home builders

10 Lessons Ted Lasso Would Have for the Home Building Industry in 2023

March 28, 2025
By Tabitha Warren

*This image was taken from the official press kit for “Ted Lasso,” distributed by AppleTV+*

The final season of Ted Lasso was loved by some and flopped for many. I was one of the people who was a tried-and-true fan in the same manner that I’m a fan of the home building industry. Ted wants us to be better, happier, more hopeful people. The home building industry wants people to find a home for their family and build happy, hopeful lives there. They want us to continue to “believe” in the American dream and a place to call our own. On that note, I believe that Ted Lasso has a few more lessons for home builders. But this time around we’ll take a few quotes from the entire cast.

The series finale of Ted Lasso shows the team comes together; each has a piece of the iconic “BELIEVE” sign. They put it together. It’s ripped, it’s tattered, but it’s all there. It’s beautiful. It stands for something.

When I saw it, I saw the home building industry. It has had a several-year struggle from materials shortages to housing shortages and long waits to labor shortages to skyrocketing interest rates. Like A.F.C. Richmond, it often feels like the housing industry can’t get a win.

Many of us in the housing industry just need to take some of the Lasso lessons and above all remember to “Believe in Believe.”

You guys are more distracted than a bunch of cats playing laser tag.”
Ted Lasso

Focus on Relationships: The key point here is focus. One of the lessons from Ted Lasso is the importance of building strong relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues. In season 3, we see Ted continue to prioritize his connections with the team and work to build trust with new players like Dani Rojas. With these fictional characters as well as in home building, focus on relationships creates trust and confidence among all parties. New homes are significant investments, so home buyers need to believe builders and contractors will deliver quality work within agreed-upon terms.

Well, I don’t want comfort.”
Roy Kent

Embrace Change: The willingness of homebuilders to adapt and embrace new technologies and building practices is critical to staying ahead of the curve. By adopting new technologies, trends, and practices, home builders can offer better homes, enhance customer satisfaction, and position themselves for success in an ever-evolving market. Ted Lasso is all about embracing change and adapting to new situations. In the final season, A.F.C. Richmond undergo some significant changes as they adjust to new coaching and playing styles. This inevitably leads them to advance to the Champions League. Embracing change can make many of us champions in our own rights.

Unless it’s Animal Crossing. That sh! t’s ‘clucking’ soothing.”
Isaac Macadoo

Communication is Key: Effective communication is essential in any industry. Home builders should prioritize clear and open communication with clients and trade partners to ensure everyone is on the same page. Ted Lasso is a shining example of effective communication. Ted and the team continuously work to improve their communication on and off the field. Communication takes many different forms, and sometimes we all need to calm down and make sure we are playing from the same rule book.

Right now, y’all brains are basically in London in 1857. They’re blocked up by other people’s dookie.”
Ted Lasso

Prioritize Customer Experience: Ted Lasso understands the importance of providing a great customer experience, and builders should too. Ted works to create a positive and supportive environment for the team. He often takes them on strange and winding journeys if it will result in them understanding the process better. Ultimately, this helps them perform better on the field. Similarly, home builders should prioritize their clients’ experience, from the initial consultation to the final walkthrough. That’s the idea of the home buyer journey.

I’m a work in prog-mess.”
Ted Lasso

Emphasize Quality: In season 3, we see the team working to improve their skills and techniques to produce better results on the field. Ted Lasso is known for his attention to detail and emphasis on quality, which should also be a priority for home builders. Prioritizing quality materials and craftsmanship to ensure projects stand the test of time is a good business practice. Things don’t always have to be perfect, but we in the homebuilding industry should strive to improve every day.

Can I say a bad word? I think you’re being stupid.”
Phoebe (Kent)

Be Authentic: Authenticity is a fundamental aspect of successful homebuilding. It establishes trust, strengthens relationships, and fosters customer and trade loyalty, all of which are vital for sustained success in our competitive market. Authenticity benefits the homebuilding business and ensures a positive and fulfilling experience for the buyer who entrusts home builders with their dreams of a new home. Ted Lasso is all about being true to yourself and your values, which often involves a lot of honesty.

