In the world of modular home construction, the modular factories are looking to sell their homes to the best builders they can find. But often the builder is not a great fit for the factory. How can the Sales Manager know who is a good builder for their factory and who isn’t?
 |
| Is this a good builder or a bad builder… |
It’s called profiling. Bad builders usually exhibit a lot of these characteristics:
- The builder is acquired through the least expensive method
or needed a high promotional inducement. The “least expensive” method
suggests they sought you–and that is often too good to be true. The
promotional inducement suggests sensitivity to price or incentive, which is not
good for long-term loyalty. - The builder has high “service costs” or contacts
the company above average. - The builder exhibits switching factories.
- A definite signal you have a bad builder: All contact is
through their attorney. - The builder’s customer constantly wants changes and a better
price. This means that the builder is using the factory as the bad guy because
he can’t close the sale. - The builder has the factory constantly quote a home and
never buys. - The builder won’t tell you why he left his last factory.
Today, up to 50% of a factory’s builders are detractors, continually using the factory’s resources with little or no return. Using the list, maybe it’s time for the Sales Manager to go through their list of builders and thin the herd. The drama will lessen in the sales and engineering departments and the company will run smoother.
Management can put builder training and sales rep training into place and that leads to a better overall company. Let’s face it, the factory with the most builders is not necessarily the most profitable.
