With IBS 2021 transitioning to a virtual event, our annual IBS networking reception has been cancelled. We look forward to seeing everyone at the 2022 event. We encourage our manufacturer and service provider members to make the most of your marketing budgets by investing in our powerful outreach programs designed to help you increase sales and selling efficiency, click article to view.
It’s no coincidence that the majority of highly-successful business owners have a mentor or coach. They understand the importance of obtaining an outside perspective from experts who can help them achieve greater levels of success.
In today's market you want to stand out and differentiate yourself by being the company that offers the most valuable relationship, not necessarily the least expensive product. In this four-part series, we will reveal several ways you as the manufacturer can become invaluable to your builder customers without sacrificing profitability.
Builder Partnerships would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to our builder members. This has been an interesting and challenging year, and we want you to know we value your partnership and participation. 
Are your cycle times getting longer? Are trades not showing up on your jobsites? Are you experiencing delays with closings and unpredictable cash flow? It’s easy to blame construction schedules and material shortages for these issues. However, the root cause is more widespread. 
Last month, Emma and I participated in the fifth annual Driving for Kids charity event as team Shindig Rover. Driving for Kids is part of America’s British Reliability Run (BRR), a fun, but challenging, driving event for British car enthusiasts.
We are pleased to announce the creation of the Shinn Consulting Home Builder University, an online community for builders to access the critical knowledge they need to survive and thrive. 
We have streamlined our builder enrollment process to make it quick and easy for builders to become members of Builder Partnerships. No more paper! No more hassle! 
We recently simplified our agreements and pricing to offer our manufacturer and service provider members added value. You can customize your agreement with a wide variety of a la carte services designed to help you grow your market share, and we can manage all of your programs—including any special and direct programs you have with builders. 
A well-trained staff leads to higher quality homes built in less time at a lower cost.
Builders from across the U.S. and Canada are reporting supply chain issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey of our builder community revealed 96% of respondents are experiencing issues with product availability.
We know you are busy. We can help! Builder Partnerships offers integrations with ECI MarkSystems® and MiTek® KOVA to make rebate submissions easier for our builder members.
It is important that manufacturers establish their own relationships with builders, which generally involves an offer of direct support from the manufacturer, better known as a builder program. Builder programs often are customized to meet the specific needs of the builder.
In an attempt to gain an understanding of the status of business with our manufacturing partners, we recently conducted a survey. Our survey included members from across the country and the results show they have been experiencing similar ups and downs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Many supply chains have been interrupted because of shipping issues, supply issues, and reduced operational capacity.
Each calendar year, our manufacturer and service provider members receive one free article in our Monthly Briefing newsletter which is distributed to more than 12,000 builders and industry associates.
Builders actually do want to see a manufacturer sales rep come through the door. They want to meet you, learn more about your company, and potentially do business with you. Here are some tips for manufacturers when calling on prospective builder clients.
The primary purpose of an internal job-costing system is to enable you to track your outcomes for specific jobs, as well as for different types of work. Those scores will yield the information you need to make a huge – and positive – difference in your gross profits and bottom line! 
Over half of the companies on Builder's Builder 100/Next 100 lists and Professional Builder's Housing Giants list are members of Builder Partnerships.
With an average profit rate of 9.59%, 2019 was the best performing year for builders since 2006, when all the critical measurements were aligned with targets and production volume. Although 2019 numbers were not at the level of performance of 2006, they show profitability headed in the right direction. 
Builder Partnerships is pleased to announce integrations with ECI MarkSystems® and MiTek® KOVA. These integrations will make it easier for Builder Partnerships members to submit for and collect rebates.
We have the right opportunity for you to get in front of our membership! Our popular Webinar Wednesday program offers our manufacturer and service provider members valuable exposure to an engaged community of successful builders. Webinar Sponsorship or Presenting a Webinar, Hosted by Builder Partnerships. Whichever suits you best, we are here to help!
Builder Partnerships improves how manufacturers can sponsor builders: No paper! Quick! Easy! As a manufacturer or service provider, you have the ability to sponsor builders into the Builder Partnerships program at no cost to you and no cost to the builder just by sending them a link. 
We encourage our manufacturer and service provider members to keep their profile information current by updating it on a regular basis. Great selling features for potential customers are images and links to products on your webpage. 
As you plan for the second half of 2020, it's important to review your builder rebate programs to ensure they are structured to help your business as well as your builder relationships. Rebate programs have a positive return as they not only help to grow your business, they allow for tracking of critical information about who is using your products to identify future opportunities.