“Time is a construct, like gender and many of the alphabets.”
Zava

Embrace Diversity: Diversity and inclusion are essential themes in Ted Lasso, and these values also play an important role in new home construction and sales. This season, we see the team welcome new players from different backgrounds and work to create a more inclusive environment. Home builders also benefit by striving to gather diverse and inclusive teams to foster innovation and creativity. Like Ted Lasso, homebuilders will find that different viewpoints and experiences enable them to innovate, problem-solve, and attract a broader group of homebuyers.

We are now one. There is no we; there is no you; there is only we and us and the ‘wenus.'”
Zava

Collaborate: Collaboration is vital in any industry, including home building. Prioritizing collaboration with contractors, designers, and other stakeholders helps builders ensure projects are completed on time and within budget. Partnerships also enable builders to manage complex projects, maintain quality control, creatively innovate, and manage costs. I think Zava said it all.

I’ve had more psychotic episodes than Twin Peaks.”
Ted Lasso

Be Resilient: Ted Lasso is all about resilience and overcoming adversity. In the final season, the team faces some tough challenges, but they bounce back and come out stronger in the end. Home builders should also be resilient in the face of setbacks and challenges and work to solve problems as they arise. In the past year, we have faced economic uncertainties such as rising interest rates, inflation, and fluctuating housing demand. Being resilient allows home builders to adapt to these changing economic conditions.

I look like Ned Flanders is doing cosplay with Ned Flanders.”
Ted Lasso

Have Fun: Last but not least, Ted Lasso reminds us to have fun and enjoy the journey. The boys at A.F.C Richmond work hard but also take time to enjoy each other’s company and have fun on and off the field. Home builders should also remember to enjoy the process and take pride in their work while finding ways to have fun along the way.

The Mayfair – by Hampstead Living with Believe sign added

The wonder of Ted Lasso comes from within the process of growth and connection. It doesn’t have anything to do with wins and losses. Just like the continued beauty of home building should be connections and community. Connections to quality business partners and connections to the families we come together to help. We are building a community on so many levels. Community of like-minded builders and vendors. But most of all, communities of new homeowners will be proud to have bought a home from us and will want to come back the next time they purchase. I think we all need to take notes from Ted Lasso and Believe in Believe.

Print Marketing Sells New Homes

October 1, 2024
By Jim Sorgatz

People often ask us why a print company specializing in print for home builders is necessary. Heck, today, builders sometimes ask us if print marketing is still a valuable sales tool! The answer to both questions is a resounding “Yes!” We explain why in this post.

The Role of Print in New Home Sales

In a recent episode of the Digital Velocity P odcast, co-hosts Erik Martinez of Blue Tangerine and Tim Curtis of CohereOne talk with Alex Kupski and Jake Hoffman, co-hosts of the Millennials in Print Podcast, about the Power of Print in the Digital Age. They conclude, “The more channels you’re present on and the more channels you’re marketing to people on, ultimately, the more effective you’re going to be. Print, just like social, just like email, just like your website, just like a commercial on TV, is a channel for you to market on. It’s another arrow in the quiver. It’s another way to reach people you might not have before.”

Print marketing works best when paired with digital marketing. Digital marketing is often the most effective way to draw people in. With interactive site plans, interactive floor plans, renderings, virtual tours, visualizers, and Matterport tours, your website is arguably a home builder’s most potent marketing tool. But it is only effective for a home buyer’s few precious moments on your website. Print collateral, on the other hand, has a much longer life span. Brochures and floorplan/elevation minis often sit on a potential buyer’s countertop or table for weeks or months, a lasting reminder of your homes and communities. Not every prospect immediately purchases a home, so print is a great way to keep them focused on yours.

