^{Options...Don't Be Distracted !
By Mike Moore
Reprinted from: Builder & Developer Magazine}

^{Selling new homes with options and delivering not just a quality home, but a quality experience is like mixing vinegar and oil, they don’t go together naturally!  The oil, or production home, is too bland, no taste, no interest.  The vinegar or options are too strong, and of no value by themselves.  Options and production homes must be blended to give the homebuyer real value. Just as vinegar and oil need special blending before serving, options need organization, systems, infrastructure, and constant management for the desired result.  As vinegar and oil separates when you stop shaking, so will options and construction.  Most of us in the building industry and new homebuyers have experienced the frustration of this separation of options programs and production building.  How are you blending options and building to achieve success?}

^{At this very moment most builders are looking at new uses of technology.  Software and the   Internet will play a major role in new home sales.  Options and the personalization of their home is still the hottest topic in the homebuyers mind.  The builder must then work to stay focused and not lose sight of what the homebuyer wants.  With all the new dot COM companies, and new software, it is easy to get distracted and forget what your core business really is.  In the coming months it will be important to remind yourself of your real objective…To build and sell homes that allow the homebuyer to personalize them without affecting production schedules.  We have all believed that technology would replace workers and make business more efficient. In reality technology is a tool used by people.  To actually be effective and make us more efficient, technology adds personnel and infrastructure.}

^{So, as builders look to technology and the Internet they have decisions to make.  Do I buy technology and build my infrastructure? Adding more staff in options and information technology, more office and design space!  Or do I stay focused on my core business of contracting services?  Demand that my sub-contractors and vendors develop the systems and add the personnel to deliver what my homebuyers are asking for!}

^{Each builder’s answer to these questions will dramatically affect his or her business.  Do I fundamentally change my business, and is this change going to improve my business?  What about the cyclical nature of building, will it allow me this entire new infrastructure?  Or do I find these services, contract them and allow myself to manage them while staying focused on my core business.  Andrew Carnegie said the secret to success was to put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket carefully.  Don’t be distracted be a contractor.}

^{It has become evident there are two paths to options success.  The first, to contract a complete options management system that includes personnel, technology, and training.  The second, to buy the technology or tools, hire personnel and build more infrastructure.}

^{PCBC offers you the opportunity to do your research and see many of the services being offered today.}