We partner with more than 50 manufacturers to secure highly competitive incentives to help each of our builder members improve their bottom line. We utilize our volume to negotiate competitive rebates (and model home and design center allowances) often reserved for large public builders.
Listen to De Young Properties podcast.
In a time filled with uncertainty and new challenges, having the support of a trusted peer group is an invaluable safety net. 
This year’s Executive Summit was like none other in history. Even with the impending uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis, the attendees recognized the extraordinary importance of the topic and made the trip to South Florida for three days of discussion on “Superior Performance and Profitability: It’s All in Your Team’s Execution”. 
The Builder Partnerships Award Program recognizes builders for their dedication to excellence and continuous improvement. Award winners exemplify the best practices that have helped our builder clients lead their markets and achieve peak profitability. This article announces this year's award winners.
Different lighting can transform a den into a cozy reading nook. Or turn a kitchen to an energizing gathering space. Until you see it for yourself, it’s hard to understand just how powerful lighting can be. Get to know the ambience your customers wish to create. It can help to guide lighting choices, and even upgrades.
A new integration between Builder Partnerships and MiTek KOVA. The integration will make it easier for Builder Partnerships members to submit for and collect rebates.
Delivering More Than Just Hot Water! Bradford White leads the industry as one of the most technologically advanced manufacturers of water heating, space heating, combination heating, and water storage products in the world. 
On March 11, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. It created a crisis, requiring home builders to immediately move from expansion mode to survival mode. Respected economist and Builder Partnerships founder Charles C. Shinn Jr., PhD, discusses how the crisis will affect the housing industry.
For your business to weather this crisis, you must switch your focus from expansion mode to survival mode. Respected economist and Builder Partnerships founder Charles C. Shinn Jr., PhD, shares 20 steps you need to take.
Organized Living's sole focus is storage and organization, and we concentrate on providing builders with storage products that excite homebuyers. With Builder Partnerships, you have access to best rebate incentives available for their products.
Communication with your buyers during this crisis is critical. In keeping with our commitment to support our builder community, Builder Partnerships service provider Carol Smith with Home Address has offered our members two sample letters for your buyers to explain process changes implemented in light of of the COVID-19 virus. The letters also address possible complications, such as construction delays due to supply chain interruptions, that could affect the schedule for completing their homes. Feel free to use these sample letters as templates and revise the content to suit your needs.
If you missed Ed Hauck's recent webinar, you can watch the replay. Hear what Ed has to say about the potential impact current events will have on home builders and his advice for surviving these uncertain times. 
Windows and doors are a fundamental component of building construction. They are critical to the enjoyment of any building by its occupants, and risk allowing moisture, pests, and other unwanted elements into the building if not properly sealed. Flashing provides a solution to this problem with a thin waterproof barrier to cover gaps and spaces in windows and doorways. However, traditional flashing has a number of shortfalls. The solution? SillDry Smart Accordion Technology®
AZEK Building Products has partnered with BIMsmith® to provide architects, builders, and designers the tools needed during the research and digital design process.
Now in its 27th year, Emma Shinn's in-depth study benchmarks each company's financial and operational performance against other participants and provides information on compensation packages for 39 positions.
Fypon has launched a new website and new products for 2020.
What is a punchlist? Many might say it's a quality checklist. They would be wrong. A punchlist does n ot equal quality. In fact, it's the opposite of quality because it's a list of everything that wasn't done right the first time.
The 2020 International Builders' Show is behind us. Here are some highlights from this year's networking reception and our booth.
GuildQuality is the nation's leader in customer satisfaction surveying for the building industry. With nearly 2,000 members and having surveyed more than 1 million home owners, GuildQuality is the trusted partner of home builders, remodelers, and home improvement contractors who value authentic customer feedback. 
Builder Partnerships welcomes its newest builder members into the program! Not yet a member? Join Builder Partnerships today to benefit from our many programs designed to improve your profits, knowledge and networking. Contact us today to learn more at: info@builderpartnerships.com
A new integration between Builder Partnerships and ECI’s MarkSystems® ERP Software. The integration will make it easier for Builder Partnerships members to submit for and collect rebates.
Check out these four ways to connect with Shinn Builder Partnerships and Shinn Consulting at the 2020 International Builders' Show in Las Vegas. 
