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HOW CAN A business stand out amongst a sea of companies vying for the same customers? Our digital lives are washing us with a flurry of emails, social media feeds, [...]

There was no sophomore jinx at the 2005 Roofing Contractor Best of Success event, as the second annual conference held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was, by all accounts, even [...]

At more than 2,000 square feet, the spacious, ranch-style Kingsley is perfect for small lots. It's also affordably priced, at between $128,000 and $160,000. So it is little wonder why [...]

Re-creating the classic architecture of 1920s American homes is a tough nut to crack, but Simonini Builders took on that challenge and more at Heydon Hall, the firm's latest high-end [...]

Bauma 2004 is set to be the biggest construction show the world has ever seen. Half a million square metres of show space will be occupied at the Munich show [...]

Green building, loosely defined as building with reduced environmental impact, continues to grow in importance in the home building industry. Once the practice of boutique builders willing and nimble enough [...]

Several years ago, our small remodeling company was in the process of planning for growth. One of our goals was to 'brand' our company locally. To do this, we needed [...]

Everyone knows that good design sells. But is having a solid floor plan with strong elevations in a well-planned community enough if five other builders in your market have those [...]

My building business in Lindon, Utah, has grown and changed a lot in a short time. A few years ago I was building just three or four custom homes a [...]

I just saw Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest movie, The Nailbanger. In this flick he plays an action movie hero who retires to become a framing contractor. Everything seems normal until one [...]

Every custom builder has heard the stories. A builder signs up to build a show home with a magazine or a charity. He quickly finds that the architect hasn't a [...]

Remember 'Wayne's World' from Saturday Night Live? Wayne and his buddy Garth did an underground television program from Wayne's basement, and Wayne frequently offered half-baked ideas that prompted Garth to [...]

The best building contractors' web sites are listed and described. The criteria used to compile the list are given and the use of the web site as a marketing tool and an aid to recruitment is discussed.

The Home Builders Institute is offering a five-part sales and marketing course in conjunction with Professional Builder magazine. The first part of the course provides readers with an overview of the basics of marketing and sales management. One of the course's objectives is to teach readers how to interpret market information to better decide when and where to build houses. Other objectives include teaching how to develop market plans and budgets, how to identify appropriate on-site sales and marketing techniques and how to leverage the benefits of buyer service programs., The right marketing information is the foundation your business needs to ensure home sales in the future. Welcome to the first installment in the HBI sales and marketing course. In [...]

Many custom builders are realizing the value of using showrooms to display their products. Showrooms have showcase a custom builder's design concepts and their product selection. Showrooms have become especially useful in marketing decorative plumbing and bathroom products. To develop their own showrooms, custom builders should forge alliances with product suppliers and should carefully evaluate their target customers' needs., Showrooms specializing in decorative plumbing and hardware for discriminating homebuyers are adding new merchandise and services - not to mention getting downright competitive. In many cities today, custom homebuyers are [...]

'Go for the jugular' is a phrase that describes a jump-start approach to marketing. It is aimed at getting to the heart of an issue and doing it quickly. It [...]

Consultant David B. Wolfe, Wolfe Resources Group, Reston, Va., recommends that builders who are interested in selling to seniors take a good hard look at market realities. 'To understand older [...]

Modular housing will become more important to builders' efforts to cut costs and improve construction time. Modulars are slowly beginning to penetrate new geographical markets and niches. There is disagreement [...]

You know the benefits of hiring a professional builder/remodeler, but, unfortunately, many consumers don't. Flashy, fly-by-nighters who offer low prices may get them to sign a contract with little thought [...]

Prevailing wisdom holds that builder-oriented yards must target D-I-Yers and remodelers to survive the housing slump. Indeed, a balanced and diversified customer base has been prescribed as a cure-all for [...]

The best new home salespeople of the 1990s may not be selling houses today. They may not even be in sales. But almost certainly, they are not builders. That's because [...]

The Geneva is a rare home, indeed, because it doesn't feature a lot of extras. That's because the extras are considered standard, not add-on options. 'The Geneva provides buyers with [...]

Whitaker Homes enjoys a give-and-take relationship with St. Louis-area homebuyers. The latter share their must-haves, and Whitaker gives them their preferred layout at a reasonable price. 'St. Charles County market [...]

Bozzuto Homes, Inc. designed the Faulk plan at King Farm with empty nesters and seniors in mind. Bozzuto had been a traditional apartment-building company that moved into the condominium business [...]

The Willow, one of five home plans Centex Homes is offering at Settler's Grove and Settler's Meadow in the Seattle area, has taken the market by storm. This 2,023-square-foot home [...]

It's the house that Jane and John Doe built. Plan 601 at Autumn Glen in Moreno Valley, Calif., wasn't the result of an architect sitting at his desk, rendering his [...]

It's the floor plan that goes by two names. For years, the award-winning 'Cornell' had been one of Toll Brothers' best-selling models. Then, seven years ago, this builder redesigned the [...]