I can think of at least 500,000 reasons why we need to act rapidly to affect the great Manufactured Housing Industry Turn-Around. Let’s start with you and your associates.
Unless you are hyper wealthy, unless you or they just don’t care about the Industry, good old fashioned self interest should motivate you and 500,000 others who work with and for the industry to take some common sense steps to save their investments of time and money by effecting the great turn-around in 2010. On the negative side, Jobs are tough out there. On the positive side, in theory, this is precisely the time for us as an industry to take an upturn, when millions are searching for a quality, affordable alternative to conventional housing!
This is the time when you can look your clients in the eye, smile politely and say things like this: ‘Conventional housing and appreciation? Have you seen the news in the last 2 or 3 years?’
Before moving forward, let’s shine a spot light on some topics of note on the Industry Voices Guest Blog.
Industry pro Marc Falkner has sent us some Time Sensitive news regarding the SAFE Act. Please check that out on the Industry Voices Guest Blog:
Make sure you follow up and sound off afterward! Our thanks to Marc for sharing this with our readers.
Industry pro Suzanne Felber has shared a powerful message building community to move our industry ahead. Check out the Industry Voices Guest Blog posted below:
http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/industryvoices/building-a-community/
It is one thing to chronicle a decline and an entirely different matter to pull people together to effect a turn around! Suzanne is dead on when it comes to building community. While that can and should be done here at www.MHMSM.com, at the largest digital forum of its kind for manufactured housing, we should also build up our presence on social media too. My personal choice for business to business social networking is Linkedin:
Having said that, Suzanne and others like MHVillage and DataComp president Dan Rinzema and our Bob Stovall are correct in saying that Facebook and Twitter are powerful tools that we as industry pros need to start using asap to reach more people with our industry’s message. FYI, we invite YOU to connect as Facebook Fans or to follow us on Twitter.
Both of these posts above are important. Okay, back to the focus of this blog post.
500,000 Reasons
We have half a million reasons to protect business, jobs and start the renaissance of the factory built housing industry. You. Your associates. Plus over 500,000 others like you. Don’t think ‘competitors,’ think you and others who have a common interests to protect!
Let’s be direct. On issues such as finance, such as Title 1, the SAFE Act, the lack of implementation of the Duty To Serve provisions passed by Congress, or a whole host of issues brought to us via MHARR, MHI or other state associations, this one-two punch would move us along faster.
Mobilization! Action!
Is it fair to say that Politicians care about dollars in their campaign war chests and they care about votes?
Of course they do. If I write a letter or email to my congressman, my senators, HUD or the president, it is ‘one message.’ But if we had 5,000 messages, wow! That would raise some attention!
If we had 50,000 emails and calls, we’d see faster action.
If we had 500,000 emails and calls, there wouldn’t be much waiting for change to occur.
If we had spouses and family, friends – and dare we say it, customers! – joining in and calling for bureaucrats and politicians to act, we could get MILLIONS of people in theory.
Now if we can’t mobilize our own, how can we hope to convince the millions of American housing consumers that factory built housing is the housing of choice?
If we can’t mobilize our people to stand up for OUR INDUSTRY, we will have no one to point a finger at but ourselves.
We can’t put all our eggs into one basket (think whatever basket is your personal favorite reason for not acting). We can’t wait for things to happen. We need to:
1) Stay informed. Via your association, the trades and your top factory built housing industry news source: found right here, 24/7/365. Your popular one stop news shop!
2) Think the articles and blog posts through objectively. As one gent recently said on Linkedin, don’t let ego, fear of change, or anything else keep you from understanding and supporting ideas that will move our industry ahead. Don’t let apathy paralyze you either! Quitters never win, and winners never quit!
3) Discuss! Reply! You can’t post a reply to an idea or article that is in print. Here at www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com you can agree, disagree or nuance a reply in between! You can do so in moments or take your time to develop your thoughts for other industry pros to consider. The keys we ask are be civil (no cursing, we’ll pull that or edit it out anyway), and stay focused on issues (no personal attacks). You can post your own firm’s website address, but don’t start advertising when we are discussing. Our auto-attendant will usually stop that anyway. DISCUSSION is healthy! Don’t wait for the next guy, YOU say something, even if it is, ‘this makes sense,’ or ‘I’d do it this or that way.’ It is in the exchange of ideas that clarity and solutions are often found! But if you keep your ‘great idea’ to yourself, guess what? No one else will know about it. That’s fine if shipments were at 250,000, it isn’t fine when shipments dropped below 50,000 in 2009.
4) Pass the word. There is no other digital platform like this in our industry. Word of mouth, texting, your Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, forwarding emails, ALL of it can count! You could wait for someone to create a site like this one, but we are Here, Now, let’s USE this digital platform! Pass the word. What do you want your team reading? Something negative? Or something solution oriented and positive in its approach? Duh! Obvious, isn’t it? Many are already doing this, and we thank you. If YOU aren’t doing it, why not? You forward jokes and stuff, why not something that can help you and your industry??!!
5) Volunteer. Everyone here at www.MHMSM.com volunteers their time. Writers, editor, webmaster, support. If you or an associate, if a family member of yours has time to share, why not put it to work where positive change for the Industry is part of our culture, mission and goal! We could use volunteers in every part of the nation, please see: http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/component/content/article/53-other/347-internships-and-volunteers Of course advertisers and sponsors are welcome too.
6) MOBILIZE and ACT. If we can’t get our own industry members to pull together to write or call Congress, the President, HUD, etc….how can we expect someone else to do it? Associations have budget crunches too; they can only do so much. Associations need and want industry pros – YOUR calls, YOUR messages, YOUR words – at the state and federal levels to achieve the changes that the industry needs to move ahead.
Please, don’t wait for ‘somebody else to do it,’ you should:
- • Stay informed.
• Think issues and topics through.
• Discuss, give your feedback.
• Pass the word.
• Volunteer.
• Mobilize and Act.
It is your industry, your job, your company or organization that needs your time and help.
If you think, I don’t have the time, please take a minute and watch:
http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/industryvoices/intime-time-management-video/
We welcome YOUR solution oriented ideas. We welcome your comments, public or private. We encourage new proposed INDUSTRY VOICES Guest Blog messages. Consider this YOUR invitation.
You may be the president of your company, the janitor or anyone in between. You are important; you have a mind, your ideas matter. The Industry needs YOU.
We’ve featured presidents, executives, both national association leaders and a number of state association leaders. Dozens of pros have contributed here, to the largest factory built housing industry trade journal. If this is good enough for them, do you think it is worth your time too?
If you have something worth sharing, please email it to latonyk@gmail.com with an appropriate subject line heading, thank you.
As the Nike commercial used to say, “just do it.” You’ve got 500,000 reasons to do so.##
