As a Home Builder and Remodeler- How do You Move Your Business Forward in 2010? Maybe it’s Time for a New Hammer
November 16, 2009 by Coach Rick · 9 Comments
As a Home Builder and Remodeler- How do You Move Your Business Forward in 2010? Maybe it’s Time for a New Hammer
No I’m not talking about MC Hammer (but how about those pants)!
Can't Touch This!
It’s getting to be the time of year to look back on 2009 and put together a strategy for 2010.
I hear the same old arguments from people who have ‘been through this before.’ I’m not so sure what worked in the past is the answer to our future.
Here’s an alternative “hammer” you may want to consider to finally beat this housing market….
~Rick
My wife tells me I’m the “ultimate planner”. I tell her she’s the “ultimate live in the moment person.” I guess that’s why we’re good for one another.
A couple of days ago “the ultimate planner” was lying in bed contemplating the future of housing? Specifically asking…
- How will this recession effect people’s behavior as it relates to housing? As it relates to purchasing behavior in general?
- Where are the opportunities today and 3 years from now?
- How will government continue to effect housing in the future?
- If I were a home builder or remodeler what strategy would I employ moving forward?
These are not easy questions- nor are they answered in a day. But I have this gut feeling that our industry is still going in the wrong direction.
Specifically- were still trying to use the same old “hammer” to shape the future.
Hammer Time
This morning I received a blog from Seth Godin titled, “Hammer Time” (thanks for letting me borrow the title Seth!).
You can see Seth’s Blog post here
Here’s an excerpt from the post…
“When the market changes, you may be seeing all the new opportunities and problems the wrong way because of the solutions you’re used to. The reason so many organizations have trouble using social media is that they are using precisely the wrong hammer. And odds are, they will continue to do so until their organization fails. PR firms try to use the new tools to send press releases, because, you guessed it, that’s their hammer.”
To summarize the blog- we (companies) are still trying to use our “hammers” (solutions) that we’ve always used.
Build a Better Mousetrap
So what is the contractor’s solution? Build a better home of course. That’s what we do.
We focus on better…
- Home Design
- Products/features
- Built Homes (Green)
- Sticks and Bricks!
Now I’m not saying these things aren’t important- they’re incredibly important. I just don’t believe they are at the top of your prospect’s mind.
What IS at the top of your prospects mind, without a doubt, is their own reality- their own problems. Until they feel you understand these problems better than anyone else and can provide a one-of-a-kind solution, they won’t buy from you.
Could it be that your product (hammer) of the future will NOT be the homes you build and remodel….
Rather, you’re product will be your actual customer
What if you spent as much time trying to understand what was going on in the head of your next customer as you did designing & building your next home?
How would you change your approach if you know the intimate details in the mind of your prospect?
My grandparents lived through the depression and I grew up watching how they, along with my father and uncles, were fundamentally changed for the REST OF THEIR LIVES because of it.
How will the current recession affect the housing decisions of the current and future generations? How has it affected you?
Maybe I’m completely wrong but I’d love to get your take on this topic.
Do you think our hammer for the future is the homes we build and remodel or is it something else?
Do you think our hammer for the future is the homes we build and remodel or is it something else?
Please post your opinion below (and don’t sugar coat it!)
Happy Selling!
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If home builders and remodelers want to find more buyers, they should try following the “red lanterns”
November 2, 2009 by Coach Rick · 1 Comment
My brother is home on leave from Afghanistan and father is up from Florida so we snuck away for a quick grouse hunting trip.
I’ve been hunting grouse for 30 years and tried something different this time…something that is a valuable lesson for everyone in the housing industry…
~Rick
“Doing the Same thing over and expecting different results.”
It was this very quote I was thinking about on my last grouse hunting trip. For years I’ve pretty much hunted grouse the same way- get into the woods and WALK.
I’d spend 5-6 hours a day walking trails for grouse with many times not even a “flush,” hearing or seeing a bird.
This year, I tried something different…
Instead of focusing on the amount of time I would spend in the woods WALKING, I would spend time before the trip RESEARCHING the type of cover where grouse like to “hang out.”
This led me to the red lanterns (see the photo above).
Red lanterns, to an avid grouse hunter, are dogwood tree berries. In the early to mid season, grouse love to feed on these berries. The theory is, find the berries and you will find the birds.
My research focused on finding these trees even if it led me off the “beaten trail.”
My first afternoon hunt I got into the woods around 4:00. The first trail I walked had some nice young aspen trees (another grouse favorite) but lacked the “red lanterns” I was looking for.
I tried a different trail and soon began to see red lanterns. My young and incredibly inexperienced Red Setter Bentley and I began to move off the trail and into the areas of these dogwood trees.
A wind storm and ice storm this year made the walking incredibly difficult. There were down trees all over the place in addition to the thick cover already present.
About 30 minutes of walking through the thick forest I heard a series of incredibly fast wing beats…Bentley and I had our first flush!
The same thing happened a few minutes later- another flush but no opportunity for a shot.
We continued to walk around the dogwoods until the lack of daylight encouraged me to turn around and head back to the car. I was silently congratulating myself for the 2 flushes when I heard another bird flush over my right shoulder…
This time I not only had a visual, the bird had flown into a small clearing where I had a shot. I got lucky and downed the bird. Bentley found the bird in the forest and he had officially retrieved his first grouse.
This bird flushed right out of a tree- a dogwood tree that is…
Your Challenge
Thinking about this experience I couldn’t help but look at the similarities of what has happened to the housing market over the last 5 years…
- Walking the same trails gave me a great workout but wasn’t leading me to birds. Are you taking the same path in your business and are you finding the buyers you’re looking for?
- Sitting in front of the computer and researching grouse cover wasn’t much fun- but it made all the difference when I went into the woods. Are you taking time each week to work ON your business and find new avenues for attracting buyers?
- Moving off the trail and into the woods was tough. It would of been a lot easier to stay on the trail for an easy walk but that’s not where the birds were. Changing how you attract buyers is tough at first too…you’re not used to it and it’s much easier to go back to what you know.
- I spent 2.5 hours walking through and over some of the thickest cover you can imagine to bag one bird. Today, you have to not only arm yourself with the knowledge, strategies and techniques to find buyers- you have to remain persistent to find those few buyers out there.
I wrote the Ultimate System for Attracting Home Buyers to give you all the tools you need to find today’s home buyers.
-Jim Seabold, Bold Marketing
My client’s are consistently using these strategies to find buyers today, in every type of market, from entry level to luxury.
Get your copy of the Ultimate System for Attracting Home Buyers by clicking here>>
Happy Hunting AND Happy Selling!
P.S. If you don’t want to start changing the way you attract buyers today, no problem.
Just remember, the time will pass anyway…
You can spend your time implementing proven strategies to get more buyers or spend your time “walking down the beaten path.” It’s your choice…
Make a difference and start today>>
