“Realtors, Remodelers and Home Builders- Discover how to go from Bust to Boom in 2010 with these 3   Sure Fire Tactics”

What’s in store for housing in 2010? Wouldn’t we all like to foresee that!

My crystal ball is in the shop again so I’ve put together 3 tactics that cutting edge Remodelers, Home Builders and Realtors are using to “crack the code” in 2010.

Warning: You will not hear about these iron-clad strategies from others so if you snooze, you lose…Enjoy!

~Rick

Ok- 2009 is over. Great, right? I know this was a tough and trying year. But before we close the doors, let’s look at what was good about it…

• A lot of your competitors are gone and you (the strong) have survived

• You’re efficiency is off the charts because you’re doing more with less

• The market has taught you invaluable lessons and you’re a LOT smarter in January 2010 than January 2009

What the worst mistake most of you made in 2009?

If there was one mistake I watched most home builders and remodelers make in 2009 it was REACTING to the market.

When you react it usually means two things-

1. Sales are down and you make a move to step them up. Usually this means you cut prices.
   
2. When you do make a sale, margins suffer.

Very few predicted the full extent of how much our market would change in one year…Don’t beat yourself up if you reacted to the market for most of ’09- it was a very difficult mistake to avoid.

So What’s Your Strategy to Ignite Sales This Year?

You’re smarter, more efficient and have less competitors.

If you’re going to get PROACTIVE you need some sure-fire tactics.

Here are 3…
1. Focus and Filter: Diversifying is NOT, I repeat, NOT the answer! Every other industry out there has specialty companies that target a certain demographic and psychographic profile. Very few in the housing industry do. We’re all trying to sell the same thing, the same way- yet we tell our prospects, “we’re better.” It’s no wonder we’re frustrated by price wars.

When money is tight consumers take longer to shop and will choose the companies they feel are best suited to solve their problems. Only about 10% of consumers will buy purely on price. The other 90% buy on emotional perceived value.

If you want consumers to choose you for what you are (and make a buck at doing it)- you can’t be everything to everyone.

The micro market (small niche business) section of our economy is poised to boom (and certain sectors are already booming!). The housing industry needs to take the lead from companies like Target, Best Buy and Ford. All of these companies focus on niche offering to a specific target market.

Focus on what you do best or focus on an un-served niche in your market. Filter everything else out- especially the sacred cows!

This is also called Market Positioning and you can discover how to do it by clicking on this link>>

2. Beware of Baby Boomers: I know, I know- you’ve been told that you should be targeting boomers- this is where the money is, right? This is where the money USED to be and this group may have the lowest consumer confidence.

Consider…

• Boomers are getting old (the oldest are turning 64 this year) and they don’t have a lot of time in the workplace. They’re not willing to take on large mortgages and want to do lateral moves as they consider down sizing (which doesn’t work because their current home has lost so much value).
  

• The dreams of early retirement and staying young forever are fading. Boomers lost an incredible amount of wealth last decade, have burned through a lot of savings and won’t be able to replenish it quickly.

The Exception…

Remodelers take note- aging in place along with certain remodeling projects will start to appeal to boomers because they will find themselves unable or unwilling to move (along with the acceptance they are getting old).

3. The Decade of the Woman: Over the last 30 years a woman’s role in buying, building and remodeling homes has grown to where she is now 80% – 91% of the primary influence.

Couple that with our current job market. Approximately 72% of the job losses have been men due to the high percentage of construction and manufacturing jobs shed.

There is no doubt that as this decade plays out women will not only continue to be the emotional decision makers- they will also take a larger role in the financial decisions of the home.

Find out how a group of home builders and remodelers are making their companies more appealing to women (and adding to their bottom line)>>

What are your predictions for 2010 and beyond? What tactics will the new and rebuilt home builders, Realtors and Remodelers be using to unleash sales?

Share your thoughts below…

Happy New Year & Happy Selling!

Happy Fall to you! As a hunter, there’s no better time of the year. I just got back from my first grouse hunting trip with my 9 month old dog Bentley.

We flushed a few birds but didn’t put any in the bag. We DID, however, scare the you know what of out some Chipmunks and Tweedy birds!

~Rick

If you missed Part I (Kick-off & Research), you can click here for the article>>

According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women, when men and women buy as partners, women control at least four out of five stages of the purchasing process (well really all 5 but us men need to get our egos stroked a bit .

Stage III- Purchase
If there’s one area of the purchasing process where we feel men are in charge, this is it. Why?