For decades, Trane has been the go-to source for high-end, reliable engineering. While we pride ourselves on this fact, we also know that not everyone needs or wants all the bells and whistles. That’s where RunTru by Trane comes in. 
The design trends for the new decade are in many ways reminiscent of the Art Deco movement of the 1920s. We are excited to announce that our new and improved website is live! You may have noticed that our website has changed significantly since the last time you checked in. We have been working hard to bring you a better online experience. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. 
We are now entering the eleventh year of our economic and housing recovery, which is the longest in U.S. modern history; an economic cycle normally lasts seven years. On the surface, the economy looks strong with above-expected job growth, low unemployment, wage increases, strong consumer spending, and the stock market hitting new records almost daily. 
Your door should always welcome you home – while playing seamlessly into your style. And with design trends moving toward simplistic looks, EnLitenTM flush-glazed designs from Therma-Tru Corp. are the perfect complement for today’s homes. With clean lines and seamless construction, EnLiten flush-glazed designs effortlessly combine indoor and outdoor living spaces. These doors offer up to a 16 percent increase in visible glass area as compared to conventional lite frames.
Airlite Plastics has acquired TRUEGRID, adding the permeable paving grid system to its line of environmentally sustainable construction products. TRUEGRID joins the family of Airlite products aimed at innovating the sustainable construction market. The paving system is a natural complement to Airlite’s Fox Blocks brand of ICF building blocks. 
Kwikset, the leading residential lock manufacturer, recently introduced its Halo Wi-Fi enabled smart lock. Available in two styles, a touchscreen and a keypad, Halo pairs to a homeowner’s existing Wi-Fi network, providing smart lock security and smart home security to consumers simply and easily. With an assortment of features, Halo offers three entry modes: through the Kwikset app, via code, or with a traditional key. 
C.H.I. Overhead Doors has created a full line of woodtone doors that marry the appeal of real wood with the low-maintenance longevity of steel. Accents Woodtones is meticulously designed and manufactured using full color digital imaging and insulated steel to create the highest quality, most realistic woodtone doors available. Featuring authentic, digitally imaged non-repeating woodgrains, each Accents Woodtones garage door is as colorful and authentic as real wood.
Today’s consumer expects more. Amerock’s Simple Solutions is an inspiring, interactive merchandising experience that streamlines cabinet hardware selection to feature Amerock’s top collections and on-trend finishes. Simple Solutions: Merchandising for every business model. Growing in popularity are appliance-inspired metallics, such as black chrome and graphite. Whether you’re going for high-contrast or that serene tone-on-tone look, decorative hardware creates the polish and pizzazz that turns a space from simple to simply stunning. With Amerock, creating a cohesive look from kitchen to bath has never been easier. 
DuPont Performance Building Solutions (PBS) is a global innovation leader in the building and construction industry, providing products and materials for all six sides of the building envelope — from top to bottom, inside and out. By developing solutions for managing the air, water, and thermal performance of homes and commercial buildings, we help our customers build energy-efficient, resilient, and durable shelters. 
Lennox has expanded its ultra-low emissions gas furnace line that meets new California state regulations for emission reduction, saving homeowners and contractors energy and money. Lennox developed four furnaces – the SL297NV, SL280NV, EL195NE and EL180NE – to comply with California's South Coast Air Quality Management District's Rule 1111 and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's Ultra-Low NOx Rule 4905, both requiring reduced nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. 
It takes years for you as a builder to create a reputation for building quality homes. If this issue is ignored, you risk severely damaging that reputation. Additionally, wood decay fungi could present a major threat to your customers’ health and property. For prevention and remediation, Bora-Care with Mold-Care is a product you should consider to protect the structure you are building and the families who will be living there for years to come.
For years, evolving code and building practice have resulted in ever-tighter homes, said David Maruna, an executive at Ingersoll Rand, parent company to Trane, a historic HVAC product manufacturer. Unfortunately, best practice for designing HVAC solutions hasn’t kept up with exterior envelope construction. The lack of coordination often results in a needlessly costly, let’s-overspec- just-to-be-on-the-safe-side HVAC system. That can lead to premature failures, as well as comfort issues, which result in costly call-backs for builders.
Entrematic – manufacturer of Amarr brand sectional doors – received the coveted David Weekley Homes “A, A Partner of Choice Award for Quality and Service” for the second year in a row. Founded in 1951 and headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Amarr is one of the leading U.S. brands of sectional doors for residential garages, condominiums, commercial buildings, shopping malls, warehouses, and other industrial applications. The award recognizes suppliers that have operated at world-class levels through the year, as determined by the home builder’s supplier evaluation platform. 
