Sticks and Bricks Podcast

In this last audio re-shares from this past year's International Builders Show Livestreams, I am honored to bring you the discussion I had with industry Titan, Scott Sedam, on how to beat the material shortage that builders everywhere are facing.  It was the first time I had a studio audience, too!  Enjoy!!

In this episode, Heidi Schroeder - Senior Consultant with Lasso CRM - furthers the discussion about talking to your clients.  Specifically, we talk about how builders often are good at speaking with their prospects until they sell them a house.  Then - all of that managed conversation just stops, and the Home Builders goes into "build mode."  Listen in and learn why you shouldn't.

In this episode, I share the audio from the live podcast episode I did with Jen Barkan (Do You Convert) where we discuss how an Online Sales Counselor (and/or process) is so important for home builders off all sizes.  Think you're too small?  Think again!

In this replay of one of the Livestream events done during the 2022 International Builders Show in Orlando, FL (from high atop the ECI Software Solutions booth).  Listen in and enjoy as Ken talks about the importance of improving margins by putting more detail into your purchasing - and - as a bonus, we talk about how Home Builders who take the time to help their Trades run their businesses see a great Return on Investment that they may not necessarily realize.

Enjoy!

I'm back - finally!  After taking a year or so off to re-assess what I wanted this podcast to be, the time has come to get things started again.  I get a little more personal in this episode - sharing my personal journey in this industry so you get to know more about who I am, what I've been through, and why I'm making this podcast.

I also give you a sense of what this season is all about.  In short, this season is tailored to focus on those home building businesses who are "getting it done" - BUT - feel like you're working too hard for the results your getting.  You just know that things can be better - but - you're not quite sure what it is.

This season, I'm shaking things up a bit.  I'll have interviews, for sure.  But I want to have different formats, different lengths and different ways of exploring ways to make your home building business' processes better.  And it's not always going to be super polished (heck, my dog barked at one part of this episode).

I hope you enjoy and stick around for a new season.  I just know it's going to be a lot of fun!

Hey, folks. This week we’re going to be talking about that necessary evil that all builders face – home warranties. And, let’s face it, warranty claims are no fun. If you don’t keep a close tab on them, they can quickly spiral out of control – and – often, builders use their own administrative staff to handle the warranty calls that come in.

Although that may seem practical on your wallet, it can often cost you more than you think.

You really want to think about warranty as something more than just a cost of doing business (and, quite honestly, a pain in your neck). As much as it might hurt to hear, you really should treat the warranty process with your homeowners in a professional manner that is fair – and even delights your customers.

After all, as a home builder, you can live and die by word of mouth.

Now, I have to admit that when I was building, I was one of those who just used my own staff to handle the majority of the warranty claims. A competitor started offering an extended third party warranty company to their customers, and my sales team thought we needed to offer one, too or we’d lose sales to that competitor.

Begrudgingly, I sought out a third party warranty company so we had something to offer as part of the sales process. And, I can say that I wasn’t impressed. I’d pay a few hundred dollars to this third-party company for every customer to offer “peace of mind” to them. I never met anyone at this company. Most of my customers forgot that this was part of their sale – remarking so when signing the paperwork at closing. And, as far as I know, no one ever contacted that company anyway.

So, I was a skeptic. It seemed like I was just throwing money out the window for no good reason.

Recently, I happened to connect with Matt Hobbs, who is the National Director of Business Development for ProHome – a Third Party Warranty Company with locations in the U.S. and the U.K., and I invited him to talk me out of my skepticism.

So, if – like me – you are skeptical about third-party Warranty Companies, listen in as Matt faces my skepticism and tries to convince me that there is merit to hiring a third-party warranty company to manage your warranty service….

As I bring my first season of the Sticks and Bricks Podcast, I am so excited to continue the conversation I started last week with Scott Sedam of True North Consulting - a well-known and often-published thought leader in the Home Building Industry.

In this second part of our interview, we continue to discuss an article that he wrote in October of last year that reviewed 10 Lessons Learned from the last downturn – and – we see if and/or how those 10 Lessons relate to the current COVID-19 situation.

As I get ready to wrap up my first season of the Sticks and Bricks Podcast, I am so excited to offer a two-part interview series with a well-known thought leader in the Home Building Industry. For as long as I can remember, I always gravitated to the writing and wisdom of Scott Sedam in the articles he wrote in Professional Builder and other industry publications.