David Weekley Homes brochure with cactus front cover, and homes on the back

Data shows that print used in tandem with digital marketing is one of the most effective sales strategies as the two mediums strengthen and reinforce each other. A study by InfoTrends found that 66% of direct mail is opened, and 56% of consumers who respond to direct mail go online or visit a physical store. A recent article in SFGate offers some great tips to sync your print and digital marketing efforts:

Place QR codes on print materials.

Provide digital opt-ins for direct mail.

Include social media reviews and comments on print materials.

Include hashtags and calls to action on print materials.

Although digital and print marketing take different forms, They work together to engage customers and keep your brand at the top of their minds.

Why Use a Builder-Specific Printing Company?

The challenge builders face that is unique to our industry is the weekly sales cycle. From week to week, home prices may change, lot availability changes, and options may vary. The typical strip-mall printer is not equipped to automate this process. Outhouse built their business to serve a single industry – HOME BUILDING. We do all work in-house, from CAD for your construction documents to print materials for your sales centers. This allows all teams, including architectural, rendering, graphics, interactive, and print, to work in tandem. By doing so, we create accurate, up-to-date print materials that are consistent and coordinated with your digital marketing assets. Utilizing the latest technologies, we print and deliver materials on time every week, on the builder’s schedule. Challenge solved – you send us your edits, and we coordinate these changes across all platforms.

Professional Artwork Creation: Outhouse provides clients with the considerable advantage of having drafting and rendering services on-site, allowing coordination with the development of their artwork for all printed materials. This coordination offers clients superior accuracy, faster turnaround times, and lower overall costs.

Coordinated File Management: Another advantage is the ease of managing and coordinating all created artwork with professional digital file and asset management. All artwork is kept up-to-date, consistent, and coordinated between city design reviews, printed sales materials, large format displays, and interactive web products and services.

Superior Print Quality: Superior brand standard quality and consistency every time on every product is only possible with the coordination, color calibration, and production of all graphics, printing, and display under one roof. Unlike a mass-market printer like Vista Print, Outhouse is not a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) printer. We believe that good enough is never good enough, and we have the magnifying glasses to prove it! On rare occasions when colors are incorrect or print quality is not up to snuff the first time off the press, we recalibrate and rerun the job.

Builder-Specific Delivery: Unlike many industries, home building has a weekly sales cycle, and having your print delivered on time is critical. Outhouse understands this. We meet your deadlines your way on your weekly sales cycle.

Woodside Homes brochure with three homes

The bottom line is print marketing still plays an integral role in new home marketing and sales. There’s a reason the Outhouse Interactive Floor Plan has a save button. It allows prospective homebuyers to save their customized floor plans and print them out for further review.

What about younger generations? Retail Focus Magazine tells us that print is 30% more memorable than digital. This applies to all age groups. You need look no further than nightclubs which hand out leaflets advertising upcoming events, and university welcome packs to know that print still appeals to young people. The magazine also notes the best campaigns are when print and digital work alongside each other instead of trying to compete. A younger audience may be digitally savvy, but they still appreciate a well-thought-out hard copy campaign.

Although any printer can give you a halfway decent brochure, only a company like Outhouse coordinates your CAD, rendering, and interactive projects with your print materials and sales office displays. Even if our print pricing is a bit higher, you will save significantly more overall through efficiencies in coordination.

Woodside Homes floor plan — *When you update a plan, Outhouse coordinates the changes across CAD, print, and all digital marketing assets.*

Why Is Experiential Marketing Essential for Home Builders?

October 1, 2024
By Jim Sorgatz

^{A giant wall wrap printed by Outhouse, “floating” candles, and authentic table decorations create the perfect setting for a Hogwarts themed party.}

There is a much more businessy answer to this question, but I’m going to start by introducing Darin Keezer, our VP of Operations. Most people know Darin as a number cruncher, spreadsheet whiz, Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) specialist, and an all-around smart guy. Many people don’t realize he is also an expert on experiences and a brilliant party host (watch out, Martha!). Whether it be a Wizard of Oz Halloween or a Harry Potter Birthday bash, Darin and his wife Angie create the most amazing experiences for their two daughters and others. I am so jealous! With all the chatter about left brain vs. right brain – how is it possible that someone so technical can also be so immensely creative?

