1) It may not seem like it to regular readers of this column, but the way I begin my writing preparation is by asking questions.
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What are the hottest topics?
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Is there good news to share?
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Is there a threat on the horizon that needs to be mentioned?
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How can we do more to spur a businesses' or the industry's growth?
As a businessman myself, I know that manufactured housing business owners, executives and leaders have to think in terms of issues such as loss mitigation and profits. How can those two sides of the coin best supported?
When it comes to sales process training, I routinely counsel clients sales professionals to 'ask questions.' Not in an interrogation/FBI fashion, but rather, in a natural conversational way. Questions lead to communications by the customer or prospect. Questions that seek understanding via sincere listening with an angry customer or friend is a way of 'lancing the boil,' releasing the poison and starting the process of healing.
Questions are the professionals ally.
2) This week has already been busy beyond belief.
Some highlights:
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New Manufactured Home shipments continue to rise. This is good news indeed for all segments of the Industry: manufacturing, suppliers, retailers, communities, lenders, insurance and other vendors. Half a year of rising shipments that have taken us a few points up over previous years.
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FEMA is calling for new bids for more homes. Another potential brights spot for manufacturers willing and able to make this happen.
3) Knowledge is Power!
Saturday a message came in for me to lend a hand in organizing additional business-building seminars for the Great Southwest Home Show in Tulsa. Starting Monday to the time of this writing, the outreach for the above is well underway. The line up of new profit-power presentations are taking shape. With new manufactured home shipments rising, and the Tulsa Show moved to a better date earlier in the year in a great indoor facility, there are a growing number of reasons for retailers, developers and manufactured home community owner/operators to prepare for more business.
On the seminar/workshops 'Knowledge is Power' front, here is what is shaping up for those forward looking business pros who attend the Tulsa Show at the Indoor (all season) Quik-Trip Center, a free event admission for most industry pros. The topics include:
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Get Access to More Third Party, non-recourse, Manufactured Home Financing. MH Financing pro Dick Ernst will moderate a panel discussion made of manufactured housing's top lenders. Each lender will each present in rapid fire rotation their 'best of the best' financing programs for personal property (chattel, home only) and fee simple sales! The presentation will be followed by a Q&A. We did a finance forum presentation/discussion like this in Louisville that drew a standing room only crowd of pros like you, as the photos at the link above will demonstrate. We have written commitments from 6 MH lenders already, and expect one or two more to confirm and toss their hat in soon.
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Floor Plan Financing made easier! We have an SBA official who will explain to attendees how to use their new and improved floor plan financing program. The SBA is keenly interested in making this user friendly for our Industry, and many in the business are looking for ways to access the program.
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Protect yourself! Attorney and loss mitigation expert, Kurt Kelly, who has graciously agreed to make 2 separate presentations focused on the needs and concerns for MH Communities and MH Retailers. This will be info and solutions packed content, so you won't want to miss it.
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Attracting More Customers with Cash or Good Credit! This seminar was a big hit for the IMHA and at the Louisville Show. Learn proven ways to be more of a magnet for good credit customers!
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Legal Zero Down manufactured and modular home (no, not land in lieu, true zero down payment financing) Financing for fee simple sales. Learn how to earn more, by selling more homes with this amazing program.
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You can learn about two previously planned seminars on finance and a how to on appraisals (by Sherrie Clevenger) and get more Show information at this link. You can pre-register and sign up for free admission at this link.
Updates on the above will be presented as it comes in, so stay tuned to this twice weekly blog posting for more details.
Lois Starkey at MHI and M. Mark Weiss at MHARR both sent me updates on their successful 1-2 effort to get a federal agency to take down negative, outdated information off their website about manufactured housing fire safety. A reader brought this outdated info to our attention. We in turn contacted MHI and MHARR, who both acted immediately. That's team work. So thanks to you or all who let us know about topics via our
Make sure you read MHI and MHARR news updates here, both carried here along with our exclusive Daily Business News briefs, Industry in Focus Reports and the Cutting Edge marketing and sales insights. Let's not forget Words of Wisdom, Industry Voices, which features a new column by Dick Ernst of importance to Manufactured Home Community Owners and the latest Hall of Fame inductees.
Plus don't forget to check out the new Feature Articles for February 2012. You can see them all on the MHProNews.com home page, scroll down the center column past the news briefs. In fact, this is a good time for you to spend 5 minutes seeing all the news, tips and view you can use, free here 24/7/365 at the new and improved MHProNews.com.
Phew! Do you see what I mean about asking questions? There is never any lack of topics to talk about.
4) The one point you will find in common in all that you see above is that you can get 'all the news that is fit to (digitally) print' in manufactured housing, right here at your #1 industry news source. We (YOU) set a new record here in January, when over 100,000 professionals like yourself logged onto our pages, visiting an average of some 7 page each visit. We logged over 2.3 million 'hits.' Those numbers makes us larger and more popular than all other similar industry business to business resources online combined.
Thanks to our sponsors, news/support team and featured writers, we can do it all for you. I hope to see you in Tulsa March 1 and 2. Please stop by our booth, check out our presentation or one of the many other good ones for building, protecting and growing your business and bottom lines.
Did I mention, you can always 'ask questions?'
Thanks for dropping in. See you again soon.# #
post by
L. A. “Tony” Kovach, MHM
www.MHProNews.com
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or www.MHMSM.com
Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals
Office – 815-270-0500
latonyk@gmail.com or tony@mhmsm.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
