The recent national PEAK Retailer’s Summit in Chicago demonstrated that successful manufactured housing retailers are to be found in every region of the nation, even in depressed or 'down markets.'  

 

 

 

 

 

Over 50 Manufactured Home Owners and Management Professionals gathered for 2.5 days to share with each other what works, as attendees listened to rotating panels of their peers explain areas they enjoyed success and profitability.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The professionals on the panels – as well as those who rose to speak from the floor at their tables in the Grand Ball Room – described how they achieved that success in a variety of areas in their businesses. The MH Retailers included traditional street (boulevard or highway frontage) retailers as well as those who operate sales centers based in their manufactured home land lease communities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Summit kicked off on November 13th with a lively evening reception at the historic Drake Hotel in Downtown Chicago, where the photos of many attendees shown were taken.  The networking at this function was memorable, as anyone could walk up to these top retailers, shake hands and share a drink, eat, talk and compare notes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 14th and 15th had a series of meaty discussions on many topics, including the following profit and business discussions:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike some business meetings, this was not a ‘selling’ function, This was solid, practical business information and networking at its finest. The PEAK Retailer Summit provided solid how to’ – or how not to do – so that what attendees came away with was proven ideas that work!  It should be noted that P.E.A.K. was an acryonym for Performance Endurance Aspiration and Kinship.

 

 

 

 

 

The attendees where largely retailing manufactured housing professionals who ply their trade daily and have experienced the ups and downs of the market place successfully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So while many independent manufactured housing retailers have taken a pounding – or vanished entirely – in the last baker’s dozen years since 1998, these professionals proved that you could generate profitable business, even in a down market today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As those who read this column know, we at MHProNews.com believe in the future of our Industry.  We believe that there are answers available for the practical issues our Industry faces.  Some are profitable, while others struggle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To paraphrase Chad Carr, It is okay not to know something in your business.  But it is NOT okay not to know something, if the person then fails to go out and get the information, talent or resources that are needed!

 

 

I believe that phrase needs to be engraved on the monitors of many owners, managers and executives today.  We can't let the past or the present keep us from reaching for the answers that will lead us to a brighter future.  If you are ill, you go to a doctor.  If your car needs work, you take it to a shop. So why is it that when someone needs an expert to train, motivate, manage or market that it takes to succeed?

 

 

Time and again, these professionals showed a willingness to do what it takes – including hiring or contracting the right pro – to succeed.  They hired the trainers, used the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, paid for the websites or marketing, found the financing, and so on.

 

 

The PEAK Retailer Summit might just as well be named the Can Do Manufactured Housing Today Summit.

 

 

For those who didn't make it, please go to Louisville KY next January, where Chad Carr will present a 'best of the best' summary of topics and ideas.  While I'm sure there is no way to capture in 75 minutes what took place in 2.5 days, I can tell you that one already successful retailer walked away with 40 pages of notes!  “Any one of those dozens of ideas was more than worth the price to attend.” one attendee said.

 

 

So go to Louisville, get what gems you can in those 75 minutes with Chad!  But then plan as well to attend the next PEAK Retailer Summit, which I sincerely hope that the Chad, Bill and Judy Carr family will plan repeat in 2012.  This was a well organized effort.  Hats off to the Carr family and all those who helped make it happen.

 

 

Knowledge is power, but only if you use it.  If you need knowledge on a subject, attend the right meetings and/or call an expert.  Think about it.  Here were the top retailers.  Some of these gents are the faces I see at MHI meetings, at trade shows and at their state association events.  If going to meetings is important to 'the best of the best,' then it should be good for you and your firm too.

 

 

The cost of lost sales and vacant home sites is far greater than the modest investment in time or money for real solutions. # #