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Articles by Financing Advice
Rent-to-Own Best Practices
One of the greatest challenges of rent-to-own sales (RTO) in the shed industry is a lack of shed dealer training and knowledge of policies and how RTO differs from financing. They are very different and the laws that govern them are very different. Without proper training, a dealer may risk unintentionally misrepresenting the requirements and stipulations of an RTO contract, creating potential dealer/ customer conflict later.
Maximizing Return on Investment
In today’s competitive housing market, builders and remodelers are continually seeking ways to differentiate their projects and provide maximum value to their clients. One often-overlooked opportunity lies in an element that combines functionality, curb appeal and an exceptional return on investment (ROI): the garage door. A recent cost vs. value report highlights the significant impact a quality garage door can have on a home’s value.
Steps to Find, Attract, and Hire Top Talent
Every construction business admits its number one problem is finding, attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent. Construction unemployment in the U.S. is down to around 5%. Construction industry economists tell us the industry requires another 500,000 new workers to fill today’s need. With the realization of these facts, what are you doing about your need for talent? The reality is that most contractors don’t do much to build or develop their employee base and capacity.
Exit Planning: Is An ESOP a Good Idea for Your Business?
By Karen Knapstein Upon exiting a business that has taken a lifetime to build, it’s disappointing to turn over a large portion of its value to the IRS. Fortunately, if a business meets certain criteria, an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) can provide the exiting owner with attractive benefits. It can also provide the new owners (employees) with benefits that make the business more successful.
Selling TheAdvantages of Post-Frame
• By Linda Schmid How do you go about selling a post-frame building to a prospective customer? Do you start talking about posts and trusses and all the technical details in post-frame building? Do you immediately address the specifics the customer is looking for in their building? Your answer probably depends on whether this is a client who you have worked with before and how much they know about post-frame construction. Let’s consider the client who is not well-acquainted with post-frame.
Why Print Advertising Still Works in the Construction Industry
By Gary Reichert, CEO For many companies, Spring includes building a marketing budget and getting proposals for advertising. While I am not an expert on all advertising, I do have a reasonable handle on print and digital advertising for Business to Business. I will mostly limit myself to the B2B side, but most of the general information and concepts included here will apply to consumer advertising as well.
Working With Amish Contractors
Plain community builders supply a significant percentage of the smaller residential and shed construction in the United States, especially in certain regions, and their percentage of that business is increasing as their families continue to hand down the building tradition, which is not true among the general population.
What Is Post-Frame Construction Today? Not Your Father's Pole Barn
“This Is Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile.” In 1988, General Motors Oldsmobile brand introduced what it described as a new generation of cars under the tagline “This Is Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile.” The commercials featured celebrities like William Shatner and Ringo Starr paired with their adult children. The slogan was meant to convey that the new Oldsmobile models were sleeker, more technologically advanced, and appealing to a broader demographic.
Why Print Advertising Still Works in Construction
While I am not an expert on all advertising, I do have a reasonable handle on print and digital advertising for Business to Business. I will mostly limit myself to the B2B side, but most of the general information and concepts will apply to consumer advertising as well. There is one HUGE difference between most B2B and B2C. B2B is predominantly branding and education. Using our publications as an example, a $250,000 roll former or finding a new supplier is not usually an impulse buy.
Visibility = Opportunities
By Randy Chaffee Yes, visibility does equal opportunities. A new concept right? No, not really. This has always been a truism. It’s just that in today’s fast-paced and very visual world we are now more aware of this … or should be. The beautiful thing is that is that we have so many opportunities at our disposal to stay out front.
How to Increase Your Profits in Tough Times
By Jack Miller While 1975 is proving to be a good year for most farm builders, it has been a tough one for contractors in general construction. Economists have termed it the worst recession since the Depression of the ’30s. If you’re not among the farm builders who are having a good year, and share the problems of the urban builder, keep in mind that the key to survival in tough times is working harder and working smarter.
What it Takes to Sell High-End Post-Frame Buildings
By Mike Momb My first child, Annie, was born April 30, 1976. A few days later, we brought her home in a half-ton 1950 Chevrolet pickup I paid $150 for; it would both start and run (those being its best features). This was a well-worn farm truck my mother referred to as “the Flintstone mobile,” as you could put your feet through the floorboards to speed up or slow down.
Why You Should Get To Know Your Reps
By Randy Chaffee I encourage success-minded builder/contractors to develop strong relationships with product representatives as this can be a key factor in achieving success in the industry. These professionals can offer valuable support, insight, and expertise that can help builders optimize their business operations and drive growth.
Financial Checkup
BY FRAME BUILDING NEWS STAFF Financial ratios can help you spot symptoms of trouble and diagnose problems early, in time for a cure. You can calculate the 13 ratios that follow by pulling figures from your balance sheet and profit and loss statement. The best way to use these financial ratios is to figure them annually and compare them to your own past ratios. A dramatic change in a ratio can be a signal to examine more closely some aspect of your operation.
Maintaining Customer Buy-in After the Sale
By Randy Chaffee Overall, we as an industry have maneuvered the past couple of years fairly well. Business in both the post-frame building and metal roofing industry has remained strong. This is a testament to an industry filled with strong, caring, and detail-oriented professionals. I think we all can agree that we faced two very challenging scenarios simultaneously during this time frame. The dreaded supply chain issues coupled with labor shortages have certainly been a one-two punch.
