Hey, folks. This week we’re going to be talking about that necessary evil that all builders face – home warranties. And, let’s face it, warranty claims are no fun. If you don’t keep a close tab on them, they can quickly spiral out of control – and – often, builders use their own administrative staff to handle the warranty calls that come in. Although that may seem practical on your wallet, it can often cost you more than you think. You really want to think about warranty as something more than just a cost of doing business (and, quite honestly, a pain in your neck). As much as it might hurt to hear, you really should treat the warranty process with your homeowners in a professional manner that is fair – and even delights your customers. After all, as a home builder, you can live and die by word of mouth. Now, I have to admit that when I was building, I was one of those who just used my own staff to handle the majority of the warranty claims. A competitor started offering an extended third party warranty company to their customers, and my sales team thought we needed to offer one, too or we’d lose sales to that competitor. Begrudgingly, I sought out a third party warranty company so we had something to offer as part of the sales process. And, I can say that I wasn’t impressed. I’d pay a few hundred dollars to this third-party company for every customer to offer “peace of mind” to them. I never met anyone at this company. Most of my customers forgot that this was part of their sale – remarking so when signing the paperwork at closing. And, as far as I know, no one ever contacted that company anyway. So, I was a skeptic. It seemed like I was just throwing money out the window for no good reason. Recently, I happened to connect with Matt Hobbs, who is the National Director of Business Development for ProHome – a Third Party Warranty Company with locations in the U.S. and the U.K., and I invited him to talk me out of my skepticism. So, if – like me – you are skeptical about third-party Warranty Companies, listen in as Matt faces my skepticism and tries to convince me that there is merit to hiring a third-party warranty company to manage your warranty service….

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#32: Matt Hobbs - Are Third Party Warranty Companies Just Sales Gimmicks?

As I bring my first season of the Sticks and Bricks Podcast, I am so excited to continue the conversation I started last week with Scott Sedam of True North Consulting - a well-known and often-published thought leader in the Home Building Industry. In this second part of our interview, we continue to discuss an article that he wrote in October of last year that reviewed 10 Lessons Learned from the last downturn – and – we see if and/or how those 10 Lessons relate to the current COVID-19 situation.

#31: Scott Sedam - PART TWO: 10 Lessons From Last Downturn vs. COVID-19 Situation

As I get ready to wrap up my first season of the Sticks and Bricks Podcast, I am so excited to offer a two-part interview series with a well-known thought leader in the Home Building Industry. For as long as I can remember, I always gravitated to the writing and wisdom of Scott Sedam in the articles he wrote in Professional Builder and other industry publications. Scott is the owner of True North Consulting – and – he’s been helping home builders improve operations for such a long time. I held on to an article that he wrote in October of last year that reviewed 10 Lessons Learned from the last downturn. In that same article, there was talk of an economic slowdown looming in the first quarter of 2020. The coronavirus showed up instead – and – the effects of it have been felt by many across the world. I thought it would be interesting to take the 10 Lessons listed in that article and see if and/or how they related to the current situation. Scott’s long tenure in this industry with some of the greatest home building legends leads to some interesting stories and advice in this interview.

#30: Scott Sedam: PART ONE - 10 Lessons From Last Downturn vs. COVID-19 Situation

This week, I’m offering up a recording from a Webinar-type program I hosted from my day job at ECI Solutions. In this time of working remotely, home builders everywhere are just trying to figure out how to do those things that were so simple before. So, we organized some talks – called MarkChats – with home builders all across North America to share concerns and ideas on how they’re dealing with very real things that happen every single day in their businesses. And I thought it would be good to share these recordings with my listeners, too. This week, I share the discussion on handling Warranty while working remotely. So, listen and learn how other builders are handling their warranty at this time. Then, share your ideas, too. We’re all trying to figure this out. By generously sharing, we will get through this together!

#29: Handling Warranty While Working Remotely

I just love reading books about business and marketing. And – every once in a while, I come across a book that I just love so much, I want others to know about it. One of my latest favorite books is The Content Fuel Framework by Melanie Deziel. Why I love this book is that it’s a really more of an active tool than it is something to read. Too often, business books are good on theory – but – they lack any practical use. This book is so practical that Melanie gives you an easy tool that you can use to quickly come up with 100 Content Ideas. And it’s a tool that you will be able to continually use moving forward. Fortunately, in today’s day and age, social media allows one to pretty easily connect with influencers, authors and others. So, I took the liberty of quickly connecting with Melanie – and – I was so excited when she agreed to join me for this podcast episode. What’s really interesting for this episode is that it’s the first one I did where I didn’t really have any formal questions figured out ahead of time. Typically, I have a good idea of what I’m going to ask – but – this episode just seemed like it would be different from the start. Instead of the normal Q&A that I do, we decided that we’d just go through part of her Content Fuel Framework (the 10 Content Types) and let her explain each type. Then, I’d see if I could come up with some content ideas specific to home building. It turns out, the conversation was really good. In the span of about 40 minutes, I had 10 good content ideas generated that you could use right now! To be honest, it was more than 10 – but – you’ll get the picture when you listen. Melanie is a super cool guest – and – you’ll be able to tell that I am a Super Fan of her new book. So, grab your notebook (paper or digital) – and – get ready to have content ideas you can use as early as 45 minutes from now!

