Search

All the signs are there. Apartment marketing has come of age. Residential managers and leasing agents recognize that one-inch classified ads and 'for rent' signs are no longer enough to [...]

The impact of US economic situation on the performance of the factory-built housing market is discussed. Additional information on management strategies to be considered by the manufacturers and retailers of prefabricated houses to further boost their profitability and competitiveness is included.

The final part of a two-part review investigates how manufactured home retailers use environmental displays at their sales centers.

Manufactured housing retailers are beginning to realize the importance of investing in environmental displays to attract more customers, as competition among independent retailers continues to heat up. In presenting home models to potential customers, retailers now know that it is vital to install such furnishings as appliances and landscaped exteriors. An account of how some retailers in Michigan, Virginia and Ohio view and manage environmental displays is presented.

A very interesting topic for salespeople in the manufactured housing industry could be how to handle objections. This is because the ability of a salesperson to handle objections is fundamental to their success. One way of improving this ability is changing the concept of the word 'objection.' A proven process of doing this starts by listening closely to customers' comments. The second step is rephrasing negative remarks as questions.

Don Nelsen is a manufactured home retailer who owns the Heritage Home Center in Everett, WA. Before he became successful in home retailing, he used to work for the National Bank of Commerce, Financial Associates Insurance and Gregerson's Manufactured Homes. It was only in 1980 when he was given the chance to manage the center which he bought in 1986. Nelsen foresees home retailing as a growing business.

Prefabricated house sales representatives can substantially increase their income by carefully directing their prospects to a buying decision. This can be done if the salesperson gathers specific data with regards to the activities and interests of the prospect. This will allow the salesperson to assist the prospect in discovering the benefits of buying a particular house. A significant move is to obtain the confidence of the prospect and the best method for this is to have the referral source introduce the salesperson.

Sales fraud has become a major concern in the prefabricated housing industry due to the enormous financial losses it poses to business owners. These activities, often committed to improve credit quality, primarily involve the concealment of facts and misinterpretation of financial information in order to expedite the approval of loans. Fraud may be prevented by conducting an extensive audit on loans before and after they are closed. It may also prove useful to double-check reports issued by sales agents and maintain a high degree of ethical standards within the organization.

The manufactured home sales center should be geared towards providing high-value solutions to people's housing requirements. Consumers must be sold to the idea of a manufactured home as a valuable house. It is also important to have quality sales people. An essential issue is the appearance of sales staff. Basically, good and ethical people should be hire as sales personnel. Then, they must be trained, reinforced, corrected when committing mistakes and be properly compensated.

Preowned manufactured homes are achieving market growth, especially for land-lease community owner/managers. Preowned manufactured homes have an entirely different marketing strategy as compared to selling new homes. The sales approach for used homes may include meeting interested buyers at various sites and preparing for answers to questions ranging from home construction, rentals and financing options.

D and D Homes of Sacramento, CA, has a skillful marketing strategy that makes every customer's visit to its sales centers memorable. The manufacturer provides promotional handouts for adults, free gifts for children and display models that are completely decorated with special features and related with a particular house. The company, in 1997, was named Retailer of the Year in western US. Other awards won include the Circle of Excellence Customer Satisfaction Award and Merchandising Excellence awards.

The manufactured homes industry must take efforts to be actively involved in the marketing, sale and financing processes of preowned manufactured homes. Usually, the sale of these homes is not announced and documented since the only ones involved are the buyer, the seller, a local lender and probably a broker. Preowned manufactured homes provide an opportunity to the industry, with more than 700,000 units are expected to be sold in 1997. Buyers of preowned manufactured homes are usually those people who cannot afford the monthly installment payments for a new manufactured home.

Advantage Homes, located in Silicon Valley, adopts different approach to manufactured home retailing. Since Silicon Valley forms the southern third of the Greater San Francisco Metropolitan Area, housing is a seller's market in the area because the demand for housing has far exceeded the supply. Advantage Homes focuses on the promotion of four to five best-selling models, as well as high-quality multi-section models and site homes primarily in land-lease communities rather than on a private property.

Manufactured home retailer Schwartz Homes has initiated the drive towards the megastore concept in the industry. The Schwatz Homes Indoor Megastore is an innovative concept in the manufactured home retail sector, where customers can browse through manufactured home options and home amenities in a supermarket-like atmosphere. Owner Steve Schwartz initiated the concept to give his customers superior service, believing that the concept is what the manufactured home retail sector needs to improve its distribution process.

