Builders - Don't Get Left Behind...

Builders: Here's an innovative new way to get a leg up on competitors and make your clients and project team really happy. 

Remember the early days of the Internet? No? Okay well, I do. At that point, business owners scoffed when it was suggested how their business would benefit from having a web “page” (yep, just a page not a site). Most business owners thought people would still “walk their fingers through the Yellow Pages” aka a phone book. And they were correct, for a little while, but then more and more of their customers were exploring the “world wide web” and as a result, more and more businesses were there to greet them on their web page. What did this mean to those late adopters? Much of their customer base headed to those competitors with a web page.

Where am I going with all of this? Greg has been working with clients in the building industry for 25 years and has seen many changes over time. From the use of solar panels to insulated concrete forms (ICF), new ways of doing things are everywhere. Remember Covid? Innovation was all around us then too. While necessity truly is the mother of invention as demonstrated during Covid in countless ways,

               Real leaders innovate when times are good. 

Innovation Prompts New Service

The latest change we’ve seen is some builders shifting from the traditional model of constructing a home then moving on to the next project, to instead creating a long-term service relationship with clients after the home is built. These builders are now providing service after the sale/a concierge model so to speak. They continue to be available to their clients for anything from opening the pool in the summer, to coming to their aid when a pipe bursts.

This concierge model approach requires extensive knowledge of a home’s MEP so that if a pipe bursts and someone is servicing the client 10 years from now, they will know the best access point for repair. 

Building a Better Mousetrap

How do you capture MEP before you seal up the walls? Most builders we’ve spoken with do this manually. Painstakingly walking around with their phone snapping photos of all the MEP. Then storing it, and when it’s needed, sifting through all the photos, before finding the exact image they need.

Enter our Open Walls Tour a cloud-based affordable service. Our client C.M. Ragusa recently posted on social media how they, their subcontractors, and their clients have benefited greatly from this service. They like the ability to “walk through” the entire house and see all the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing inside the walls during the project.

        Open Walls, “Allows us the opportunity to see all of the pipes,              wiring, and studs for future reference. We can also take precise measurements without having to step foot onsite. Having this              historical data helps prevent mistakes from happening in the future and we can pass this (Tour) on to our clients as well.”

Value-Add For Homeowners

While the primary benefit of Open Walls is to aid the builder and their team however the homeowner can realize significant benefits too:

• Lower insurance rate. In speaking with a veteran insurance broker, she anticipated insurance underwriters would view the Tour favorably because there is no guesswork about what’s hiding behind the walls, therefore reducing their risk and leading to a better rate. 
• Future renovation. As I mentioned before future contractors can use the Open Walls tour to strategically open the walls without any guesswork. This can save the homeowner time and money with their next project.
• Home sale. Can you imagine the relief a prospective buyer would have knowing the work behind the walls was done right? This would remove the buyer's concerns about the home’s MEP therefore making their home-buying decision easier and faster.

Want More Jobs?

Recently we spoke with a builder who was very interested in our Open Walls Tour because he recently lost a job because of a competitor from another state who offered a service like ours. The homeowner loved it and that is what tipped the scales for the homeowner to hire the other builder.

Builders - It's time to jump on the innovation train with our Open Walls Tour and differentiate yourself from your competition, increase efficiency, reduce errors, and leave your clients with technology they can use for the lifetime of their homes. Schedule a free demo today.

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