When you talk to a truly good MD, they are interested in your symptoms, but mainly so they can get to the root cause of the problem. Radix comes from the Latin, here is what Google provided among the definitions.

When we go to a meeting like the recent one MHI held in advance of our Hill visits in DC, there are always a number of side conversations. These are far more numerous than the main presentations.

Some of these are quiet in the sense that someone expounds on a view that may not be voiced in public.

There can be a lot of reasons for not saying what one believes, but suffice it to say that some of these unpublic statements are significant.

Some point towards the radix – root causes or origins of – our woes as an industry.

Industry Woes?

For those who see the happy face in the crowd that leads a cheer, sings a few bars of a song or tries to look for the silver lining to the dark clouds, please keep in mind that there is a method to what some might see as frivolity.

Before you can rally the troops, they must first believe there is hope for something better! The patient goes to the doctor looking for the cure.

MHI supplied facts and talking points reveal that Manufactured Housing has averaged some 21% of all home sales for the last 2 decades. Well, we've slumped from that level. We are 'recovering' from a shipment level of under 50,000 four years ago, to topping 60,000 in 2013 for the first time in years.

But that's a tepid recovery. When you read the words "industry woes," it's because we do have good news that should give us hope – a steady four year uptick – but we must also be honest and mature enough to say, we are just scratching the surface of our potential.

In 2013, there were some 800,000 new housing units started, and we in MH did a partly 60,000? That's less than 8% or all new starts. At the historic 21% level, we should have done about 250,000 new homes. Nor should we limit ourselves to that 1 in 5, we can do better.

We need to step back and see what is the radix – the root cause – of this low level of sales! For a current comparison, there were about 5 times as many RVs sold as manufactured homes in 2013. RVs, which includes motorized and towable units, generally sell for much more per square foot than a manufactured home.

Hello? Do you see what we see suggested in such facts?

• We've spotlighted Green Courte Partner's Randy Rowe's 5 Point Plan for MH Industry Recovery a number of times.
• We've quoted Sam Landy, who said we could be doing 300,000 new MH shipments a year.
• Drew's Leigh Abrams has strongly pointed out the need for an MH Image building campaign.
• The Ohio MH Association's Tim Williams has pointed out the strong need for public home shows as part of the solution to growing our industry's image and sales.
• We've showcased on MHLivingNews.com that we can sell upscale manufactured homes, not just entry level product.
• We sell homes that the U.S. Census Bureau states are half the cost of conventional on-site housing construction.
• 20 million new housing units are needed by 2030.
• Incomes are down, and about half of the 10,000-plus-a-day new retirees don't have the dollars needed for a comfortable retirement.
• The median U.S. FICO Score is over 700, so why do we see so many sub-600 customers at our communities and retail centers?

We could go on and on with examples, but let these suffice for now in saying that we can do far better than 60,000 shipments. To do so, we must get Radix, we must get to the root cause of our issues.

What are the elements for doing better? Let's propose the following.

First the Dream. Jim Clayton's book title is spot on by suggesting you have to dream or 'believe' something is doable first in order to achieve it. Napoleon Hill said, "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

Objective Reality. We must get past stereotypes and falsehoods – many held by owners, managers and members of our own industry – that limit our performance. We are all entitled to our own opinions, but we are not entitled to our own facts. We must become more objective, more fact based and get better at sharing those facts, because they are routinely in our favor.

Remarketing/Resales. One of the powerful quotes we mention is Kevin Clayton quoting Warren Buffett, saying: “Kevin, it seems like the problem of your industry is resale.” This is a HUGE issue. Fix resale to be more like real estate, and personal property lending rates can drop and we would not be nearly so stressed by the CFPB!

Education/training. We encourage attendance at shows like the big one upcoming in Tunica in March or MHI's Congress and Expo in April, in part precisely because education is offered! We can't produce better results without the solid education of the people who are on the front lines and sell our homes!

Communications/Messaging/Branding/ReBranding. Some of this is a technology issue. The WHA's Ross Kinzler recently said publicly that they did a study and found that some 80% of the manufactured home communities in their state had no web presence. 80%! Imagine that poor looking used car lot down in the rough side of town, they have a website. Why are so many in our industry not online, or are using outdated websites?

Remember, the NAR says that some 94% of home shoppers are looking online. Getting a grip on the internet is just part of the messaging problem we have to admit and correct.

Public/Media/Officials Education. We have a great story! We can sell a 'shade and shelter' entry level product that is half the price of conventional housing, per the U.S. Census Bureau. We have a residential style home that can save 20%, 30% or more over a similar 'site built' house. Duh! This is a no-brainer when rents are rising and federal/state budgets are strained for subsidized housing and we have the quality, affordable homes solution! Image and education go hand in hand.

We should not settle for crumbs at the foot of the table, when we ought to be feasting at the table.

Most MH videos don't top 1000 views.
It took a year for this video to hit 10,000 views.
In the next 8 months since we launched MHLivingNews.com and posted it there,
we are now at 50,000 views.
Retailers and Communities show this videoto those
tornado-concerned prospects, and this often helps close them.
Shatter the myths and outdated stereotypes, and we will sell more homes.

Being Part of the Solution

Think about our two main logos, and you'll see that our initial and evolving vision here addresses those needs.

Every Solution is Profitably within our Collective Reach!

Here is the good news. Every problem we face has a common sense solution that's within our collective reach.

The biggest players in our industry need the front line pros and the mid-sized to mom-and pop sized independents to make good business happen.

All sized businesses need the engagement of associations to keep government over-reach at bay. We need to energize our customer base, and not let the Ishbel Dicken's types be the only organizing voices in our communities.

The financing is there, the customer pool is huge, but we must tap it and track it using CRM tied to robust online marketing.

Want to profit more? Don't be stuck in a rut. Be a part of the change.

2014 Louisville Show

The Good News is…

Packed seminars at Louisville tell us pros are hungry for knowledge. Our ever growing readership is perhaps the clearest sign that people are hungry to know more so they can grow more. You and others like you want the Industry News, Tips and Views Pros can Use. A growing number of people in and outside of our industry are seeing our value in a new light. All of that means we are poised for greatness, which is why Sam Landy keeps buying MHCs (their portfolio has doubled in size in 5 years), and why legends like Warren Buffett and Sam Zell have billions invested in our sector.

2014 Louisville Show
Will the rapidly approaching 2014 Tunica Show
also set new attendance records?

Let's get Radix

Be radix focused. While dealing with HR 1779 and S 1828, let us be very much root-cause focused. I'd toss in that fixing DC politics and bureaucracy would be a huge help, but that detail will be for another column or report.

Ready for the secret?

We have been focused on the root causes since we launched over 4 years ago. An ever-growing number of industry pros are seeing things in a new light.

We truly are better together. As Barry Noffsinger at CU Factory Built Lending suggested, be the change that gets to the heart of the matter.

See you in Tunica? We will be at booth 13H, right by the Seminar room, pretty cool huh?! ##

L. A. 'Tony' Kovach
ManufacturedHomeLivingNews.com | MHProNews.com |
Business and Public Marketing & Ads: B2B | B2C
Websites, Contract Marketing & Sales Training, Consulting, Speaking:

MHC-MD.com | LATonyKovach.com | Office 863-213-4090

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