is awash with new terms such as navigation, search engine rankings, design, content, and coding.  But every consumer embraces change. But think of this: change is how 100 % of us in this industry make a living. Without change, this industry would not exist. Every time we try to sell a new home, we are asking people to make a huge financial, emotional and sometimes cultural commitment, which is always a significant change to their then current way of life. Every builder, developer and Remodeler is in the business of change, and therefore, so is every associate member.

There are functional roles of your Web site, and there are the hidden ones. Leaders bring people to places where they would not go alone. Have you imagined where you could lead your company?

Functional roles of your Web site:

• Distributes workflow and labor burden reduction on your sales force
• Separates you from the competition
• Many times it is the first touch point in the day in the life of “the Lead,” which should be automated into your database so the customer entering the data feeds directly in to your sales system
• Provides call to actions, private or personal, such as calling your online sales counselor
• Displays inventory, with the latest data and prices fed from your sales system
• Feeds on demand, real-time content from your sales system, such as what plans go on what lots on your site map: all visible, all clickable, all free, all day, 24/7 with no sales person
• Integrates functions, such as leveraging your Web site in with lead services companies
• Allows your home buyer to facilitate warranty service requests, on their time, without using your telephone labor, tracking those items to completion
• Provides access to a digital document library, specifically, a portion of your company’s overall documents, from a sample warranty manual, to a selections sheet, and many more
• Acts as a customer portal where they can look and see, privately, their selections, contracts, documents, construction schedule, images, HOA or other important contacts, and, perhaps most importantly, their tasks and responsibilities
• Integrates with any construction management software that facilitates time management so vendors can view schedules, change orders, punch list tasks and much more
• Provides the “build it yourself” option, where a customer can choose a plan, choose structural options, selection items, include amenities and much more; all fed to them, without human interaction, at little to no cost, with your Web site driving the database functions.  Many companies do it, and so can you. Go build yourself a Jeep at Jeep.com.
• Gets Web leads to become prospects and prospects to come on site
• Have prospects pre-qualify themselves
• Provides a VIP Program, membership enrollment, and login to membership areas
• Facilitates links to online auctions, looks up maps, or searches inventory
• Tells the story of the company, product, geography, people, benefits, features
• Provides a forum and link to your blog; of course, someone has to write the blog
• Maintains communication, and the relationship, for long periods, and get referrals

Hidden benefits of your Web site:

• The lead, prospect, home buyer or home owner feel part of something larger
• Connects them to your product, what they saw, felt, and dreamed they could have
• Insinuates because your site provides unbiased value, your product is the right choice
• Makes the consumer feel like a winner by choosing you
• Decreases your construction cycle
• Speeds up your sales cycle
• Lowers your Cost of Goods Sold and operating expenses, including labor expense
• Functions as a silent sales person, one that is hopefully, a team mate to your sales team

The bottom line is that human resource costs more than digital.  That is why sales people need to move up the “food chain” when it comes to their skills and abilities, or they will be replaced, not from some foreign country where labor is cheap, but by technology where labor can be free.

Larger volume builders have already figured this out. Web sites leverage the playing field to an extent for a builder who does not intend to compete on volume or price.

At first glance the sheer list of functional and hidden agendas seems daunting and perhaps extraordinarily expensive. They are not, especially considering taking a $50,000 loss on a property that can’t be sold, but could have from a more sophisticated builder. Many times the profit margin differences between similar builders are directly related to the level of technology they adopt, specifically the Web site and business processing software.

For most builders, their best customer is an educated customer. More and more consumers are using the Internet, and are comfortable with it, whether builders are or not. Follow the money.

New Home Sales Professionals will never be fully outsourced, because their interpersonal dynamics are crucial, but builders will (and are) replacing some internal work, with the tremendous advantages of the distributed workflow available through dynamic, engaging, and sophisticated Web sites. The face of the American Home Builder is not just becoming younger; it is becoming smarter, more efficient, and more willing to accept what they sell; dreams, and change.

Erik Cofield, CGA has leveraged technology and provided business management consulting for all sizes and types of builders, developers and remodelers. His latest article is part of the 2008 NAHB Business Management Guide- Using Technology to Better Your Business. He is the National Accounts Manager for BuildTopia (www.buildtopia.com), a widely used international construction management software company. He can be reached at 240-399-0110 x213 or via ecofield@buildtopia.com.