There are few things more exciting yet stressful than finding a home. There is a powerful impetus for ‘home’ in the majority of mortals. Ballads of home fill the lyrics of songs. They are the stories of books and movies. At the end of the work day, we want to be, homeward bound.
Manufactured housing has the ability to tap into these stories. We have the ability to tap into the songs of great performers, like Simon and Garfunkel, or scores of others.
As common sense as this is, it doesn’t happen by itself. It has to be planned! You have to ‘set the stage’ for that emotional encounter with home.
That is part of the reason why merchandising in a model home has value. Well done, it evokes a response. Badly done or not done at all, and your prospective home seeker may have a flat response.
What manufactured housing needs to return to its potential is diverse. Few industries are better poised with the right product at the right time in our nation. Yet few are doing so as generally poorly, compared to our potential.
This is a bane, but also a blessing in disguise for those with vision. We have to have the willingness to invest in our people, so they can lead people “who long to be, homeward bound.”
Story Telling, Enhancing Image and Sales Growth
We did a series of Video Interviews with Evan Atkinson and the customers of Williams-Burg Square (WBS) that we’ve been periodically rolling out. What makes these compelling is that these are real people telling a real story about their ‘homeward bound’ journey, and what life has been like for them since.
Are these stories and videos good for WBS? Sure. But these are also good for our industry. We have other firms, small to large, that are lining up to do the same thing.
We’ve also laid out verbally what we recently presented at Louisville and will present again in Tunica at their upcoming Business Building Seminar Series.
Here are three takes on Louisville, plus a video interview that recaps the show too. Listen to what others say about the power of the right messaging and a sales system that respects customer and sales professional alike.
- Video Recap and Interview about SuperCharged Marketing and Selling
- http://www.MHProNews.com/home/featured-articles/february-2015/138-general-manufactured-housing-industry-topics/9041-reflections-on-associations-and-louisville
- http://www.MHProNews.com/home/featured-articles/february-2015/138-general-manufactured-housing-industry-topics/9034-marketing-and-selling-more-manufactured-homes-lessons-learned-at-the-2015-louisville-mh-show
- http://www.MHProNews.com/home/featured-articles/february-2015/138-general-manufactured-housing-industry-topics/9035-manufactured-home-community-operators-thoughts-on-louisville-show-and-super-charged-marketing
Past Due
Manufactured Housing is past due. We are past due for a ‘real recovery.’ We ought to be doing, as Dick Jennison said on stage in Louisville, 500,000 new home shipments a year, not something in the 60,000s.
We can do better. We have living examples of how we can do better. We can help millions to become ‘homeward bound’ with our products and services in fee-simple or land-lease scenarios.
But we can’t expect it to magically happen without an investment in time, talent and treasure. We’ll be at booth #73 in Tunica. See you there?
More, later… ##
