Creating Customers for Life – Part 1
Strategy First: The Smart Approach to Customer Relationship Management

By Steven Lewkowitz, Professional Services Director, Homebuilder & Real Estate Group, Pivotal Corporation

To really meet customer needs, you need superior insight into their preferences and behaviors—and the ability to respond accordingly. This is the promise of CRM: a crystal-clear, 360-degree view of the customer that can be used to inform business decisions and tailor every interaction, adding value to the customer experience. Knowing what your customers want and delivering it in the manner they prefer is imperative in today’s competitive market.

So why do some CRM initiatives fall flat? What makes the difference between CRM success and CRM failure?

Follow this link for the answers.

Last Call for Custom Builder Symposium
Take the first step toward earning the prestigious Certified Graduate Builder (CGB) designation, learn how systematic planning can improve your bottom line, and get solutions to custom builder challenges at this year’s Custom Builder Symposium, November 11-13 in Atlanta.

October 28 is the deadline to register for this must-attend networking and education event tailored to the needs of custom builders. Besides the opportunity to meet other builders and renew acquaintances in the big city with Southern hospitality, the symposium will provide you with valuable ideas for:

• Building your brand.
• Turning bad ideas into great ones.
• Creating a customer-centric experience for your clients.
• Unlocking your potential as a building professional.

Plus advanced education sessions on Sunday will help you stem the “profit leak” in your business; deal with picky, or downright predatory, clients; streamline the custom-build process; and attend to other critical business issues.

Also on Sunday, get the drill on diversifying your business at a University of Housing designation course. It will help you whether you are interested in commercial opportunities, other private non-residential building, or development.

Also New for 2005

• Roundtable discussions focus on what you need to do to survive a disaster.
• Rodney M. Miller will wow participants with his presentation, “What Your Passion Can Do for You.” 

CBS Attendees Will Learn:

Tips and tricks for controlling profits.

 Best practices for streamlining the custom-build process.

Contract ABCs.

Time-management secrets for a balanced life.

Can’t Miss Networking Events

• View design trends and building techniques at premiere custom homes in the Atlanta area on the Andersen Windows Home Tour. 
• Enjoy a round of golf and a 19^th-hole awards event at the Atlanta National Golf Club designed by the renowned team of Pete & P.B. Dye. 
• Experience Atlanta at a Saturday night social event.

Go to the Custom Builder Symposium Web site to learn more.

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The Contract Addendum: One Way to Discourage Speculative Buying
You don’t want a sense of community spoiled by “For Rent” signs or completed homes sitting dark and empty. NAHB has drafted an Anti-Speculation Provision that you can adapt to your sales contracts.

At NAHB’s recent fall board meetings, builders discussed strategies for discouraging real-estate investors in their communities, including pre-screening by sales staff and addenda to sales contracts.

While a nationwide survey of 500 home builders by NAHB in June found that only 4 percent of single-family homes sold in the first half of 2005 were to investors (rather than for primary residence or vacation home), investors accounted for 11 percent of purchases in “hot” markets. Therefore, NAHB economic forecasters have warned builders to continue to watch for speculative buying, which can generate substantial “hidden supply” that could come back on the market quickly if price appreciation should begin to falter. Sales of new units would then be disrupted severely.

Other concerns about speculation among home buyers may hit closer to home: You don’t  want a sense of community spoiled by “For Rent” signs or completed homes sitting dark and empty. If houses are not owner occupied, there is a much greater risk of property prices heading downward.

Contract addenda can be an effective deterrent to speculative buying. However, NAHB Director of Legal Research David Crump warns that they should state, specifically, a justifiable purpose, such as a “stabilized community of affordable housing.” Such a goal is in the public—as well as the builder’s—interest.

Follow this link to a suggested Anti-Speculation Provision that you can adapt to your particular sales contract.

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Builders Save Time, Money, Energy with Panels, Study Finds
Builders have found increased business opportunities using panels in construction, according to a new study from the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH).

