January 2018 Monthly Briefing: Our Best: A Monthly Briefing Special
Sell More Houses at Higher Margins
Meet the needs of baby boomers with HECM loansBy John KaminBuilder Partnerships Senior ConsultantIf an underserved market existed that allowed you to capture additional sales at higher prices and higher margins, you would probably want to know more, wouldn’t you? We are always striving to attract more prospects, increase our capture rate, and maximize profits. No, we are not talking about how to reach millennials, which seems to be everyone...
Holding the Line on Costs
Strategies to fight the price increases that are chipping away at your profits By Ed HauckBuilder Partnerships Senior ConsultantCost increases are on builders’ minds right now. It seems like prices for materials and labor are going up on every new bid. It’s across the board on building materials, with lumber prices being particularly volatile in response to the recent tariff on Canadian lumber. There was a time when builders could ...
For Manufacturers: Sales and Marketing, or Sales vs. Marketing?
To be a winner, you can’t forget you are on the same teamBy Stephen CrouchVice President of Operations, Builder Partnerships“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Coach Phil Jackson Most manufacturers, especially in the building products industry, are highly competitive. They love to bring in athletes to give the keynote address for their annual sales meetings and c...
Pricing Homes for Success and Profit
Builders must balance the need for value and velocityBy Charles C. Shinn Jr., Ph.D.Founder, Builder PartnershipsToo 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. The problem is costs do not necessarily create consumer-perceived value. Most...
What Is Your Soft Cycle?
Few builders adequately manage or measure this critical part of the home building process By Matt CollinsBuilder Partnerships Senior ConsultantMost builders are eager to reduce the time it takes to build a home and hunt for tips on ways to make the hard cycle go more quickly. This is a worthy pursuit, as most builders intuitively understand that tightening the production schedule allows them to build more homes in a year without adding operating ...
Experts' Corner: Advice for 2018
Industry leaders offer insights and recommendations for growth and profitability in the coming months"With escalating construction costs, a shortage of skilled labor, and the increase in technology, it looks like the era for industrialization is upon us. It will change the industry as we know it. Builders will become assemblers of components that are built in factories. I have been working on these concepts for more than 20 years. The components...
