"Pain is the great motivator. Find the hurt, and you find the sale." - Zig Ziglar
Home builders are under pressure. Buyer optimism is down, material costs are up, and interest rates are still high compared to a few years ago.
In today's market, the builders who win are the ones who know their customers best - uncovering pain points and pitching solutions that hit home - and using the latest and greatest in tech.
To stay ahead, the savviest home builders are turning to AI - and it's already paying off.
The Challenges
Some analysts believed that cooling inflation and falling interest rates would trigger a surge in the home building market.
But the data tells a different story - 2025's whirlwind economic news has created uncertainty in the marke, and for buyers.
Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index, which tracks whether consumers think it's a good time to buy, just saw its first year-over-year decline in years.
Tariffs aren't helping either - they're expected to add around $10,900 in material and building costs to every new home Construction now makes up 64% of the average home price, up from 60% just two years ago.
Meanwhile, consumers are growing increasingly cautious about their personal finances and the broader economy.
Bottom line: convincing buyers to move forward with building a new home is only getting harder.
Learning Your Customers Pains
Amidst this uphill battle, industry expert Jeff Shore offers a better path. In The 4:2 Formula, he urges sales reps to flip the script: spend twice as much time understanding the buyers' motivations so they can create urgency and overcome buyer hesitancy.
He calls on the consultants to be change agents - not just product experts, but trusted guides who uncover the emotional drivers behind every decision.
As Shore puts it:
"If I understand why you're thinking about moving, I'll figure out everything else - price point, bedroom count, time frame."
In today's market, where buyers are hesitant and trust is low, this shift isn't optional - it's essential.
But how can sales reps keep track of the plethora of information they get during consultations, and how can managers ensure their reps are actually discovering buyer paint points?
Home Builders Are Adopting AI
AI adoption is exploding. McKinsey's 2024 survey shows 78% companies now use AI - up from just 50% the year before.
Now, AI tools are being built specifically for the home building industry.
Rilla is one of them: a mobile app that records in-person sales conversations, transcribes them with AI, and highlights coachable moments.
Red Door Homes of North Carolina has been using Rilla since early 2025 - and it's helping their reps unlock critical buyer insights and close more deals.
With Rilla, sales reps record their conversations with Rilla's mobile app, and their AI transcribes and analyzes the conversation for important details and coachable moments.
Now sales reps can instantly search past conversations to find key buyer motivations, like whether a customer is moving to accommodate a growing family or to care for aging parents.
Nothing gets missed. Managers can also review conversations to coach reps on how deeply they're uncovering buyer needs - a crucial skill in today's challenging market.
Scaling Coaching With AI
With Rilla's AI sales analysis, Red Door's managers review real sales conversations to make sure reps are digging deep and uncovering why buyers are moving.
We used Rilla's AI to study their top-performing rep - and found something game-changing: The top rep uncovered buyer motivations 40% more often then the average rep - and closed 65% more sales.
Armed with this insight, Red Door coached their entire team to adopt the same techniques - and for the first time, they could directly link better conversation skills to higher sales outcomes.
Now, Red Door's reps consistently as the right questions, identify true buyer pain points, and offering personalized solutions - lowering hesitation and boosting conversions.
And with Rilla, managers can track performance, hold reps accountable, and coach to a proven system - such as the 4:2 Formula - at every appointment.
AI in Home Building is Just Getting Started
The home building industry is finally getting a real taste of how AI can make sales easier - and the opportunity is massive.
With tools like Rilla's AI for home builders, teams can now record real customer conversations, uncover true buyer pain points, and fine-tune their strategies to close more deals.
Red Door Homes and Tilson Homes are leading the way. Just ask Rachel Starrat, VP of Sales and Marketing at Red Door Homes:
"We've been on Rilla for four months now. Compared to the same period last year, we're selling 45% more year-over-year - with less reps and less leads."
Rilla is bringing AI-powered sales coaching to home builders - allowing managers to coach better and win more.
Book a demo today and see how Rilla can boost your sales.