Because panels decrease project lengths and costs, many builders have expanded their businesses to supply and even fabricate panels, according to the study, Integrating Panels into the Production Homebuilding Process.

The study surveyed 24 builders in the Southwest and Southeast, where building activity is most robust. Long-term cost savings, shorter construction times, reduced labor and material costs, and enhanced energy performance were among the benefits of panels respondents cited.

To read more survey findings, click here.

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Do You Know an Official Who’s Gone to Bat for Builders?
Nominate that person for a State & Local Government Affairs Recognition Award by Oct. 26. Award recipients may include elected or appointed public officials who have helped our industry, or a particularly innovative or successful government affairs initiative undertaken by a local or state HBA. An official application is available online. This will be the 15th consecutive year that NAHB’s State & Local Government Affairs department has bestowed such honors. For more information, please contact Alex Strong at x8279.

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New Single-Family Home Sales Drop After Record Buying Surge
Sales of new single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.237 million units in August following a record buying surge the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department reported last month. Despite a 9.9 percent decline from July’s record pace, the August sales rate was 6.2 percent above a year ago and actual sales to date were a healthy 7.4 percent higher than at the same time last year.

“Home builders continue to see solid demand for new homes,” said NAHB President David Wilson, a custom home builder from Ketchum, Idaho. “Our Housing Market Index survey of builders held in a positive range through August as builders reported near-record levels of home sales and maintained a positive view of future sales as well.”

“The Commerce Department’s estimates of new home sales are subject to a high degree of sampling variability, particularly at the regional level,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Seiders. “It’s likely that the July report overstated the strength of sales and that the August report exaggerated the decline. The average for the July through August period is quite close to the second quarter average, and it appears that home sales are plateauing around near-record levels.”

All four regions across the country posted decreased sales in August, with two regions— the Northeast and the West—experiencing the most flux during the past two months. Sales in the Northeast were down 22 percent, following a 13.6 jump the month before, while the West dipped 17.9 percent following an almost 23 percent surge in July. Sales in the South were down 2.2 percent and in the Midwest by 10.6 percent for the month.

The inventory of new homes for sale was 480,000 at the end of August, a 4.7 months’ supply at the current sales pace, although 22 percent of the for-sale units were not yet started―a historically high share. Completed homes represented only 22 percent of the inventory, and units still under construction were 57 percent of the total.

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Draft Contracts for Lots with Bankruptcy Perils in Mind
Section 365 can be a sword as well as a shield in rising real estate markets

By Mark Shaiken, Janet Nesse, Marc Albert, Darrell Clark, Lawrence Block and Katherine Becker, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP

A Maryland case highlights the necessity of drafting every contract for the purchase of real estate with bankruptcy in mind, because it can be used as a sword as well as a shield in the rising real estate market. For more information, click here.

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NAFTA Panel Gives U.S. Until Oct. 28 to Comply with Lumber Ruling
A North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) panel has found that Canadian lumber exports into the U.S. are not subsidized, and, therefore, countervailing duties should be removed. The panel gave the United States until October 28, 2005 to comply.

“Yesterday’s verdict, the latest in a series of unanimous NAFTA rulings, shows once again that there is absolutely no justification for the Administration to continue imposing punitive tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments. It is time to eliminate this hidden tax that has cost American consumers billions of dollars,” said David Wilson, president of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a custom home builder from Ketchum, Idaho.

U.S. law allows countervailing duties to be imposed only upon two conditions: that a foreign supplier is benefiting from subsidies, and U.S. producers are being injured, or threatened with injury, as a result.  An earlier unanimous NAFTA ruling found that there was no injury or threat of injury.  The most recent decision found that there was no subsidy. The United States is expected to appeal the ruling, but there is little chance of it being overturned.

For more, go online to http://www.nahb.org/news_details.aspx?newsID=1590

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NAHB Advocacy Chalks Up Wins on Code Requirements
Your grassroots efforts made a difference last month in rolling back insulation code requirements that would have changed the way many homes are built and jeopardized housing affordability.