Scott is the owner of True North Consulting – and – he’s been helping home builders improve operations for such a long time. I held on to an article that he wrote in October of last year that reviewed 10 Lessons Learned from the last downturn.

In that same article, there was talk of an economic slowdown looming in the first quarter of 2020. The coronavirus showed up instead – and – the effects of it have been felt by many across the world.

I thought it would be interesting to take the 10 Lessons listed in that article and see if and/or how they related to the current situation. Scott’s long tenure in this industry with some of the greatest home building legends leads to some interesting stories and advice in this interview.

This week, I’m offering up a recording from a Webinar-type program I hosted from my day job at ECI Solutions. In this time of working remotely, home builders everywhere are just trying to figure out how to do those things that were so simple before.

So, we organized some talks – called MarkChats – with home builders all across North America to share concerns and ideas on how they’re dealing with very real things that happen every single day in their businesses. And I thought it would be good to share these recordings with my listeners, too.

This week, I share the discussion on handling Warranty while working remotely.

So, listen and learn how other builders are handling their warranty at this time. Then, share your ideas, too. We’re all trying to figure this out. By generously sharing, we will get through this together!

I just love reading books about business and marketing. And – every once in a while, I come across a book that I just love so much, I want others to know about it. One of my latest favorite books is The Content Fuel Framework by Melanie Deziel.

Why I love this book is that it’s a really more of an active tool than it is something to read. Too often, business books are good on theory – but – they lack any practical use. This book is so practical that Melanie gives you an easy tool that you can use to quickly come up with 100 Content Ideas. And it’s a tool that you will be able to continually use moving forward.

Fortunately, in today’s day and age, social media allows one to pretty easily connect with influencers, authors and others. So, I took the liberty of quickly connecting with Melanie – and – I was so excited when she agreed to join me for this podcast episode.

What’s really interesting for this episode is that it’s the first one I did where I didn’t really have any formal questions figured out ahead of time. Typically, I have a good idea of what I’m going to ask – but – this episode just seemed like it would be different from the start.

Instead of the normal Q&A that I do, we decided that we’d just go through part of her Content Fuel Framework (the 10 Content Types) and let her explain each type. Then, I’d see if I could come up with some content ideas specific to home building. It turns out, the conversation was really good. In the span of about 40 minutes, I had 10 good content ideas generated that you could use right now! To be honest, it was more than 10 – but – you’ll get the picture when you listen.

Melanie is a super cool guest – and – you’ll be able to tell that I am a Super Fan of her new book.

So, grab your notebook (paper or digital) – and – get ready to have content ideas you can use as early as 45 minutes from now!

This week, I invited Tim Bailey, Chief Strategy Officer for Avid Ratings, to come on and talk about how you can use information from your customers to improve your business and your marketing.

Avid Ratings really is THE name in home building surveys, and I couldn’t think of a better person to share ideas on the best times – and questions – to ask customers in their home building journey.

And – even though I’m typically the one asking the questions – Tim’s a mastermind of finding information. So, I’m embarrassed to say he used his skills and got me to fess up to my own dark side. You’ll see what I mean in the interview.

So, grab a cup of coffee, listen in, and take Tim’s advice to improve your home building operations…

This week, I explore Hoodle.com – a search site (and more) for new construction that started in Central Illinois and is quickly popping up in markets all across the United States. Ron Williams, the Founder and CEO of Hoodle.com, takes a bit of time to talk about how this site came to be by solving a problem that he could solve – and – where the site is headed.

We all know and understand that online search is so important. In these days – when people are being required to stay at home for a month or so – that online search is even more important. And – with so many places online in which you can invest your time and dollars – you want to be sure that you make the right choice.

And, chances are, you may find that Hoodle.com makes sense for you. Let’s jump over to the interview so you can decide for yourself……

This week, I’m doing something a little different than my typical episode. While this podcast is my personal podcast, many know that my day job is with ECI Solutions – specifically with MarkSystems, a home building ERP software.

This past week, for that day job, I hosted a Webinar about Building Remotely – a topic that is on everyone’s mind right now with the coronavirus forcing us all to rethink our operations and making us figure out how to work with a remote workforce.

It was so well received that I thought it would be great to have an audio-only version of this Webinar. The good folks at ECI allowed me to use the audio for my podcast, so that’s what this episode is!

It lasts a little more than an hour – which is longer than my typical episode, but I know you’ll find some great advice from it.

