The key to selling homes
quickly in today’s housing market is having the right upgrades readily
available for homebuyers. Upgrades help add convenience, security, energy
savings, and lifestyle enhancements to a home—differentiating it from its
competitors.
“Being buyer friendly and capable of delivering
personal choices isn’t just a housing market strategy anymore. It’s a
necessity,” said Jana Daly, EDI’s residential business development manager.
Advanced home technology products and systems
offer clear opportunities for increased revenues for contractors and
builders. Too often, the opportunity is lost simply because the builder
failed to educate the customer about available options. The reason? A lack
of knowledge about the latest products and technologies the electrical
contractor has to offer.
“To a significant degree, homebuyers said they
did not buy specific upgrades because the upgrades were not offered by the
builder,” Daly said. “This was cited second most often as the reason for not
buying automated lighting controls and home automation.”
Some of the electrical upgrade products that EDI
offers include:
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·
Lighting control
systems |
·
Heated flooring |
|
·
Dimming |
·
Central vacuuming |
|
·
Designer color
plates, switches, and receptacles |
·
Home automation |
|
·
Rope lighting |
·
Structured wiring
components |
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·
Whole-house audio
and audio components |
·
Generators |
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·
Intercom systems |
·
Upgraded bath
fans |
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Indoor/outdoor
cameras and video door answering systems |
·
Whole-house surge
protection |
Johnny Owenby, owner of Owenby Electric in
Charlotte, said he started diversifying into upgrades because of his own
interest in the latest technologies. “I’m intrigued by the new stuff, especially
the stereo systems. We also do some dimmers and computer networking.”
Training from a Leviton rep and seminars at EDI gave
Owenby the skills and knowledge he needed to expand into new areas, he said.
Marcus Weathers, owner of AAA Electrical
Installation in Lincolnton, said it’s more profitable for him to spend more time
in a house installing upgrades than to simply go from house to house pulling
wire. “Plus, we want to become a little more diversified rather than just being
seen as a regular house-wiring electrician. We do more custom homes, which have
a greater demand for upgrades. We’re doing something beyond standard wiring in
just about every house.”
Contractors like Weathers have realized additional
profits when it comes to making money on materials. And, perhaps more
importantly, they get more productivity out of their employees.
The most popular upgrades are structured wiring and
standby generators, Weathers said. “We’re also trying to move into central
vacuuming, speaker systems, and other areas.”
Ron Dudonis, owner of Summertree Builders in
Charlotte, worked with EDI to develop a custom options book to present to his
homebuyers.
“Rather than offering items separately, we developed
packages at several levels and price points,” Dudonis said. The basic package
includes the most common electronic interfaces for a new home. A buyer who’s
interested in security can select an upgraded package that includes monitoring
cameras. Someone who’s into entertainment might choose a package with
higher-grade speakers and other audio components.
“We wanted to get clients to think about upgrades as
a systems approach,” Dudonis said. “We tell them, ‘These are things that are
going to influence how you live in your house day and night, how you interact
with your home.’”
The approach has been a success.
“It’s done what we were hoping: started the
conversation early on in the buying process and introduced clients to products
they didn’t know about—and wouldn’t know about if we hadn’t presented them,”
Dudonis said. “It made it possible to sell some of these features where we would
not have been able to before. It has not only increased sales on our side, but
also helped our electrician.”
EDI offers training and support to electrical
contractors who want to increase their profits and value-offering to their
builders. In addition, as a value-added service, Jana Daly will meet with
builders on behalf of EDI’s electrical contractors to explain what’s available
and how these products can help sell homes quicker and improve their
profitability. To learn more, or to schedule a builder meeting, contact your EDI
account manager or Jana Daly at jdaly@edi-nc.com or 704.372.3040, ext.
354.
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