^{Making Customers With Options
By Mike Moore
Reprinted from: Builder & Developer Magazine}

^{The homebuyer’s decision to purchase is only the first step…then they PERSONALIZE to create there Home.  Meeting these homebuyer’s desires will enhance your brand name and establish you as the builder of choice with the aging baby boomer, and their children, who will be your market for the next 20 years.  Being buyer friendly and capable of delivering personal choices isn’t a marketing strategy anymore, it’s a necessity!}

^{Think about this! How much has the buyer changed over the past 10 to 15 years?  Have your selling, purchasing, construction, and accounting systems kept up with your homebuyers?  Most of us will find that the buyer has grown and developed more than we have.}

^{Changing buyer habits are happening as fast as technology can be developed to handle them. Companies are aligning themselves to deliver new services to your buyer.  Entertainment, communication, and information will be made available to the homebuyer making their homes more of a self-contained living environment.  We will all spend more time at home and want our homes to reflect our personal taste and lifestyles.  Are you prepared to be the builder who can keep up and deliver in this demanding market?  Those who are working to adapt will have large advantages in their markets.}

^{The selection of options has become an intricate interior design  process and can no longer be handled by a small staff without trained design and sales skills.  As all of us attempt to sell more homes and distinguish ourselves in our markets, this interaction during the selection of options must be seen as a service to each homebuyer.  If we are to deliver their new home the way they want it, it will take the individual attention of experts.  Only then will we have taken advantage of the opportunity of giving the buyer what they want.}

^{The solution is found only through real teamwork and cooperation between the builder and sub-contractor or vendor.  Real teamwork is tough enough to accomplish within a company.  Overcoming traditional builder and sub-contractor relationships, that often have different agendas, is a must for successful options programs. Everyone involved must be focused on the best way to satisfy the homebuyer’s desire for personalization and individual attention.}

^{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.  The internet and advanced communication tools will  play a major role in redefining how we sell and deliver options the homebuyer.  As the homebuyers buying habits change we must keep up or they will replace us with those who do.}

^{There is a better way than taking on this process alone and having to go though a long learning curve.  The choice to partner with experts and develop your programs from an advanced position will help you keep up with the homebuyer.}

 ^{The options puzzle is a profitable triangle consisting of you the builder, your vendors, and the homebuyer.  This triangle can either be managed to give you a competitive edge and add profits, or it can swallow dollars as fast as you can say, “ Options Program”.}

^{Some of the challenges that aren’t changing and will need to be addressed are;}

^{The process of delivering all these changes on time and correctly can take      many hands and undivided attention so that each homebuyer will be satisfied.} 

^{Providing the homebuyer with professional design assistance. Finding and managing these professionals.}

^{Multiple appointments are required and then each choice must be effectively communicated to sales, purchasing, construction, escrow, and accounting.  It is only then that the design professional can ensure each new home reflects the personal style of it’s owner.  However, it takes solid administration to keep the building process moving and this has evolved into its’ own field of expertise.} 

^{All of this must happen within a very small time period so that construction is not delayed or confused. This requires time and attention and no one has enough time so their attention is too often divided.} 

^{Another question to be answered is how to merchandise and display all your choices to help make the selection process enjoyable. This is best accomplished by combining a design showroom and technology to display all your choices.  Technology alone is not the answer but must be utilized to effectively communicate with all the necessary people involved in making the homebuyers changes a dream come true.}

^{All of us want to have it our way, why should buying a home be any different? We all want to be treated as individuals with special needs.  Any business that can make us feel important earns our business both now and in the future.}  

^{It’s time to recognize that making sales isn’t good enough….. YOU NEED TO MAKE CUSTOMERS!}