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Week of November 24, 2003

Front Page

Housing and Economics

* Builder Confidence Down Slightly This Month

Housing Politics

* New Law Will Expedite Thinning of National Forests Prone to Wildfires
* Senate Set to Act on Highlands Conservation Legislation for Northeast States
* Canadians Urged to Stay the Course in Dispute Against Lumber Tariffs

State and Local

* Awards Recognize Advocates of Construction Defect Reform Laws

Business Management

* Don’t Fix New Software If It Isn’t Broken

Research

* Seniors’ Housing Center Provides Support for Family Caregivers

Small Builders and Remodelers

* Kitchen Design Begins With Quick Sketching
* Clients Need a Perfect Partner In the Selections Process

Sales and Marketing

* Home Builders Renew Interest in Online Marketing

Seniors Housing

* Put A Little Culture in Your Kitchen Designs

Member Dividends

* NAHB Provides Ammunition Against No-Growth Proposal

Labor

* Construction Program Keeps Students in School

Building Systems

* Building Systems Councils Breaks Its Own Record in BUILD-PAC Fundraising

Building Products

* On-Line Courses Address Water Penetration

International Housing

* NAHB Launches Access Mexico at IBS to Build Business Partnerships

Housing Forum

* Styrofoam Houses?

Building News Coast To Coast

Association News & Events

* NAHB Director Jim Woodyard Dies in Plane Crash
* Detroit Builder Manny Dembs Dies at Age 80
* Members and EOs Can Find the Right NAHB Staff Faster Than Ever
* Consumers in California Warned About Fly-By-Night Contractors
* NAHB Production Group Honored for HGTV Program
* Calendar of Events

NBN Back Issues

 

Clients Need a Perfect Partner In the Selections Process

Builders and remodelers can happily manage the selections process — as long as they view it differently from the construction process.

Construction is hammer and nails. The selection process is image and feeling. The one is what we are; the other is how.

The process needs to be felt, not forced. This is never truer than when the home owner, your client, is standing in the showroom trying to make finish decisions. For a builder, choosing between two different kinds of floor tile seems a fairly simple task. But not so for the home owner, who has to picture how the tile will affect his or her life for the next seven to 10 years.

A myriad of questions swim through the buyer’s mind: what will friends think about the tile; what does their spouse really want even though they said it didn’t matter; and, though often forgotten, what are the practical features of one choice over another.


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There is an art to this process that allows the story to evolve and develop over time. An artist knows that it starts with an idea, a folly, a belief.

Giving space to develop folly while remaining on time and on budget is the trick. A builder’s job is to keep the selections dance as exciting and unforced as possible while scripting a process that comes to a conclusion. The client needs a partner who can hear the ideas and provide feedback.

There are a few small touches that can turn a remodeler into that perfect partner.

Drive the client to showrooms. Set up an appointment for the client, bring the selection lists and plans, and allow the client to simply shop. Make sure the client has lunch, if necessary. Then follow up with the showroom on pricing, samples, pictures, online presentations, research and lead times.

At the end of the day, the project manager gets a list. The client gets an experience — and both are happy.

Allison Iantosca began her career in the building industry about three years ago when she started working as project development coordinator in her family’s business, F.H. Perry Builder, Inc. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Builders Association of Greater Boston.
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