Sticks and Bricks Podcast Brad Haubert

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….