With nearly 230 events and education programs to choose from at the 2017 NAHB International Builders’ Show Jan. 10-12 in Orlando, Fla., it can be overwhelming to find the sessions that best suit your business and its needs. Take some time to review the IBS website and hone in on what looks good. Here are a few of BUILDER editors’ picks to get you started.
The Great Builder Debate: Building for the Future
Tuesday, Jan. 10 → 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Small-volume, custom, and production builders present their perspectives on the greatest issues facing home builders today.
If They See It, They Will Build It: Home Hot Spots That Influence the Purchase
Tuesday, Jan. 10 → 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM
This session debuts the results of new research examining how key home features impact room appeal and future home purchase decisions.
Foodies & Community Design—It’s What’s In!
Tuesday, Jan. 10 → 3:00 pm – 3:30 PM
A look at local food sources, food trucks, and farmers’ markets as low-cost, high-impact, and highly successful community features.
15 Advanced Digital Marketing Strategies to Accelerate Sales
Tuesday, Jan. 10 → 3:30 pm – 4:30 PM
A crash course in the latest digital marketing, social media, and content strategy trends, and how they can enhance your buyers’ experience or even make a sale.
Labor Shortage: Proactive Ideas for Solving Your Trade Gap
Wednesday, Jan. 11 → 8:00 am – 11:00 AM
Discover how top builders are solving their labor gaps, learn about efforts aimed at introducing students to the building trades, and come away from the morning with a plan for your own market.
How Risky Is Your Home Building Business?
Wednesday, Jan. 11 → 8:30 am – 9:30 AM
A refresher on the many risks facing builders—political, operational, financial and beyond—and the tools and best practices available to mitigate them.
Clients from Hell & How to Deal with Them…Revisited
Wednesday, Jan. 11 → 1 :30 pm – 2:30 PM
Through their own personal experiences with difficult clients, four builders present their methods for mitigating conflict before it arises and managing a crisis when it occurs.
Estimating, Job Costing, Markup, & Margins: Pricing Strategies That Maximize Profit
Wednesday, Jan. 11 → 3:30 pm – 5:00 PM
Learn to make accurate estimates, increase your profitability, and ensure that you charge what your work is worth.
Get Floored: Great Floor Plan Trends for 2017
Thursday, Jan. 12 → 10:30 am – 11:30 AM
A showcase of floor plan ideas, trends, and concepts, plus the best ways to work them into your own projects, no matter where you build.
Recruiting Elusive Talent: What’s Working & What’s Not
Thursday, Jan. 12 → 1 :30 pm – 2:30 PM
Find out how to face down the challenge of finding and retaining new talent, improve your recruitment tactics, and appeal to a new generation of tech-savvy prospects.
NextBuild Puts High Tech in One Place
Buyers are requiring their homes, and the process of buying them, to be smarter and more user friendly than ever before. To help builders meet the demand for high-quality technological performance, the NAHB will dedicate an entire section of its show floor to high-tech vendors. More than 75 exhibitors will display home technology, back-office technology, design software, and security systems in a 20,000-square foot zone called NextBUILD.
