^{Options Is A Four Letter Word !
By Mike Moore
Reprinted from: Builder & Developer Magazine}

^{Everyone has an opinion, but no one seems to have all the answers to the options questions.  In many cases the questions are still being defined and it takes true vision to find the answers.  This vision is best achieved through real teamwork, making the four letter word for options, TEAM.}

^{Calling our relationships partnering and calling a group or department a team isn't enough.  Teamwork, real cooperation, is needed to tackle options. New ways of doing things must be made as easy as possible without disrupting our primary goal to build and sell new homes. The triangle created between builder, sub-contractor or vendor, and the home buyer requires new thinking and is easily talked about but difficult to achieve. This triangle would be tough enough in a perfect world, a world where builder and  sub-contractor or vendor were already functioning with outstanding teamwork and communication.  It is difficult at best in a corporate environment to get departments to function as real teams.  All of us by nature are protective when we are challenged by change, and the uncertainty of options is challenging enough to drive us all to protect our known territories. This territorial atmosphere breaks down the teamwork necessary to achieve options success.  As if this were not enough most buyers have changed and grown more than the businesses and people who serve them.  In my sales seminars sales people continue to agree that the buyer has certainly changed more in the past 10 to 15 years than they have or their companies have.  This triangle is further complicated by growing buyer demands and consumerism in an age of litigation.  Strong leadership, vision, and teamwork must all be combined to define the options questions and answer them effectively. New partnerships, real partnerships, between those who understand the building process and those who understand the home buyers demands for personalization of new homes, must emerge to create a new segment in our industry.}

^{This teamwork and new way of working together to sell new homes must start with a common purpose, a unifying vision to make the buying experience more decisive and enjoyable. This must be accomplished while streamlining the communication that can overload the best options programs. We must also make the order process as simple as possible.  All of this has to be done at the speed of construction, to allow production to continue to be our strength and not a frustration to the home buyer.  Purchasing, sales, marketing, and construction must be able to work hand in hand with sub-contractors and the home buyer.  As we overcome these challenges we can deliver service to the home buyer that will create competitive advantages and new profit centers.}

^{Teamwork between the builder, sub-contractor or vendor, and home buyer is also challenged by the rapid growth in technology. How do we use it to our advantage?  What will the home buyer be comfortable with? Can we communicate without the heavy burden of paperwork the details of options can create?  Is there customer and salesperson friendly technology to simplify the selection process and enhance the buying experience?  Can we use this technology to speed communication and make purchasing and construction more options friendly?  Sales automation can provide a tool to create answers but it alone won't be the answer.  Building and selling new homes is still a people business and will remain so longer than most businesses.  The tools that technology can provide must be used by people who understanding the changing buyer demands and have the skills to create beautiful as well as functional living environments.}

^{We will see several good answers come from all the hard work being done in the industry to create options programs that can deliver and overcome all of the challenges I have mentioned.  The best of them will marry companies, people and technology with the flexibility to meet the varying home buyer demands, while remaining builder friendly to all departments. Teams then must be created between the builders purchasing , construction, marketing , sales, accounting departments and the sub-contractors staff to best serve the home buyer.  Win win solutions are tough to come by even when two groups are involved.  When this many groups and individuals are involved we must decide what our desired result is and all stay focused on it as our end.}

^{Mike Moore is Director of Marketing for Builders Showcase Interiors, who are currently offering ONE GOAL, an exclusive Options Management System© that includes selection automation, computerization, staffing, and consulting .}

^{Mike is also President of MCM productions and author of Five Star Sales Management , Making Customers, and Selling Color, Style, and Fashion, all successful nation seminar programs and tape series. You can reach Mike at 619-587-1011 or 800-582-0634. Mikes' email address is actionary@msn.com.}