In its final action hearings for 2006 building codes held in Detroit, the International Code Council entertained a lengthy, heated debate in which builders, NAHB staff and industry allies made one good point after another regarding the adequacy of the existing insulation requirements and the potential negative impacts of a proposal to increase the requirements that the ICC had formerly approved.

The result was a final vote of 271-68 in favor of our rollback proposal — well above the two-thirds majority that was required.

This is a fantastic win for NAHB members nationwide and a boon to home buyers who would have had to pay $1,000 to $4,000 more if the increased insulation requirements had taken effect. Read more about our EC-16 proposal online, or contact John Loyer (x8303) or Jeff Inks (x8547) for more. 

Check out Nation’s Building News Online for a comprehensive analysis of how NAHB faired at the Detroit hearings with regard to positions we lobbied on many other important code issues.

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Hurry to Take Advantage of Dell “Double Discount”
NAHB Members are eligible this month for a “Double Discount” on virtually all DELL Computer products

That means the normal discounts of 3 to 5 percent will double to 6 to 10 percent on essential small business technology, including business-class desktops and cutting-edge notebooks!

Check your mailbox for the new catalog or go to www.dell.com/smb/NAHB  and build you own laptop or desktop system. When you are ready to purchase, simply call your DELL sales representative  at 888-577-3355 (Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.- 8 p.m. or Sat. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. CST)  to place your order.

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Business Opportunities From NAHB’s Councils and Departments

Now you can read archived articles from Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine, published by NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Council, in the Knowledge @ SMI section of www.SMImagazine.com. Featuring articles on Design Trends, Market Research, Merchandising, and Sales Management, Knowledge @ SMI is a great resource for you and your sales team.

While browsing Knowledge @ SMI, you can also purchase a subscription online.  See www.SMImagazine.com for more information.

Expand Your Niche
Want to reach baby boomers and active adults, one of the largest and most affluent groups of new home consumers?  Join the 50+ Housing Council to discover how to capitalize on opportunities within the fastest growing segment of the housing industry— a market that is expected to hit 100 million by 2012.

Council members include builders, developers, architects, marketers, sales professionals, products and services providers, and others trying to break into the 50+ housing market. Your membership in the 50+ Housing Council will keep you up to date with the quarterly magazine, 50+ Housing Magazine. Find out the latest research and other valuable information and learn from experts at Building for Boomers & Beyond: 50+ Housing Symposium, April 24-26, 2006, in Phoenix. Gain recognition by participating in the Best of Seniors Housing Awards program, which honors design and marketing excellence for the mature market.

For more information or to join, please visit www.nahb.org/seniors.

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Enter the Mexican Housing Market
Attend the 3^rd International Housing Conference of the Americas and gain critical initial contacts with professionals in Mexico’s burgeoning residential construction industry. 

The conference will be held Nov. 3-5 in Mexico City at the Four Seasons hotel. The conference features six educational sessions, a property tour of higher-end housing, exhibits, and multiple networking opportunities with industry leaders and government officials.

As an added bonus, the first 100 registrants to the 3^rd International Housing Conference of the Americas will receive a complimentary registration to the 2006 International Builders’ Show in Orlando, FL.

Select this link to learn more about this successful conference series. Questions? Contact NAHB International at 800-368-5242, x8419.

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Member Advantage: Get GM Discount Pricing on More Than 80 GM Vehicles

 GM is offering preferred supplier discount pricing on more than 80 General Motors vehicles, including Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Saturn, HUMMER (except H1), and Saab passenger cars, light duty trucks, vans and SUVs as part of NAHB’s Member Advantage discount program.

Through the program, NAHB members get:

• Preferred supplier pricing on all eight GM nameplates.
• Other GM offers in addition to the supplier price.
• Program details via direct mail from GM. 

For details, go to www.gmfleet.com/nahb. The GM Preferred Supplier Pricing program runs through Jan. 3, 2006.

Other Member Advantage Discounts

For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to http://memberadvantage.nahb.org, or visit www.nahb.org to explore the full range of benefits associated with membership in your local, state, and national home builders associations.