Is The Party Over? Are You Ready For The Next Dance?

Transcription

1 Is The Party Over? Are You Ready For The Next Dance? Speakers: John Schleimer, MIRM Richard Elkman, MIRM Bob Schultz, MIRM, CSP February 7, 2006 IBS Orlando, FL

2 Who The Speakers Are. John Schleimer, MIRM, is President of Market Perspectives which is a national real estate research and consulting firm based in Roseville, CA. His firm specializes in analyzing new home markets, developing product positioning and marketing strategies and conducting market feasibility and absorption studies. Market Perspectives clientele portfolio includes such well known developers and builders as Pulte Homes, Centex Homes, Lennar Communities, John Laing Homes, Grupe Communities, Pardee Homes and Costa Pacific Communities. Schleimer is past President of the Institute of Residential Marketing of NAHB and currently is a Trustee of the National Sales and Marketing Council. Richard Elkman, MIRM, has been an active participant and speaker at NAHB conventions and at many regional and local seminars, including the Lee Evans Group Executive Summit and Builder 100 conferences. He wrote and designed "Classified Information," "Building Better Ads," and "Real Estate Advertising - Problems, Solutions, Results," the first such books ever published by the NAHB about real estate advertising, as well as "The Small Volume Builder Advertising Manual."His articles have appeared in virtually every major housing publication and newsletter. Elkman has been President of The Institute of Residential Marketing and a member of the National Sales and Marketing Council's Board of Trustees. Bob Schultz, MIRM, CSP, is Founder and President of New Home Specialist, Inc. and was recently honored by Builder Magazine as one of the Power 50, a list of fifty of the most influential people in the home building industry. Schultz is recognized as North America s foremost new home sales and management expert. His company provides full service sales and sales management training, consulting and educational resources. He has received similar accolades for his expertise from worldrenowned experts like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Tom Hopkins and Nido Qubein. He is also the recipient of the Trina Ripley Excellence in Education Award in 2003, the highest award given by the IRM for his outstanding lifetime achievement in educating new home sales and marketing professionals. Page 2 of 10

3 Surviving The Housing Market Slowdown By John Schleimer, MIRM Conduct an internal review of your company s product 1. Curb appeal of your front elevations 2. Design quality of your floor plans (strengths & weaknesses) 3. Do you have the right standard features? 4. What do your prospects and buyers think? 5. What value-engineering changes can you make? Make an assessment of your company s site marketing 1. Is your off-site and on-site signage effective? 2. Do your project entry statements make the right 1st impression? 3. Do you control construction debris within your projects? 4. Are your information centers appealing? 5. Does your model merchandising turn on your prospects? 6. Are your spec homes clean? Conduct a competitor design audit (CDA) 1. Visit and analyze your competitor s product(s) 2. Compare your front elevations to theirs 3. Review the design quality of their plans to yours (functionality, impact statements, ceiling heights, etc.) Page 3 of 10

4 4. Compare their standard and optional features to yours 5. Compare their marketing and merchandising to yours 6. Make the necessary competitive adjustments Are there new or niche product opportunities 1. Ask your prospects and own buyers 2. Survey specialty products/projects in your marketplace 3. Conduct a demographic assessment of your marketplace 4. Will new or niche product(s) be politically acceptable? 5. Conduct a design workshop 6. Select the right site(s) 7. Test your new or niche product(s) with focus groups (Prospects, Buyers and Realtors ) Contact John Schleimer at Market Perspectives (916) or john@marketperspectives.com to get the forms shown at the presentation. You can download the power point presentation at marketperspectives.com and go to the Recent Presentations tab. 2 Page 4 of 10

5 Is The Party Over? Are You Ready For The Next Dance? Wednesday, February 7, 2007 Speaker: Richard Elkman, MIRM Group Two Advertising President, Group Two Real Estate Marketing and Advertising, the largest homebuilder advertising agency in the United States Credited with introducing positioning and target marketing into the housing industry Frequent speaker at builder conventions and educational programs Has written five marketing and advertising books for the NAHB Past chairman of MIRM; member of the NSMC Board of Trustees ADVERTISING Real Estate Marketing Solutions Philadelphia office: Delray Beach office: website: grouptwo.com Page 5 of 10

6 A. Panic? Who s Panicking - Deals & discounts galore! B. Dare To Be Different - First impressions count C. Positioning/Branding D. Target Marketing E. Trends - Traditional trends F. Cultures - Reaching new target markets G. Ad Redesigns 1. Pay attention to the details 2. You need to attract attention 3. Use white space to your advantage 4. Interesting graphics help your ad stand out ADVERTISING Real Estate Marketing Solutions Philadelphia office: Delray Beach office: relkman@grouptwo.com website: grouptwo.com Page 6 of 10

7 H. Make Your Ads As Unique As Your Homes - Print Ad Examples I. Develop Promotions That Set You Apart From The Rest J. Billboards & Signage That Catch The Eye K. Direct Mail L. Referral Programs M. E-Blasts Cost-efficient & effective N. Differentiate or Die! ADVERTISING Real Estate Marketing Solutions Philadelphia office: Delray Beach office: relkman@grouptwo.com website: grouptwo.com Page 7 of 10

8 The Party Is Over And People Are Confused! Presenter Bob Schultz, MIRM, CSP Bob Schultz & The New Home Specialists 2300 Glades Road, Suite 400W Boca Raton, Florida Phone: Website: Page 8 of 10

9 Bob Schultz, MIRM, CSP, is President of New Home Specialist Inc., a management consulting and sales education and training firm that produces systems, books, and manuals for homebuilders, developers and Realtors. In 2006 Bob was named one of Builder Magazine s 50 most influential people in the home building industry. He is the author of two best-selling industry books, The Official Handbook for New Home Salespeople and Smart Selling Techniques, as well as a CD audio series, The Five Minute Professional SM. Bob and his team present over 350 custom sales training programs and strategic management retreats annually throughout North America. Bob is the 2003 recipient of the Trina Ripley Excellence in Education Award from the Institute of Residential Marketing of NAHB. 1) Buyers are confused. The Party Is Over And People Are Confused! 2) The marketplace itself is confused. 3) Some builders are also confused. 4) Some Realtors are confused. 5) Some salespeople who work for builders are confused. What You Can and Can t Control 1) You can t control interest rates. Page 9 of 10

10 2) You can t control rising construction costs. 3) You can t control what the competition does. 4) You can t control what the articles in the newspaper say. 5) You can t control the weather outside of your sales office. However, 1) You can control how you influence customers perception of interest rates 2) You can control how you influence customers perception of construction costs 3) You can control what you do attitude, appearance, your presentation and sales skills, Follow-Through, appointment-setting tactics, and your franchise excellence 4) You can control what you put in the newspaper (advertisements and press releases) 5) You can control the environment customers experience when they come into contact with you Page 10 of 10