Historically this is where the “man” takes over as primary contact and negotiator.

It’s why we get confused as marketers…

…that men are the primary influencers in the decision to buy.

We get confused because it was her idea to move or remodel in the first place (Stage I) and she did all the research to find your company (Stage II).

Doesn’t it seem like you work and work with her and when it comes time to write the purchase agreement “Mr. Negotiator” steps in?

The question I ask all my clients in this situation is this, “Is she on board?” If they say ‘she is,’ he’s just trying to get the best deal.

In this situation stand firm on your negotiation. Give him something to make the deal happen- just not the farm!

Click here for a sales process that will have her selecting you and your company>>

Stage IV- Ownership

She’s back in the saddle again! The post purchase stage has her making selections, finalizing design, dealing with construction details, etc.

This is where your staged guest experience comes in. If you aren’t proactively staging a “Nordstrom’s” type  customer experience you’ll let her down, and you can’t afford that…

…because the ownership stage leads us to…

Stage V- Word-of-Mouth
OK guys…this is where we get BURNED.

Use this link to get the ONLY new home and remodeling sales system designed to appeal to a woman>>

Happy Selling!

This is a great article by Melanie Notkin, Savvyauntie.com,

http://she-conomy.com/2009/10/15/are-aunts-the-new-mom/

explaining that we may be missing 36% of female buyers ages 20 – 44…those that don’t have children.

Check it out and start thinking about what you can do as a home builder and remodeler to target this niche group of “aunts”…

When you’re done reading this article, check out my video on how home builders and remodelers are utilizing marketing strategies to attract women to their companies>>

What this video DOESN’T explain about social media is the relevance to a woman’s research process for new homes and remodelers. The information is, however, fabulous!

Don’t forget to pick up your free e-guide here>>

Happy Selling!

~Rick

Multi-Step Marketing and Position Selling are some new buzz words I’ll be talking about August 25th, 2009 at the MN Builder/Remodeler Sales and Marketing Summit.

It’s happening at 2:00 and you can still walk in to register.

Get directions here>>

If you can’t make it, here’s 2 stages of marketing & selling you can’t ignore!

~Rick


Consider this…

• “Women initiate 80% of all home-improvement purchase decisions, especially when it comes to big-ticket orders like kitchen cabinets, flooring and bathrooms.” (Forbes, 2003).

• “Women directly purchase or have controlling influence in the purchase of 91% of all new homes.” (Smith-Dahmer Associates, NAHB IBS).

• “90% of all construction companies are owned by men.” (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

If you’re a home builder or remodeler, or sell for one, you WANT to pay attention to these 5 buying stages…

Discover a new home and remodeling sales system taylored to women>>

According to Marti Barletta, author of Marketing to Women and PrimeTime Women, when men and women buy as partners, women control at least four out of five stages of the purchasing process (well really all 5 but us men need to get our egos stroked a bit .

Stage I- The Kick-off
Who gets the idea, 8 or 9 times out of 10, to change their housing situation?

When a woman isn’t satisfied with her current living situation it stems from problems.

Do you understand her problems better than anyone else?

The consistent mistake I see builders and remodelers making is jumping to solutions before identifying problems. As a man, I know my problems are DRAMATICALLY different than those of my wife.

Stage II- Research
Now that she’s decided to make a housing change, who do you think does the research?

According to the National Association of Realtors, she’s turning online 87% of the time to begin her home search.

And when she is looking at your website she’s looking to ELIMINATE you, not include you. She’s also checking out blogs, social networking and “CROPing”….

“Before women go shopping, they go CROPing, looking for CRedible OPinions,” maintains Kelley Skoloda Partner and Director of Global Brand Marketing Practice of Ketchum public relations.

Do you the best way to leverage the opinions of your current & past female customers?

Do you know what kind of website appeals to a woman?

Are you interactive in social media? Do you know which types of social media will give you the biggest return?

Do you understand what type of knowledge your female prospects are looking for online?

The bottom line is the housing industry has an incredible disconnect with our primary target market….women.

Our male egos lead us to believe we understand women and how to market and sell to them just because we have in the past.

The FACT is the majority of our previous sales were propelled by an unsustainable seller’s market- the same market that is not returning anytime soon.

Like anything, a process can be learned. And for those that do learn a sales system that appeals to women, the results are dramatic!

Use this link to get the ONLY new home and remodeling sales system designed to appeal to a woman>>

Next week I’ll talk about the Purchase and Ownership Stages. Until then…

Happy Selling!