While we mention our software in the episode, we worked hard to make sure this was not a sales episode. It truly is applicable and useful to all home builders – as I brought in home building professionals from outside of ECI to make sure our attendees got to hear from real builders who are dealing with the same things from the trenches. The feedback I received from so many who attended really appreciated the value they received from attending!

Have you ever been called on by a representative from a Fleet Management Company – who wants to come in and talk to you about the possibility of outsourcing your business’s vehicles? I know how it goes – the call comes in while putting out the normal daily fires, and – to that representative’s chagrin – you end up turning down the meeting.

That Fleet Management Rep is persistent, though. After several contacts, you finally agree to meet him or her. Quite honestly, sometimes that meeting comes in the midst of those daily fires, and you don’t really get a chance to fully think about how this could affect your business.

I actually had this experience myself – and today’s guest is that Fleet Management Rep who called on me several times until I had him sit down in my office to review their program. I have to be honest. I didn’t take the time to ask the questions I should have – but – that was partly due to the fact that I was putting out my daily fires AND I didn’t take the time to really think through the questions I should ask.

Mike Helsel is an Area Sales Manager for Enterprise Fleet Management from San Antonio Texas. In today’s episode, we have the Q&A session that I SHOULD have had with him back in that meeting in 2013/14. The nice thing for YOU is that – after we finished recording – Mike told me that these questions were the most common questions he gets from home builders and other business owners all the time.

So – by listening to this episode – I’ve just saved you the time it would have taken to think through, ask, and get answers to the questions that you should be asking. Mike gives clear answers that will allow you to assess whether outsourcing your vehicles makes sense for your company.

Home builders everywhere believe the processes they perform every day have been honed and perfected after years of experience. Many of those home builders think their way is the best way, and they believe that all their home buyers fully understand and appreciate how the whole process unfolds.

But do their home buyers really appreciate – and even like – the process?

That’s what today’s episode is all about. Paul Gortzig of the Bokka Group joins me to talk about taking a hard look at your home buying process through the eyes of the buyer. That can be a tough thing to do.  Many home builders can be too proud to look reality in the face and admit that they may have settled on a process that is convenient to their own needs (at the expense of their home buyers).

Paul shares suggestions and experiences that often come up with home builders who have worked with the Bokka Group over the years.

It’s a great episode that I am sure you’ll find valuable advice.

I am just over-the-moon for this week’s episode. I’ve been a Super Fan of the StoryBrand company since I first found the book, Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. It’s an extremely practical book that you can read and immediately start using in your business.

After finding that book, I also found the StoryBrand Podcast that has both Donald Miller and today’s guest Dr. J.J. Peterson as co-hosts. It’s a fantastic podcast that you should also check out.

J.J. is a lot of fun – and – he truly is passionate about spreading the word about his company and the super simple framework of the StoryBrand concept to build and use a story to help market your business.

I took the opportunity to set up a real-life scenario that a home builder might have to see how – in a matter of seconds – J.J. was able to frame that scenario into a winning marketing message using story.

Looking at the calendar, it’s that time of year again. All across the country, Home Shows and other events to get people excited about building a new home start to happen. And many of those events are organized and run by Builders Associations.

Seeing the early promotion of our local show got me to thinking about our local Home Builders Association and the times I spent attending events and even serving on the Board in the past. When I was involved, the Board often spoke about retaining and growing the membership. That’s nothing new. Associations everywhere struggle with this same thing – and – all need to keep changing to adapt to each new generation of members.

So, I was happy that Jerry Leach, Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan set aside some time for a frank discussion on how his Association has changed over time – and – how they stay relevant in our fast-changing world. We talk about how Associations need to continue to adapt to provide value to their members.

It’s Valentine’s Day week as this episode goes live – so I thought it only fitting that I bring to you an episode on finding the perfect match with no need to swipe left or right – well, at least when it comes to your business looking for the right digital marketing agency!

I talk to Greg Bray, President of Blue Tangerine, a Digital Marketing Agency who focuses on creating digital marketing solutions for home builders all over the place. We talk about what you should look for (and expect) when you’ve decided that it’s time to get serious about your marketing presence online.

Greg’s a great person with deep industry knowledge that he is happy to share.

So, listen in and learn what you need to know to find the perfect match with a Digital Marketing Agency!

Have you ever had a customer who was quick to say “I’m calling my lawyer!!” I think we’ve all had at least one. Since lawyers have been able to freely advertise their litigation services, this has become even more prevalent.