Flashback: Vulnerability Alert!
By Roger E. Herman For 30+ Years Frame Building News has been providing the news, trends and resources builders need. This article was published in 1993, addressing perceived threats to business labor forces. Many of the situations the author outlines are relevant to the industry today, and positive solutions are offered. In some cases the advice can be helpful in finding and developing talent, but also in keeping it.
Trade Show Calendar
Jan. 17, Wisconsin Lumber Dealers Leadership Conference, Wisconsin Dells, WI. www.nlassn.org Jan. 18-19, Garage, Shed, & Carport Builder Show, Greenville Convention Center, Greenville, South Carolina. Garageshedcarportbuilder.com/show-registration Jan. 23-25, MCA Winter Meeting, Hyatt Regency in Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa, Clearwater, Florida; www.metalconstruction.org Feb. 6-7, Northwestern Lumber Association Expo North, St. Cloud, MN. www.nlassan.org Feb. 22-24.
Financing Post-Frame Homes | Frame Building News
Financing any custom home is typically a two step process. There is a construction loan. This is a short term loan, typically at a higher rate that allows financing for materials, subcontractors and other aspects necessary to build the home. This will cover land, permits, labor and material and everything required to arrive at a closing. Upon completion, the new post frame home will be inspected and appraised. Then the loan will be converted to a mortgage. Often both can occur through the same bank.
See Who Will Be at the NFBA 2023
Discover who will be exhibiting at the NFBA and check out the floor plan here! NFBA 2023 Floor Plan 3GM Steel 653 A. J. Manufacturing, Inc. 641 Acu-Form 649 AkzoNobel 342 AmeriLux International 656 Ameripak, Inc. 260 Arxada 571 ASC Machine Tools, Inc. 127 Atlas Building Products 448 Bay Insulation Systems 233 Bestline Building Products 753 Borkholder Buildings and Supply 563 Botkin Lumber 735 Bradbury Group, The 543 Cannonball: HNP, LLC 261 Capital Forest Products 457 Central States Mfg.
How Can I Sell When My Price Isn’t Lowest? | Frame Building News
By Dave Kahle I wish I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question in a sales training session. It’s certainly one of the most common questions I hear coming from professional salespeople — and their bosses. There are a variety of answers — too many for just one column. But, we can identify one of the most powerful ways to deal with this problem.
Strategy for Success During a Recession
By Richard F. Pritchard In my March Frame Building Professional article I described a number of things you can do to decrease expenses and increase your profit and cash flow. To obtain additional ideas that frame builders can use, I recently spoke with Kenneth Kistler, president of Kistler Pole Building Co., Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, and a director of the National Frame Builders Association.
Defend Your Online Reputation
by Phil Carselowey Your online reputation is what customers see about your organization when they do research on the web. Your online reputation should allow potential customers to discover things like: Does the organization have good products? Do they have exceptional customer service? What’s the correct contact information? Do they publish informative content?
Building Progress Award Recognizes Construction Trade Professionals
The Shield Wall Media Building Progress Award has been launched to recognize individuals who have made significant impacts on the growth and/or development of the construction trade. The new award replaces, and builds upon, two previous awards from our sister publications: The Rural Builder Hall of Fame and the Metal Roofing Magazine Hall of Fame awards. Both were long-standing programs. The Rural Builder Hall of Fame ran from 1982-2020. The Metal Roofing Magazine Hall of Fame ran from 2007-2019.
New Solar Product From S-5!
S-5!, the leading authority on metal roof attachment technology, introduces its newest addition to S-5!’s PVKIT® direct-attach™ solar solution for metal roofs. Paired with the PVKIT, the PVKONCEAL module skirt conceals the front face of the solar PV array, protecting all mechanical and electrical components under-neath, as well as creating an attractive, clean finished look. PVKONCEAL also helps to minimize the intrusion of small animals, debris and unwanted objects under the solar array.
Overcoming Administrative Objections to Post-Frame Homes
By Mike Momb, Hansen Pole Buildings When I first began selling pole barn kits in Oregon, back in 1980, there was almost universally no permit required for farm buildings. As our service area expanded into states such as California and Nevada, engineering was required in most instances. However, there was never a concern about a pole building not being approved for use in any jurisdiction. There were some “tough” building departments.
Post-Frame Supplies & Services At Your Fingertips
You may notice this issue is a bit more hefty than usual — with all the additional directory listings plus all the Product Profiles, we quickly ran out of space and needed to add more pages. For the first time ever, all of the post-frame Product Profile categories are published in a single issue of Frame Building News. You’ll find the Product Profiles are a great complement to the Post-Frame Directory. You’ll also find the directory to be more than twice the size it was last year.
10 TIPS for Providing Exceptional Customer Service
Win repeat business and referrals with professional communication By ABC Supply From your first interaction with a client to your last, it’s important to provide a positive customer service experience. Doing so will not only ensure that your project runs as smoothly as possible, but it can also lead to great reviews about your business and referrals for future projects.
Business Insurance Essentials
By Mark Battersby Selecting the right type of insurance for your frame building business is only one factor every post-frame contractor must consider. Today’s low interest rates mean insurance companies aren’t earning much from their investments. That, in turn, means they must charge more for the insurance that is so essential to the operation of building business.
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