The bottom line is Darin and Angie know their audience and what kind of experiences they crave. With this knowledge, they put in the time, effort, and expense to create the best, most engaging experiences possible.

People crave personalized experiences. And after spending a significant amount of time sitting at home the past couple of years, we are seeking them out more than ever. In response, companies, and their marketing teams, are ramping up efforts to create unique, hands-on experiences for clients/customers. Salesforce tells us, “Brands who can facilitate outstanding customer experiences will be the ones that will differentiate themselves. And it’s not a secret to executives, as 68% of marketing leaders claim their company is increasingly competing on the basis of customer experience.”

_{Darin and his wife Angie turn their backyard into the road to the Emerald City.}

Outhouse and our digital marketing and web development partners like Blue Tangerine, Group Two Advertising, Meredith Communications, Adlanta Creative, Denim Marketing, A2 Digital Consulting, Boe Creative, Bokka Group, Evolution Marketing, Flying Orange, Kovach Marketing Pepper Glen Creative, Rhoads Creative, Wick Marketing, and 616 Marketing, and more understand the importance of experience when marketing for home builder clients. In today’s scroll through, swipe left, swipe right world, home builders need to stand out from the crowd if they want to be memorable. Experiential marketing gives a competitive edge to forward-thinking builders.

So what does experiential marketing encompass? A few general examples include:

Demos
Events and festivals
Activities and kiosks at trade shows
Unique brand experiences
Retreats

In other words, pretty much anything that actively engages clients/consumers.

_{Darin’s Halloween experience gives Tim Burton a run for his money.}

How does this relate to home building? The past couple of years have been huge for our industry. As the pace slows down, the top builders are elevating their homebuyer experience to grow sales. Static floorplans and stick renderings are out. Interactive Floor Plans, Interactive Site Plans, Visualizers, User-Controlled Virtual Tours, onsite Interactive Sales Kiosks, and community events/open houses are in. Today’s tech-savvy home buyers expect and respond most positively to experiential marketing online and in your sales centers. This interactive community map created for SoMi by Homes Built for America is a prime example.

_{Click the image to engage with the multi-layered site map, interactive floor plans, and more for SoMi, the new community by Homes Built for America.}

Here are the most significant benefits you will see if you create a more engaging website and sales center:

Increased Brand Awareness
Emotional Connection: People purchase products based on emotions — positive, hands-on experiences move them closer to conversion.
Word of Mouth: Draw potential buyers by giving people something to talk about on social media with a fun activity and a hashtag.
Lead Generation: Outhouse has designed our Interactive Floor Plans and, Interactive Sales Kiosks to deliver leads directly to your inbox. Participatory social media campaigns can generate leads as well.

Humans crave experiences. Think about that when you open a new community or redesign your website. A day at Six Flags can be fun. But, like Darin with his Harry Potter-themed parties, the best theme parks (Disney, Universal) understand people want more than a simple roller coaster. They return again and again for the experience – the interaction and emotional connections.

Outhouse has dedicated significant time and resources to developing online experiential marketing tools housed on a single Virtual Interactive Platform. Compelling on their own, our Interactive Floor Plans, Interactive Site Plans, Animations, Virtual Tours, and Visualizers are even more engaging when builders roll them all into an Interactive Sales Kiosk.

The benefits of experiential marketing are numerous. Outhouse is here to help you explore, learn how to create emotional connections with homebuyers, and discover which online and onsite engagement tools will boost your sales. Contact us today to learn more.

Rules of Engagement

October 1, 2024
By Jim Sorgatz

Penguins surrounding expedition gear sitting a rock.

In the military, rules of engagement are a directive specifying the circumstances and limitations under which forces will engage in combat with the enemy.

In Antarctica, the rule of engagement is – bring on the penguins!