So, this week, I wanted to explore avenues that you can follow so you’ll have the best way to respond if/when you get the next customer who wants to drag you into the legal arena over a dispute in your home building project.

Sam Sparks, a home building veteran who has served as in-house counsel for several home builders (large and small), joins me to talk about Alternate Dispute Resolution. Essentially – we’re talking about using mediation and/or arbitration (instead of litigation) to solve a dispute without spending too much time and/or money in a long drawn out process.

Sam has used his experience to start an Arbitration and Mediation company in Atlanta to help bring quick and cost-effective resolutions to the home building industry. His history working for home builders AND his active involvement with renowned arbitration associations makes this an episode that you won’t want to miss.

I had initiated this interview solely to talk about how this process helps between home builder and customer. During the course of the interview, Sam blew my mind with some other places where mediation and arbitration could help, too!

Listen in and learn – and – take the time to look back at your Agreements to see if your Company is poised to make the best of those bad situations that arise.

This week, I’m giving you the second part of a two-part series on an issue that builders everywhere face – and that’s drugs on the jobsite. If you don’t think it’s happening on your jobsites, think again!

I had a very personal experience with this when I had a Trade Partner who was working in my house when I received a call from the girlfriend of one the employees – telling me that her boyfriend was addicted to heroin. With two young children in my house at the time, I was faced with a dilemma on what exactly to do.

Although this was specific to my personal house at the time, the trade partner was one of my trade partners who I sent onto my jobsites – meaning this employee was also going to the jobsites.

So, I wanted to explore some different viewpoints on how to best deal with this very real problem – from legal implications to the moral and human dignity side of the situation.

Last week, I spoke with an individual who had a career in law enforcement and continues to train people all over the world on how to deal with drugs in the workplace.

This week, I thought it would be interesting to speak with someone on the “care” side of the equation – so I was delighted when Dr. Carrie Delone agreed to be my guest.

Dr. Delone is the Medical Director of one of the premiere central Pennsylvania health organizations, Geisinger Medical Group -  AND - a champion for the statewide effort to combat the drug epidemic.

I wanted to see what she thought of the epidemic – and – how business owners should face this very real problem.

Is her approach different than the approach that the law enforcement professional suggested last week?  Listen in and learn during today’s interview….

This week, I wanted to dive into the topic of Lean Home Design, and I was able to snag Todd Hallett – the Muddy Shoe Architect himself from TK Home Design – as my guest. I’m a huge fan of Todd and the plans his company puts out to the industry.

You may have seen his work in Builder magazine. He’s often one of the architects who shows how simple re-designs of existing plans can result in a more-efficient and better-looking house.

To some, Lean Design can be misconstrued to mean “cheapening up your product” – or – “building to absolute minimum building codes.” I ask Todd about these preconceptions – and – ask him to explain what Lean Design is (and how to get started, if you’re not already doing this).

This week’s episode hits close to home for me. My home building career existed inside a family business – of which I was one of the family. So, I wanted to explore what it’s like to be a NON-Family member in a family-owned home building business.

Fortunately, I was able to snag Alan Sladek of Sandlin Homes in the Dallas, Texas area. They say everything is bigger in Texas, and Alan has a big job. He’s the Chief Operating Officer for not just one family home building business – but – a collection of entities owned by different family members that all trade as Sandlin Homes.

Alan explains how he juggles the responsibilities of his unique position – and - how you can successfully be a part of the family business without being family.

For today’s episode, I sit down with Dan Levitan – a home building consultant who’s been in the industry for a few decades now – to talk about ways home builders can weather the storm of the next slowdown – whenever that may be.  

Dan shares 10 Steps that Home Builders should be taking NOW to recession-proof their company.

Dan’s steps are practical and easy to follow. You just need to take the time out of your busy schedule to take those steps so that your company can be ready to go if and when that next downturn hits.

Ever find yourself wondering what it's like to go through a merger or acquisition?  Or, maybe you're going through one right now.

In this episode, I have the opportunity to hear firsthand from Chris Hartley who is a leader for a Texas home builder that recently went through an acquisition by a leading national home builder. 

We discuss how roles have changed - and - how the news was relayed to employees and customers about the transition.  And Chris gives tips on anyone else who may be thinking about - or going through - a merger or acquisition of their own (whether they're they Buying Company - OR - the Selling Company).

Thank you so much for checking out my podcast!

This is a quick recording to give you an idea of what to expect if you subscribe to this podcast - and - who I am.