Chuck Fanaro, together with his Saddlebrook Farms staff, has uplifted the image of the manufactured housing industry. This 700-acre community with site-built living amenities accomodates more than 55 manufactured homes for senior citizens. The place offers a vegetable garden, man-made lakes and a zoo intended for children visiting their grandparents. An exceptional feature is the 'Lifeline remote control device,' which sends off an alarm when residents are in emergency situations.

Retailers of manufactured homes are exerting greater effort at breaking the sterotype image of the industry. Bob Meadows' Meadowood Homes sales center in Brooksville, FL, leads the move with the help of Palm Harbor Homes. The sales center's boardwalk connecting all the 13 models of prefabricated house is its best feature. Prospective buyers who visit the site are given a brief tour at the first house and are then provided with an annotated map so that they can tour at their own leisure.

Manufactured home retailer Chuck Dettman of the Country Meadows Home Center in Marinette, WI, uses attractive displays to lure buyers. His displays are arranged to resemble a residential neighborhood with paved walkways, trees and lawns. Dettman also spends a considerable amount for the interior decoration of his displays. He believes that with the right packaging, most people would not mind the fact that their homes are prefabricated.

Columbus, IN,-based Village Homes and Palm Harbor Homes have created a sales center for displaying 23 landscaped and furnished manufactured homes. The retailers reported that the 9-acre sales center have improved people's perceptions of manufactured homes. The home's furnishings were also chosen to create an upscale look for the interiors. Both companies have reported an increase in sales of their multi-section and modular homes due to the displays.

A listing of single-section home models from some of the leading manufactured home producers in the US is presented. Some of the latest offerings include detailed explanations of the houses' interior and household furniture.

Realtor Maggie Stephenson and her husband purchased Redbud Estates in 1977, a 200-site community in Anderson, IN, and developed it into one of the leading manufactured home community developments in the state. Redbud Estates combines single-section houses and multi-sectionals. Old and new models are integrated and maintained in excellent condition.

An analysis of marketing strategies to further boost manufactured housing sales is offered. Additional information on sales personnel's use of telephone and other sales strategies to improve customer service is offered.

Information on the process of selling manufactured houses and financing of new homes is offered. Additional information on lenders' relationship with manufactured home retailers and buyers when offering home loans is included.

Information on manufactured home selling techniques for sales people is offered. Additional information on sales people's relationship with their customers is included.

The columnist calls for the manufacturinged housing industry to incorporate new technology and knowledge in order to grow and to increase its portion of the housing market share.

Issues are presented concerning the marketing of manufactured homes to customers. The tactics used by customers to obtain a lower price for the manufactured home are discussed.

Issues are presented concerning the management of sales of manufactured housing. The marketing of manufactured housing and the services which should be provided to customers are discussed.

Problems occurring in the manufactured housing market are caused by the industry's failure to to heed warning signs and to take advantage of economic circumstances to expand and widen their market. Positive action is needed in identifying markets and pursuing projects, particularly by marketing products as affordable housing.

Manufactured home buyers resent being pressurized into buying decisions and will respond unfavourably to a high-pressure sales technique. Today's retailers need to focus on the customer in a friendly and helpful fashion.

Prices should never be posted in the window or in a prominent spot inside the house is the first rule in selling houses. Posting prices will give buyers the chance to find out how much the house will cost them even before they have the opportunity to mull its benefits. Also, the posted prices have to be the lowest, since buyers with no other knowledge about houses other than prices, will opt for the cheapest houses on sale. The average monthly payment rather than the sale price should be posted instead.

Local prefabricated house retailers can turn to advertising to better compete with their larger competitors, which have lately been buying out smaller competitors or building huge sales centers in small communities. Aside from competing on pricing, quality and service, advertising provides retailers the chance to make a good first impression, boost sales and serve the public. However, to be successful, one's advertising must be planned based on the budget, target audiences, market opportunities, and media mix and schedules.

Advertising is an important aspect of manufactured home retailing. It should not only be done when customers are more likely to buy. Advertising should be consistent because home purchasing requires a major decision making. When sales are declining, the more advertising is needed. Advertising should focus on improving quality of houses and the site-built market. Moreover, advertising the cost per square foot is one of the best methods in advertising manufactured homes.