Hundreds of penguins walking along a beach. Snow covered ice shelf and mountain in the background.

I recently had the good fortune of taking an expedition to the great white continent. Superlatives are not unwarranted. The icebergs are astounding. The clouds are incredible, unlike anywhere else I have ever been. They feel so close you can touch them. The landscape is otherworldly. And the penguins are utterly captivating and engaging. The Antarctic Treaty dictates that visitors maintain a distance of 15 metres from the penguins, but that doesn’t mean they won’t come to check you out! Penguins are as curious about us as we are about them.

Leopard seal lazily resting on black sand.

Not only are penguins the stars of the show for adventurers like me, they also draw crowds of other animals by sea to Antarctica. Technically, it all starts with the krill, but penguins are a favorite food of leopard seals, fur seals, sea lions, and sharks. And all are prey to killer whales. Watching the circle of life play out in real-time has its sad moments, but it is also one of the most fascinating spectacles on earth. With landings in both Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, I saw more penguins than I could count. Is it possible to get tired of them? For countless other explorers and me, the answer is an emphatic NO! They are SO engaging!

Rules of engagement apply to home builders as well. To sell homes, you need to engage home buyers. Traditionally, this has been accomplished with model home tours and glossy brochures. Although those still play an essential role in new home sales, today, home builder websites are the stars of the show. What used to be seen as a sales mechanism for younger buyers is now the primary marketing vehicle for home builders to reach all generations. This means engaging tools like interactive floor plans and site maps, visualizers, virtual tours, Matterport tours, and interactive sales kiosks are no longer options. In the home building industry, they are a necessity.

Penguin with baby chicks sitting in their pebble nest.

As potential home buyers become more web-savvy, they seek a more sophisticated online experience. This is where connected, interactive platforms, like the Virtual Interactive Platform (VIP) by Outhouse, come into play. Beginning with an interactive site map, potential buyers can click on lots to view interactive floor plans, renderings, animations, virtual tours, visualizers, and more. The beauty is entire platform is built upon a single site map.

Penguins relaxing on a white sand beach. Tall grass in the foreground.

Do not underestimate the power of virtual tours and visualizers. As builders begin moving towards a “buy now” option online, these interactive tools contribute significantly to your website’s ability to engage homebuyers and sell new homes. User-controlled virtual tours allow families to tour your homes from anywhere in the world. Interior and exterior visualizers encourage potential buyers to customize homes, increasing their vested interest.

In addition to incorporating interactive tools on your website, boosting engagement with these tools should also be part of the conversation. There are several best practices to accomplish this. The 2-3 click rule, for example, is the maximum number of clicks to get to your interactive floor plans. Other guidelines relate to how your interactive floor plans and site maps open (iFrames vs. responsive opens). Some of these apply specifically to one tool or another. The team here at Outhouse, or one of our website development partners like Blue Tangerine, Bokka Group, Adlanta Creative, Kovach Marketing, 616 Marketing, Power Marketing, Group Two, or Meredith Communications, are happy to review these with you.

A group of 9 King Penguins.You can see their orange necks.

The goal is to draw homebuyers in and keep them engaged on your website. Like the penguins in Antarctica, interactive tools are the star of the show on home builder websites. Implemented correctly, they keep buyers coming back and, ultimately, increase your conversion rate.

10 Lessons Ted Lasso Would Have for the Home Building Industry

October 1, 2024
By Tabitha Warren

Courtesy Apple+

This Fall, “Believe” wore me down. I had been hearing about Ted Lasso for two seasons. As a person that isn’t into watching sports, I wasn’t interested in a show about a football (soccer) team. But references were everywhere. Finally, on a walk with my husband, I (begrudgingly) looked at him and said, “I think we should watch Ted Lasso.” His eyes nearly fell out of his head.

This wasn’t because he had wanted to watch it. He didn’t even know what it was about. Recently, he had to return to the office. He had to host a temporary project for an executive team and teach them to use new tools. Early in the experience, they made him write “Believe” and hang it over the door to the conference room. He didn’t get the reference. We hadn’t watched Ted Lasso. His team was floored that he didn’t get it. He was happy to dive in with me and be in on the mantra.

