J. Bart Fletcher, GBAHB Executive VP

Reporting some of the top numbers of SMC members during this year's National Membership Day, the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders (GBAHB) is figuring out a nice balance between cutting costs and giving members what they want. Executive Vice President J. Bart Fletcher answered some questions about what is working for the GBAHB in these challenging times.

What is your history with associations? 

I joined the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders in August 2007. Prior to coming on board here, I served for 15 years as the Executive Vice President for the Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama, the statewide trade association for gasoline wholesalers and convenience store owners.

What have been your biggest challenges as an EO?

When I arrived at GBAHB, they were in the middle of a leadership crisis. Their long-time EO had resigned and his immediate replacement lasted only six months. In addition, four of five Senior Officers all resigned at the same time leaving a huge hole in the association’s executive committee. It was my job to work with the new group of Senior Officers to bring stability and credibility back to the association. Of course, all of this began just as the market began to crash adding yet another challenge.

How did your chapter’s SMC get started? If you were the EO at the time, what sold you on establishing a SMC?

Our Sales & Marketing Council (SMC) was established in 1995 and has been one of our most active councils since that time. The leadership at the time saw the benefit of “partnering” with the new home sales professionals to strengthen the relationship between the builder and Realtors®.

In addition, having an active SMC allowed us to continue to offer the latest in educational courses designed to help sales professionals and gave us a vehicle from which to recognize the outstanding sales producers through our annual Million Dollar Circle Awards.

How have the problems in today’s building industry affected your association?

The challenges we all face today have significantly affected our association. Our membership has decreased by roughly 30 percent which has a ripple effect throughout all of our programs and services. Like our members, we are learning to do more with less and have effectively identified those areas of our business that can be reduced, revised or eliminated without serious damage to member services. Retention efforts have become even more important as we move forward and, while our numbers are nowhere near where we would like them to be, we feel fortunate to have been in a position to weather the current storm.

What SMC programs or events have had the most positive effect on your membership recruitment and retention in general?

Our SMC educational seminars offer significant positive effects on our membership. Our council tries now, more than ever, to provide interesting, relevant and valuable programs for the members. In addition, the SMC has partnered with our other councils (Remodelers, 50+, Green Building) to offer joint programs and designation classes (CAPS, Master CSP) focusing on current trends in the industry. This strategy helps keep interest and attendance up even during challenging times. Realtors® who specialize in new construction know that participation in the association’s SMC offers them the best available information, as well as tremendous networking opportunities throughout the year.

What is the greatest strength of your association, and how do you, as an EO, maintain that strength?

The greatest strength of our association lies in our membership. We have a strong base of dedicated professionals who understand and appreciate the value of association membership. As a staff, we make every effort to continue to provide those products and services that the members find valuable while also looking for new opportunities that we may not yet have considered.

What are your tips for EOs wanting to find the same success has you have with your association and its SMC?

In today’s economic climate, understanding and providing what members want is of utmost importance. By talking with, and more importantly listening to, the members of the Sales and Marketing Council, we have been able to provide valuable education opportunities during tough economic times. Additionally, we make every attempt to offer classes that will count for continuing education credits through the Alabama Real Estate Commission and we work hard to identify local instructors so that we are able to keep our costs down while also providing outstanding training.

What benefits does the SMC bring to your HBA? (Higher attendance, education, etc.)

GBHAB benefits from our SMC in many ways. First and foremost, the council is a place where association leaders are identified and trained. Currently, the Associate Member Vice President of our board of directors is a past SMC chair. The experiences she gained while serving in leadership positions within the SMC prepared her for service as a Senior Officer of the association. In addition, our active SMC members also participate in a variety of other association meetings and events which not only benefits them in their business, but the association as a whole.

Do you have any programs that changed in response to the changes in the housing market? If so, what were the programs and how were they revamped?

Most, if not all, of our programs have significantly changed over the past two years. It would have been virtually impossible for our industry to have undergone such dramatic economic challenges without any impact on our programs and services.

Attendance is down at most meetings as members either go out of business or are no longer able to attend as many meetings as before. This has caused us to look at every meeting we hold to ensure that we are not only offering what the members want, but doing so in a manner that allows the association to continue operations (we no longer have the luxury of “losing money” on meetings and events).

Sponsorships are down at all levels placing even more pressure on our staff to find creative ways for members to have an enjoyable experience for the absolute lowest cost.

Any last thoughts or ideas other HBAs might want to try?

Our Million Dollar Circle Awards are given out to those real estate professionals who have achieved certain sales levels during the previous 12 months. Designed as a way for builders to recognize and thank the sales professionals who have excelled over the past year, these awards provide an opportunity for the association and our builder members to say “thank you” to the hard working, dedicated professionals who sell our products on a daily basis.

Fletcher can be reached by email at bartf@gbahb.com or by phone at 205-912-7000.

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