Set Yourself Apart

By Al Trellis and Paul Sharp

Competition in the home building industry is getting tougher every day. For your business to survive and grow, you must stand out from the competition. Unless you are somehow different from the other builders, youll have to go head to head with them on price, which ultimately leads to lower profits.

Here are five ways to set yourself apart from the competition. You should be using several, if not all, of these strategies.

1. Better design

No matter how good your construction quality is, if the house doesnt meet the prospects physical and lifestyle needs or capture their imagination, theyre not going to buy. Good design shouldnt cost more to build than mediocre design. In fact, it should cost less. Good design should be easier to build, in addition to living well and having curb appeal

2. Better location

To make the most of value and consumer demand, choose good quality and premium lots without overpaying. A beautiful house in a bad location is still a bad location. But if youve got the house with the lot on the golf course, and thats what the buyer wants, then youve set yourself apart from the competition. Even at the bottom of the market, avoid low prices that could tempt you into deal-killing negatives such as power lines and noisy roadways.

3. Better value

Notice: I did not say lower price. Value is determined by the benefits divided by the costs. Just as most of your buyers do not drive the lowest priced car, they also dont want the lowest priced house. Look for ideas you can add to your houses that increase the value without greatly increasing the cost. Avoid expensive materials and features that may, or may not, increase value in the prospects eyes.

4. Better service

You should make buying or building a house with you as easy and pleasant as possible. Streamline your financing and selection procedures. Improve the response time on customer service requests. Return phone calls promptly. If the answer is no, then say no, but say it quickly. And always go the extra mile to make sure realistic expectations are created and met.

5. Better marketing

After youve done all these things to set yourself apart from the competition, make sure you let your prospective buyers know about it. But dont rely on marketing alone to show your distinctiveness.

In setting yourself apart, dont try to be different just for the sake of being different. Remember: A difference, to be a difference, must make a difference. But if you set yourself apart and provide real benefits to your buyers, youll survive and thrive when the competition gets tough.

Al Trellis and Paul Sharp are cofounders of Home Builders Network. Al has 25 years experience as a custom builder, speaker, consultant, and columnist. He speaks to over 6,000 builders a year. Paul provides marketing consulting to builders around the country. The article is excerpted from their book, Building with an Attitude.

Visit their website: Click Here

Site Sponsors