#28: Melanie Deziel of StoryFuel - 10 Content Ideas You Can Use Right Now!

This week, I invited Tim Bailey, Chief Strategy Officer for Avid Ratings, to come on and talk about how you can use information from your customers to improve your business and your marketing. Avid Ratings really is THE name in home building surveys, and I couldn’t think of a better person to share ideas on the best times – and questions – to ask customers in their home building journey. And – even though I’m typically the one asking the questions – Tim’s a mastermind of finding information. So, I’m embarrassed to say he used his skills and got me to fess up to my own dark side. You’ll see what I mean in the interview. So, grab a cup of coffee, listen in, and take Tim’s advice to improve your home building operations…

#27: Tim Bailey with Avid Ratings - Key Times (and Questions) to Ask Your Home Building Customers

This week, I explore Hoodle.com – a search site (and more) for new construction that started in Central Illinois and is quickly popping up in markets all across the United States. Ron Williams, the Founder and CEO of Hoodle.com, takes a bit of time to talk about how this site came to be by solving a problem that he could solve – and – where the site is headed. We all know and understand that online search is so important. In these days – when people are being required to stay at home for a month or so – that online search is even more important. And – with so many places online in which you can invest your time and dollars – you want to be sure that you make the right choice. And, chances are, you may find that Hoodle.com makes sense for you. Let’s jump over to the interview so you can decide for yourself……

#26: Ron Williams of Hoodle.com - Is This The Next Big Thing in New Home Search?

This week, I’m doing something a little different than my typical episode. While this podcast is my personal podcast, many know that my day job is with ECI Solutions – specifically with MarkSystems, a home building ERP software. This past week, for that day job, I hosted a Webinar about Building Remotely – a topic that is on everyone’s mind right now with the coronavirus forcing us all to rethink our operations and making us figure out how to work with a remote workforce. It was so well received that I thought it would be great to have an audio-only version of this Webinar. The good folks at ECI allowed me to use the audio for my podcast, so that’s what this episode is! It lasts a little more than an hour – which is longer than my typical episode, but I know you’ll find some great advice from it. While we mention our software in the episode, we worked hard to make sure this was not a sales episode. It truly is applicable and useful to all home builders – as I brought in home building professionals from outside of ECI to make sure our attendees got to hear from real builders who are dealing with the same things from the trenches. The feedback I received from so many who attended really appreciated the value they received from attending!

#25: Building Remotely - Keeping It All Together (Even When Your Team Isn't)!

Have you ever been called on by a representative from a Fleet Management Company – who wants to come in and talk to you about the possibility of outsourcing your business’s vehicles? I know how it goes – the call comes in while putting out the normal daily fires, and – to that representative’s chagrin – you end up turning down the meeting. That Fleet Management Rep is persistent, though. After several contacts, you finally agree to meet him or her. Quite honestly, sometimes that meeting comes in the midst of those daily fires, and you don’t really get a chance to fully think about how this could affect your business. I actually had this experience myself – and today’s guest is that Fleet Management Rep who called on me several times until I had him sit down in my office to review their program. I have to be honest. I didn’t take the time to ask the questions I should have – but – that was partly due to the fact that I was putting out my daily fires AND I didn’t take the time to really think through the questions I should ask. Mike Helsel is an Area Sales Manager for Enterprise Fleet Management from San Antonio Texas. In today’s episode, we have the Q&A session that I SHOULD have had with him back in that meeting in 2013/14. The nice thing for YOU is that – after we finished recording – Mike told me that these questions were the most common questions he gets from home builders and other business owners all the time. So – by listening to this episode – I’ve just saved you the time it would have taken to think through, ask, and get answers to the questions that you should be asking. Mike gives clear answers that will allow you to assess whether outsourcing your vehicles makes sense for your company.

#24: Mike Helsel - Is Outsourcing Your Vehicles Worth It?

