By: Elizabeth Scott
In April 2010, Alliance members John Friesenhahn of Imagine Homes, Mike Nimon of Wathen-Castanos Hybrid Homes, and Michael Dickens and Brad Oberg of IBACOS participated in a panel discussion entitled "How to Use Energy-Efficiency as a Competitive Advantage" through BUILDER Online.
Michael and Brad were on hand to tee up the session by sharing key business drivers and answer any of the more technical questions. But, the real meat of the discussion came from John and Mike.
Both builders deliver energy efficient homes as their core product. They've been able to keep the additional costs to a minimum and pass them along to the buyer - providing "more (value) for more (money)" as John would say. And, both have been successful despite the market. In 2009, Mike expected to complete 138 units at a loss, but sold 189 at a profit in California's Central Valley. John increased closings 5-10% per year over the past three years in San Antonio.
During the webinar, they provided background information, discussed why they decided to improve quality and performance, and shared lessons learned and best practices from each step in the process - from Planning and Development to Customer Care.
John and Mike shared several ideas. In particular, we'd like to highlight four best practices for Marketing and Sales...
Lead with your own value proposition and brand. Both builders leverage HERS ratings and describe cost in terms of cash flow and monthly operating expenses in their marketing messages.
John's brand of "High Performance, Green Homes" ties value to energy use and water conservation (lower utility bills), healthy indoor air and greater comfort. Imagine does have the distinction as the only builder in their market to certify all of their homes to Energy Star, Builders Challenge and Build San Antonio Green standards, and they heavily promote the fact that they've received numerous awards, including NAHB Green Builder of the Year and an Energy Value Housing Award.
While green labeling is seen as a positive, it wasn't moving Mike's buyers to the point of sale. In 2006, Wathen-Castanos created their Hybrid Homes brand and "We care - You compare" messaging, which has really resonated. They use the HERS scales to compare a code built new house, an existing home, and their Hybrid, which achieves 49-51, depending on features. Over the last couple of years, they've also tracked homeowner utility bills and provided testimonies of energy savings. In the hotter months, a typical, Central Valley home costs anywhere from $350-$700/month to cool; their homeowners spend $50-$80.
Your staff, trade partners, and realtors need to understand your value proposition and be able to explain why your homes perform the way they do. Mike and John train their teams to understand fundamental building science and the whole house systems approach. Last year, realtor training was a top focus for Imagine. "The uniqueness of our product got us into a large number of realtors, and they were willing to spend 45 minutes to an hour learning about the building science in our houses." Consistency is important. "[Our] Prospects will go to every model home and look for consistency in the message from location to location," John adds.
While building science and performance give you new ways to set your homes apart and communicate value, be careful not to say too much up front.
With Imagine Homes, the interview process is key. John's team asks a lot of questions to find out what a buyer's motivation is, and then they share the performance attributes that meet those needs. "If you gear it to what's important to them, people will stay 1-3 hours. In the end, they leave feeling that any other choice is sacrificing."
Mike's team builds off of their Hybrid brand. "Don't focus on components; talk in terms of systems," he suggests. Wathen-Castanos also uses a lot of graphics, including pictures of typical construction details versus what they do. "We let buyers see our attention to detail."
Once a sale is made, they both follow up with home maintenance information in the customer orientation process, from contract to closing and beyond.
Once you've decided what you're selling, get third parties, such as building scientists, HERS raters, and your existing homeowners, to validate your claims. Wathen-Castanos and Imagine use all of these resources. Mike uses the sales process to scout out customer evangelists, surveying buyers three times during construction and delivery of the home. John finds that his construction managers can help convert sales. "Our sales team will take prospects out to the field and have the builder show them around the house and explain what they're doing. This gives us added credibility, because the homebuyer sees it as a description of the builder's day-to-day work, not a sales pitch," John says.
For the complete presentation and more useful tips, download a PDF of the webinar slides or register with BUILDER Online to view the archived webinar.
