Stateson Homes Builder
Twenty Meeting
I had the good fortune to be invited to a Builder Twenty meeting
last month in Bend, Oregon. Builder Twenty
groups consist of approximately 20 builders of similar sizes, matched to share
ideas and best practices with one another.
This particular group was formed in 1996 and although some have come and
gone, many of the original members are still participating, including my
partners at Atlantic Builders. The group’s
mission is to share best practices, provide feedback to one another, and to
host expert speakers and vendors in the industry.
First off, Bend, Oregon is a great small city. With a population about the same as the New
River Valley (Blacksburg MSA), the town appears to have doubled in size since
2000. Spas, coffee shops, and upscale restaurants
are alive with customers. The Deschutes
River, a beautiful clear water river abuts one side of town and the Cascade
mountain range can be seen in the background providing beautiful scenery. Located in the high desert, cold water
streams abound but the soil is dry and the plant life is what one would expect
in the desert. If you ever get a chance
to visit Bend, I would strongly recommend that you do so.
Second, I would like to thank our host, Hayden Homes for
providing a great forum to learn and see their operation first hand. The wine tasting dinner they arranged allowed
us to try Oregon's finest Pinot Noirs and Cabernets.
Many builders across the country went out of business between
2008 and 2011. Although there were many
battle scars among this group, each member in this group survived and is in
good position to thrive going forward.
There were many lessons to be learned from this group of business
leaders, strategies that one would like to follow and ones to avoid. There was an overall sense of pride among the
members because sales have picked up in their respective markets and they
realize they have weathered the storm.
Low interest rates and low inventories are returning markets to normal
across the country.
As I got to know the principals of these various builders
two things stood out to me. This group
of strong business leaders had a strong commitment to customer service and they
all understood the importance of training, developing, and maintaining a
professional team of employees.
One reason that these companies survived is the strong
value they placed on customer service.
Although each of these members had pressures coming from many directions
such as bank loans being recalled on land positions, downsizing their staffs,
and appraisals falling through, they never forgot about the customer. They
recognized that doing the "right thing" for their customers, trade
partners, and other stakeholders was the number one priority despite the other
issues going on. I attribute their
ability to survive in large part to the high standards these individuals had
cultivated in their organization. They stand
by their homes. Great Customer Service EQUALS
More Sales and this group understood that equation.
The other common theme I saw from the meeting was an
understanding that the organization is only as good as the team they had assembled. It is essential to provide the resources and
time to train and develop a team of employees to enhance the customer
experience as well as the bottom line.
Developing a culture that attracts talented people and provides the
training for them to grow and expand their skills is important in any
industry. The builders that had this
culture before the downturn were much more likely to survive. Those that have it today will continue to
gain market share and become the leaders in the industry of the future.
When and if you look to build a new home, make sure you
builder understands the importance of these two points. Choose a builder that has been tested in the
industry and can manage the process. It
is one thing to know how a home goes together, but it is a different skill set
to manage the multiple challenges during the process that protect you, the home
buyer. Choose a builder that places an
emphasis on doing the right thing. There
are over 300,000 different parts in a new home and occasionally, even the best
companies have things go wrong. Make
sure you are confident that your builder has the financial means and a track
record of doing the right thing by their customers. And finally, choose a builder that hires,
trains, and develops a staff of high potential managers. It is your investment in a new home that they
will be managing and you should expect a qualified team to serve you along the
way.
Stateson Homes understands these values. Our team has been directly responsible for
building over 2000 new homes. We have
assembled a team of top notch individuals to assist you before, during, and
after the construction of your new home.
Visit us at www.StatesonHomes.com
to learn more.
Todd Robertson
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