Wayne Dalton, a leading manufacturer of residential and commercial door solutions, has expanded its product offerings with additional design selections for Model 9510 Designer Steel garage doors. New options include the new Ridgefield panel that features recessed pinstripes, as well as Desert Tan, Terra Bronze, Gray, and Black premium color paint finishes. Homeowners can now achieve added customization for the ultimate curb appeal boost with the look of a carriage house door, but with the value and maintenance of the Designer Steel collection.
Builders know great ideas are easy to come by. The hard part is making them happen. The 2020 Executive Summit, scheduled for March 10-12 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, zeroes in on this issue as we delve into “Superior Performance and Profitability: It’s All in Your Team’s Execution.” Our keynote speaker is Chris McChesney, global practice leader of execution for Franklin Covey and co-author of The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals. 
As a consultant with Shinn Consulting, Rick is working with builders across the country to streamline their purchasing processes and procedures, as well as presenting at educational seminars. Rick is also the director of business development for Builder Partnerships, recruiting building material manufacturers, negotiating membership agreements, rebates, and marketing programs. Rick has more than 20 years of experience in the home building industry, with more than 10 years as director of purchasing. He has expertise in product design, costing, and construction management of sales offices, design centers, and community amenities. He is also a speaker at purchasing and estimating seminars.
AMERISTAR HEATING AND COOLING is a value brand under Trane and American Standard. These affordable, efficient HVAC systems and components are ideally suited for entry-level homes, spec homes, production homes, manufactured homes, and light commercial properties.
QUOTE KITCHEN & BATH design software gives your potential home buyers the ability to design their dream kitchen or bathroom on your website and social media platforms.
Establishing sell-by dates can be a game changer for a builder’s operations. Also known as even flow or slot scheduling, the sell-by date is the procedure whereby you preset the production starts based on the anticipated sales volume for the year. The sales team is then able to sell the production start dates and communicate a reasonably certain completion date to the buyer. The sell-by date is built to the current business plan and will help a builder manage several key pieces in its operations.
Connect with Shinn Builder Partnerships at the International Builders' Show at the 15th Annual Builder Partnerships Networking Reception. Set for 5:30 to 7 p.m. Jan. 20, 2020, at the Embassy Suites Convention Center, the reception is often called the best networking event of the show. An intimate event with great food and an open bar, the reception offers you a perfect opportunity to catch up with colleagues and meet with manufacturers’ national sales managers in a relaxed environment. Don't forget to stop by Builder Partnerships booth: SU216 in the South Hall!
The force of a lightning strike can damage homes and electrical and mechanical systems, including gas piping. A large custom home builder was one of the first to specify Counterstrike® in all of its homes. Before the switch, the home builder dealt with several lightning issues a year, but since switching to Counterstrike®, there have been no problems with lightning and gas piping. 
The POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle is a revolutionary new roofing tile product that combines the performance and protection of a conventional asphalt roof with an integrated photovoltaic system. 
In the September issue of Monthly Briefing, we discussed the value of becoming a Builder of Choice™ to address labor shortages and what owners and upper management must do to develop the Builder of Choice™ culture in their company. This month, we will look at specific steps your production team can take to put culture into action.
Everything we do at Shinn Builder Partnerships is expressly for the benefit of our members. We recently rolled out a set of improvements to the rebate submissions process and we are happy to say the responses have been great. 
Every day, more and more builders across the country are discovering the power of being a member of Shinn Builder Partnerships. We'd like to extend a welcome to our newest members. We look forward to helping each of them achieve a higher level of profitability and success!
Shinn Builder Partnerships was created to help local and regional builders achieve success and be competitive with national builders. We do this by connecting our members with manufacturers for the best pricing, service, and support. In addition to the manufacturers, we are pleased to connect you with a group of service providers that can help you with a host of operational support. We have worked personally with each of these providers and can endorse them unconditionally. 
Every year, Professional Builder takes the pulse of the industry with the Top 100 Products. These are the building products in which its readers were the most interested during the previous year. For 2019, seven Builder Partnerships manufacturers were tapped for recognition.
Many industry publications are talking about a construction labor shortage. Even though we concur, the proposed solutions are global and require efforts and initiatives outside the operations of the home building company. However, each builder can successfully control and implement certain solutions in their companies to overcome the shortage of labor in the market. 
