"Act as if you like your customer," says customer service expert Carol Smith. She shows builders and their management staffs how to make their home buyers' experience a positive one from initial contact through warranty service. Satisfied customers aren't born that way. They're created. A successful customer service program is one of the key elements in closing sales and getting referrals. You can increase sales by developing stronger customer service goals and organizing the activities necessary to reach them. Customer Service for Home Builders explores the fundamental customer service challenges that every service-oriented company faces: - staff - quality - documentation - internal communication - policies and procedures Carol Smith examines the sequence of a builder's relationship with home buyers and shows builders how to initiate service and successfully manage customers' experiences instead of just reacting to issues customers raise. In "Daily Operations: Working with Customers," she focuses on-- - expectations - preliminaries - customers and construction - new home delivery - warranty service The book --with its forms, checklists, documents, and resources guide- provides what you need to give your customer service program new life. It includes what you need to easily institute a comprehensive customer service program. Create satisfied customers every time with Carol Smith's industry-tested guidelines.

With this book, home building professionals will learn how to build a rapport with prospective home buyers. Nowell's emphasis on questioning strategies and listening skills helps salespeople build relationships with potential customers and meet prospective buyer's specific needs.

Maintaining positive relationships with new home owners after they move in increases sales. This book helps builders and their sales and warranty staffs understand and plan for the customer service that follows the sale of a house, especially warranty service.

Nearly 100 of the most useful business forms and contracts for builders are gathered from builders across the country: sales and marketing forms, contracts, agreements, trade contractor specifications, checklists, orientation and quality control documents, and more. Documents can be downloaded from the CD and customized.

Profit from the legal wisdom of the National Association of Home Builders staff attorneys. They have researched hundreds of warranty issues for NAHB members and wrote Warranties for Builders and Remodelers to help inform and protect builders and remodelers. Learn how to properly use warranties to market your services while protecting yourself and your business from liabilities.

NAHB's Residential Construction Performance Guidelines were created to offer a third-party view of quality issues in residential construction (both new homes and remodeling). The Consumer Reference makes it easy to provide a copy of the guidelines to every customer. Sold in affordable packs of 10, the Consumer Reference is a great addition to your warranty claims process and: Help customers understand the basics of a properly constructed home and how it should perform during the warranty period Take action to resolve customer concerns before they escalate to complaints Exhibit your professionalism by showing that you consistently meet or exceed accepted industry guidelines Includes Residential Construction Performance Guidelines for: Site Work and Foundation Floors, Walls, and Roofs

This insider's guide to residential green building leads builders through the actual residential construction process and details how green building techniques can be applied. Belcher makes a case for affordable green building based on personal experiences and details.

The leading guide to professional home construction—now updated and revised! Fundamentals of Residential Construction, Third Edition features the most up-to-date explanations of today's residential construction systems. From foundation to roof and exterior finishes to interior details, this new edition thoroughly addresses the latest developments in materials and methods of house construction, including energy efficiency, framing, and roofing. Abundantly illustrated with more than 1,250 drawings and photographs, including new photorealistic illustrations that bring the text to life, this Third Edition provides authoritative coverage on wood light-frame construction, industrialized systems of construction, insulating concrete forms, light-gauge steel frame, panelized construction, and a new chapter on multifamily construction. Topics covered include: Plumbing Building codes Heating and cooling Financing Wiring Roofing Thermal insulation Environmental concerns Foundations Finish sitework Rough sitework Wood and light-gauge steel framing Engineered materials Exterior and interior finishes Organized in a logical, easy-to-follow format, Fundamentals of Residential Construction, Third Edition is the one-stop source for building professionals to gain a working knowledge of codes, management procedures, material, and all home building concerns.

A concise guide to current best practices for designing, constructing, testing, and ensuring longevity for new high-performance homes, Green Building Strategies explains in plain language what's happening in the rapidly evolving field of building science. Green Building Strategies has condensed current information about green building from credible sources in a format you can easily digest. With this book you'll learn how to - Comply with new energy code requirements - Understand green building standards - Sort out product manufacturers' claims - Answer buyers' questions about high performance homes - Build high-performance energy-efficient green homes to satisfy buyers and stay ahead of your competitors Green Building Strategies takes you step-by-step from design through site development and construction, quality assurance, marketing, and customer service. It provides the information you need to systematically create green projects with a price tag both you and your buyers can accept. This comprehensive resource includes URLs for essential online green building resources, illustrations, and a glossary. "This very readable and easy-to-use guide will help builders and other industry professionals understand and apply cutting-edge building science to construct high performance homes that meet consumer demand." Donald Ferrier, CGB Ferrier Companies NAHB Green Building Advocate of the Year Energy Value Housing Award Remodeler of the Year Fort Worth, Texas

Presenting well-known tools and techniques, the Home Builder's Guide to Continuous Improvement provides important insights and necessary information to reduce cycle time duration and variation in order to improve quality and customer satisfaction and to minimize costs and accidents. Each chapter offers examples based on the authors' personal experi