If you’ve ever developed ground for a new community – OR – you’re thinking of jumping into the land development game, this is going to be an interesting episode for you. I speak with Bob “R.J.” Fisher of R.J. Fisher Engineering to explore the complicated (but exciting) process of using newer technology to explore the feasibility of land development. AND – because our discussion includes a look at how quickly the software can layout a development on top of a piece of raw ground – I thought this was the perfect podcast to include video along with audio.   To see the video that goes along with this audio version, you can visit it on my YouTube channel:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtxLjWZuKr4 Bob has a lot of experience (30+ years) and is the perfect person to discuss the process. Let’s jump over to the interview….and don’t forget – if you want to SEE what we’re discussing, check out the link for the video version of this episode.

#23: Bob "R.J." Fisher - Use Technology to Save Money Exploring Land Development

We’re continuing to look at the Customer Experience that home builders want to deliver to their customers. We explored the sales process last week. This week, I wanted to talk a little more about what happens from the time a customer signs the Agreement of Sale right through the warranty period. And I was so excited to land a guest who has experience monitoring those customer experiences over the years. Paul Cardis was the original founder of Avid Ratings – the leader in home building surveys and data gathering. Last year, Paul started a brand new company, The Cardis Group, that is dedicated to teaching home builders about putting Customer Experience in the forefront of everything they do. In our conversation, I bring up 5 key customer interactions that happen between a home builder and a customer after the sale – and I ask Paul for his thoughts and ideas about each. It was so interesting to hear some of the things he’s seen over the years – and where some of those processes are going as the Customer Experience evolves. Paul mentions a free copy of his book in this episode.  Contact Paul on his website:  The Cardis Group

#22: Paul Cardis - Put The Customer First in These 5 Key Interactions

Home builders everywhere believe the processes they perform every day have been honed and perfected after years of experience. Many of those home builders think their way is the best way, and they believe that all their home buyers fully understand and appreciate how the whole process unfolds. But do their home buyers really appreciate – and even like – the process? That’s what today’s episode is all about. Paul Gortzig of the Bokka Group joins me to talk about taking a hard look at your home buying process through the eyes of the buyer. That can be a tough thing to do.  Many home builders can be too proud to look reality in the face and admit that they may have settled on a process that is convenient to their own needs (at the expense of their home buyers). Paul shares suggestions and experiences that often come up with home builders who have worked with the Bokka Group over the years. It’s a great episode that I am sure you’ll find valuable advice.

#21: Paul Gortzig - Looking at Your Company's Processes Through Your Customers' Eyes

I am just over-the-moon for this week’s episode. I’ve been a Super Fan of the StoryBrand company since I first found the book, Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. It’s an extremely practical book that you can read and immediately start using in your business. After finding that book, I also found the StoryBrand Podcast that has both Donald Miller and today’s guest Dr. J.J. Peterson as co-hosts. It’s a fantastic podcast that you should also check out. J.J. is a lot of fun – and – he truly is passionate about spreading the word about his company and the super simple framework of the StoryBrand concept to build and use a story to help market your business. I took the opportunity to set up a real-life scenario that a home builder might have to see how – in a matter of seconds – J.J. was able to frame that scenario into a winning marketing message using story.

#20: StoryBrand's J.J. Peterson: Stop Telling Your Customers You're a Home Builder! Tell a Story Instead.

Looking at the calendar, it’s that time of year again. All across the country, Home Shows and other events to get people excited about building a new home start to happen. And many of those events are organized and run by Builders Associations. Seeing the early promotion of our local show got me to thinking about our local Home Builders Association and the times I spent attending events and even serving on the Board in the past. When I was involved, the Board often spoke about retaining and growing the membership. That’s nothing new. Associations everywhere struggle with this same thing – and – all need to keep changing to adapt to each new generation of members. So, I was happy that Jerry Leach, Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan set aside some time for a frank discussion on how his Association has changed over time – and – how they stay relevant in our fast-changing world. We talk about how Associations need to continue to adapt to provide value to their members.

#19: Jerry Leach: Is There Still Value in a Builders Association?

It’s Valentine’s Day week as this episode goes live – so I thought it only fitting that I bring to you an episode on finding the perfect match with no need to swipe left or right – well, at least when it comes to your business looking for the right digital marketing agency! I talk to Greg Bray, President of Blue Tangerine, a Digital Marketing Agency who focuses on creating digital marketing solutions for home builders all over the place. We talk about what you should look for (and expect) when you’ve decided that it’s time to get serious about your marketing presence online. Greg’s a great person with deep industry knowledge that he is happy to share. So, listen in and learn what you need to know to find the perfect match with a Digital Marketing Agency!

#18: Greg Bray: Find the Perfect Digital Marketing Agency For Your Business!

Veteran Home Builder, Brad Haubert, takes a look at all the parts, pieces and situations that you deal with every single day in your home building business!

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