Kichler Lighting LLC, a leader in innovative lighting and ceiling fans, helps home owners design with light to emphasize favorite spaces, increase safety, and utilize more efficient task lighting. Kichler Lighting's LED integrated lighting options reinforce light layering and help to set the room's lighting effect based on desired ambiance and intended purpose.
To succeed, manufacturers have to do more than build great products—they have to build goodwill, establishing beneficial partnerships with the contractors that buy and install their products. To do this, they look for new ways to provide the tools and resources needed to help their partners build up their own businesses.
The new home construction process is the easiest and most affordable time to install a Generac standby generator. When it’s installed during the wiring of the house, it allows the homeowner to save substantially on installation costs. Add these savings together with financing options and the ability to roll costs into the mortgage, and new home construction becomes the ideal time for home owners to find value in a standby generator. 
Have you ever noticed that some companies just never have job openings? They seem to attract the best people, and those people never leave. How do they do that? It is a critical question to answer in today’s job market because we are at effective full employment; talented people will have their choice of positions.
Incentivizing your staff can increase sales and create an uplifting work environment by rewarding employees for their hard work in achieving the goals you have set for them. A positive and motivational work environment will attract top- notch employees and encourage them to stay for the long run — and create memorable experiences while they invest their time with you. 
Top home builders know that investing in their people contributes directly to their company’s success. Builders receive a significant return when they provide career development and training opportunities. Here are three ways employee training boosts profitability. Too many builders determine the sales price of their homes based on direct construction cost and land. They come up with a plan, establish the standard specifications, go out to bid, add up the costs, and put a markup on the costs to determine the sales price.
Reliable Feedback Equals Smarter Decisions
Using a third-party to gather candid feedback directly from your employees, trades and suppliers will provide you with the accurate information you need to become a better employer and builder.
Emerson, a leader in the thermostat and HVAC controls industry, announced its top-rated Sensi™ smart thermostats have received the ENERGY STAR® certification, an official endorsement of the products’ energy-saving and cost-efficient benefits for consumers.
According to the “Construction Technology Trends 2018 Report,” approximately 81 percent of construction companies indicated that they planned to spend more on technology in the current year compared to the previous year. Some of that investment involves replacing outdated software or upgrading to more integrated, user-friendly software.
Helping builders identify where to save money and where to invest is a large part of my efforts here at Builder Partnerships. A key element of that analysis is a new product feasibility exercise that I walk my builder clients through.
It’s a fact; home buyers are not satisfied with the storage in their homes upon move-in. They spend an average of $4,550 on home improvement projects within the first three months of moving in, according to Realtor.com. By providing the right storage solutions, your home buyers can move in with ease and you can profit. The experts at Organized Living are ready to help you capture those profits with these top five closet trends. 
Across the organization, discipline is essential for the efficient execution of processes and procedures. You must stay disciplined to ensure your organization operates the way you intend. Otherwise, you may notice a slip in policies and procedures and it may become a scramble to complete tasks and meet deadlines as people create workarounds to do it the ‘easy way’.
Perhaps no meeting in the new home process gets as little attention as the closing appointment. While it admittedly is a fairly mechanical process of signing one’s name about 75 times and exchanging a (usually large) check for possession, we can still make it hospitable. The appointment usually takes only about an hour, but preparation and planning can generate dividends beyond the exchange of funds for keys. Here are nine tips for making the closing a great experience for your buyers.
Business is very good for most builders today, and the immediate future looks promising. Since ours is a complex and complicated industry, there is still a need to be vigilant in monitoring your business plan. Keeping a watchful eye on hard costs, variances, and administrative “creep” is certainly advisable. 
We often say that this business comes down to the numbers. A home building company will start the year with an objective and develop plans for each functional area. If all goes according to plan, they will collectively meet the objective. One “number” that is often overlooked in the planning phase is the capacity of the trades. The typical purchasing manager hopes enough trades are in each cost group, but does not have a true system to know for sure. “Hoping we are good” should not be part of the plan. 
In the world of home building today, information is power. That doesn’t only mean you need the ability to generate and manage timely, reliable information internally to keep your business strong and growing. It also demands that you deliver equally timely and accurate information to prospects and do so in a way that cuts through the clutter and motivates them to become buyers.
Glass — a material with origins that date back to several thousand years ago — is resurfacing in new, innovative ways throughout today’s residential and commercial spaces. From storefronts with all-glass windows to coffee tables with shadow boxes, glass reflects your personal style as well as a transparent design theme.
