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Systematize the Selections Process to Avoid Hassles

Faced with so many choices, it’s easy for customers to get confused by the selections process. That deer-in-the-headlights approach to picking out products can really ruin your schedule and construction budget. Here are some tips to keep selections on track.

“The most important thing for a builder to do during the selections process is to be in control,” says Ed Nikles Sr., president of Ed Nikles Custom Builder, Inc., in Milford, PA.

Control Your Process

Having a showroom, or at least a corner of your sales office where you can store samples, goes a long way towards staying in control of the process. Nikles’ customers make 90% of their selections in his office. He only sends them out for appliances and flooring because his product selection room doesn’t have enough space for bulky ranges and dryers or all the carpet, vinyl and wood samples a flooring store stocks. Even then, the builder is still in control.

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“We go to the store with them so they don’t choose an upgrade they can’t afford, or a special-order item that would hold up the project,” Nikles says. For those few times when he can’t accompany them, he sends his customers to trusted vendors that won’t push them beyond their budgets.

Establish (and Keep) a Selections Schedule

Encourage your customers to pick out all products by the time construction starts. Or, if that’s not possible, peg selections to significant construction milestones. Nikles uses this approach and writes it into his contracts.

Nikles’ customers agree to:

• Select all exterior colors and products, fireplace and plumbing fixtures before construction starts.
• Select all interior products (except lighting fixtures and appliances) by the time the foundation is complete.
• Select lighting fixtures and appliances by the time the framing is finished.

Nikles documents selections with a seven-page form he and the customer sign. It explains processing fees for late selections ($50 for each instance), and details every last thing down to preferred plumbing rough-ins and the price of each light bulb.

BuilderBooks.com has “Home Builder Contracts & Management Forms On Disk,” a book and CD with a customer selections guide and selections forms for your business. View or order this publication online by clicking here, or call 800-223-2665 to order.

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Business management publications available at BuilderBooks.com

BuilderBooks.com also offers a variety of other publications about business management. To view or purchase these publications online, click here.

Want more information about effectively managing your business?

NAHB’s Business Management Department offers a variety of online resources to help you run your business better and more profitably. Click Business Management Tools for articles about human resources, financial management, sales, production, technology, customer service and other business-related topics. In addition, visit the NAHB Software Users Network Discussion Forum (SUN) to ask technology consultants and other builders what they think of various software packages and applications.

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University of Housing Offers Courses on Customer Service and Business Management

The NAHB University of Housing offers a course on business management designed to help builders improve their business and profitability. For a list of current offerings, click here. Search keywords: “Introduction to Business Management.”

The NAHB University of Housing offers designation programs for builders and remodelers interested in improving their productivity and profitability. Click here for a list of NAHB designation programs.

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