There are several strategies in mystery shopping for manufactured home properties. Telephone shopping is one way of experiencing how shoppers are treated by the staff. On-site visit could also be done to verify accuracy. The use of video cameras and tape recorders is also suggested. However, mystery shoppers could be countered by bringing them to the site and asking how they came to know of the properties to evaluate which marketing efforts are effective.

The effective communication of the features, advantages and benefits (FAB) of a manufactured home is the key to making a sale. The impact of the communication will depend on the salesperson's conscious and balanced presentation of the FAB. The priority and focus of each potential client should be considered to determine the appropriate succession of the FAB presentation. The salesperson is also encouraged to increase his FAB knowledge of the product and own sales center.

Sales personnel for manufactured homes should strive to close the sale on the first visit at a retail center of a prospect. Not everyone who visits a retail center is ready to buy. However, the closing rate of the industry is only 7% which is very much lower than those for other industries such as the water equipment industry which has a closing rate of 33% with 95% closed on the first presentation. Closing the sale on the first date is beneficial to the customer because they will enjoy benefits earlier, less time is wasted and they do not commit the error of purchasing a lesser value product.

Prospective thinking and motivation are two factors critical to the success of manufactured housing sales agents. In order to ensure the profitability of one's business, sales managers must underscore the need to maintain a significant number of potential clients and convert them into committed consumers. Sales agents must also devote ample time in evaluating referrals since majority of customers are merely cited by friends or relatives.

Advertising in the manufactured housing industry must transcend the 'cheap price' basis of its conventional advertisement and must instead concentrate on communicating home ownership to potential home buyers. A prerequisite for successful advertising is a well developed sales and support infrastructure which can respond to the queries about the advertising. As to the advertisement itself, it must communicate to potential home buyers that manufactured homes is the next step in establishing a stable life, one that is not only affordable but one that can address the needs of each family members in terms of their needs in a home.

Centennial Homes Inc of Aberdeen, SD, has successfully hosted wintertime indoor shows since early 1990s to cope up with the sluggish sales during the season. The company has established sales centers in three cities, in addition to its Aberdeen facility, which have convention centers that are large enough to fit a complete indoor manufactured housing show.

Owners of a manufactured home community need the services of a broker who specializes in valuing and marketing prefabricated houses in planning a sale. They also need to be aware of how prospective clients assess properties, which include the location of the property, the number of rentable home sites as well as the amenities of the property. In the sale process itself, an offer to purchase or intent letter is required to be presented by the would-be client. The owner should ensure that a legal counsel has already evaluated the draft of the contract before signing it.

Manufactured home community managers should follow the recommendations given in preparation for the foreseen growth of such communities and to ensure the success of the business. Recognizing the competition and putting all resources to the business is the first step. Competent and effective professionals should be employed. The information center should reflect the type of community promoted. Learning to use the right marketing and advertising strategies would be most beneficial.

Sales people can generate high return on investment by observing six marketing steps in selling a manufactured home community. Knowing when to sell the property, being able to present it suitably to prospective owners and renters, and getting the help from a right agency can generate profit for the company. Other strategies include the employment of knowledgeable brokers and consultants.

Retailers of manufactured homes should take proper marketing and advertising measures to avoid being dislodged by competitors offering low-end homes. Advertising measures that can increase profits for a company include highlighting additional amenities, emphasizing the structural advantages and easy financing plans over those of the low-end product, using advertising to counter the position of a competitor and proper management of advertisements.

Manufactured housing companies can boost their sales by refining their sales management techniques. Sales managers have to find new techniques to train their sales personnel in a more efficient way to stimulate their companies' product sales. Salespeople need to learn how to approach their potential customers in order to sell their companies' products successfully.

The manufactured houses industry refuses to gain full momentum because of regulatory barriers to affordable housing. The government needs to draft legislation promoting the industry to widen its share of the housing market. Likewise, the industry itself needs to improve its marketing strategies, upgrade its products and become more active for a more successful business.

Direct-to-consumer marketing, with the use of cable television and a special toll-free number, presents vast selling opportunities to retailers of manufactured housing who are willing to consolidate their resources. Infomercials are a unique selling tool, as they not only persuade viewers to sample the merchandise but also educate them on the product's value and offer information about topics related to the product.