Like clock work, the second week of May each year, the emails come in.
Our Builder 100 and The Next 100 list go live on builderonline.com at that time, and that moment triggers a smattering of notes that say, roughly, “hey, wait, you missed us.”
Companies that do enough business in a given calendar year to merit a place among the biggest and most professionally disciplined, and often, the best home builders in the nation miss out.
“No one contacted us,” says one email. Or, “We delivered more homes than many of your firms on the list, but you never sent us the questionaire.”
We feel badly when that happens, so
You can access the survey right now. Click here.
Let me know, at jmcmanus@hanleywood.com, or better yet, our project manager Diane at dkittower@hanleywood.com, if you need an extra day or so to complete it, and we’ll try to accommodate you the best we can.
Now, let’s get to why this matters.
It all comes down to what you do as leaders of organizations whose essential purpose is the well-being of people who live in your homes and communities. You make value.
That value takes several forms, and the Builder 100 and the Next 100 rankings become an expression and recognition of those forms of value you make. Here are just a handful.
- Getting recognized on the Builder 100 can be a motivator. It’s a benchmark your hard-working, committed team members can measure their achievements, their challenges, and their opportunity to grow each year.
- Importantly, as securing the trade crews you need to keep your construction cycles on schedule and on budget gets tougher with each spike in total volume, your opportunity to become “builder of choice” among your crews increases when they know you’re a Builder 100 firm. This way, subcontractors know immediately that they gain forward-visibility into their resource needs, reliable and prompt pay, a safe job site, and a mutually beneficial relationship over the long haul.
- The Builder 100 rankings can also serve in your marketing and sales messaging. Current and prospective customers, who want all the reassurance they can get in terms of credibility and credentials from their home builder, find such assurances from those who rank a place among other recognizable builders.
- Too, capital sources and other stakeholders recognize the annual rankings, and your progress on the list as a sign of where your business is headed, and being on the list can work as a proof of concept, worthy of investment.
- In Builder 100 companies, potential land sellers also see a reliable, market-tested group of potential buyers capable of closing a deal. Now, back to that initial thought about value.
The motivation of potential acquirers–stoked in many cases by a windfall of millions of dollars in new, free money due to new, reduced corporate tax rates–is indexing quite high. Many of the bigger players’ community count levels are down, and given the increasing cadence of per community absorptions, the need to restock lot pipelines is growing more intense.
This can make you, your land knowledge, your assets, and your process more valuable now than in a long time.
But not if you’re not on the list.
Click here now to put you and your team among the most important home building companies in the country right now.