Ted Lasso is a heart-warming show about an American football coach that is hired by an English football (soccer) club. They hire him for his uniquely up-beat and sometimes over the top coaching style. He’s charismatic. Ted arrives in England only to discover that the English don’t believe in hope and optimism. His own brand of hopeful leadership continuously hits brick walls of negativity. Ted finds that his first obstacle won’t be helping with soccer strategy, it will be battling prevailing negative, downtrodden attitudes. After his first day on the job, he posts a sign above the locker room doors that simply says, “Believe.” It’s his way of planting the seed of hope in the minds of his players.

It took three episodes for Ted’s charisma and off-beat leadership style to win my husband and I over. From there, like many people, I started writing down Ted quotes and applying them to my industry: home building. Here are ten key take-aways for anyone working in home building out there:

1. “Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”

If the pandemic has taught us anything, things in the home building industry need to change. This varies from updating our websites, to having new virtual tools, to designing houses to have better flex space for families that are working and schooling from home.

2. “As the man once said, the harder you work, the luckier you get.”

There is no doubt that home building and sales are hard work! The market might make it seem like hard work isn’t necessary now. However, home site availability, or lack thereof, has presented new challenges. How are competitors retaining customers with wait lists that can seem unmanageable? Are they just lucky? Or maybe they are creating luck by working hard and listening to customers? Have a plan that keeps customers interested. When products aren’t ready and available, get good at customer nurturing. Wait list management can be one of the more difficult aspects of our industry. It is hard work, but there are several different strategies to take this on when experiencing “gapping.” Solutions include setting a priority list without target dates, a priority list with target dates, reservations with or without base pricing, price increases every x sales, lottery releases, eBay style auctions, sell with escalation clauses on costs, or pause sales entirely for a set amount of time. For more information on these strategies check out this article from our friends at Do You Convert: The Definitive Guide To Priority Lists In 2021

3. “You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory.”

There is a rule out there called “the 15 second rule”. This is how long your website has to catch your prospective customer’s attention! Are you running SEO to see how long customers are staying on your website? This will tell you if you need to consider updating your website, adding new interactive tools, or scraping it and starting over from scratch.¹

Customers need that 10 second hit of endorphins. Does your website delight? We want those happy goldfish. Don’t let them forget you. Well-designed websites, like those made by Blue Tangerine, with great interactive tools, like Interactive Floor Plans by Outhouse are great ways to keep customers on your website and interested in your homes. For more information on how to build an award winning website and win your customers over, check out this blog by Blue Tangerine: 10 Tips for Home Builder Websites.

4. “If the Internet has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes it’s easier to speak our minds anonymously.”

This one is an internal suggestion. In an early episode, Ted implements a suggestion box for the team. Things are brought to his attention by a few players that he may not have known on his own. Not all decisions can be made in a vacuum. Not all information can be caught by one or two people. Here at Outhouse, the management does an anonymous annual survey asking what our team would like to see change at the company. It, also, asks what they like and would like to see stay the same. It has helped us change and evolve. There is an open-ended question asking for any other input we think they should know. The anonymity really opens people up. They feel freer to say what they feel and think. Maybe your company would benefit from doing things like this a few times a year. Maybe your sales agents and marketing team has caught trends or gaps in your system that you’re missing.

Courtesy Apple+

5. “I think that you might be so sure that you’re one in a million, that sometimes you forget that out there you’re just one in 11.”

Demand was at an all-time high in 2021. It’s forecast to continue this way into 2022. There are stories out there about customers feeling like they weren’t treated as having been valued. Home builders knew that another customer would come along and buy the home if the last prospect was unhappy. This is a terrible way to build a brand reputation and repeat buyers! Don’t be so sure that your company is the end-all-be-all. Even in a high demand market, customers need to be treated with value.

6. “I feel like we fell out of the lucky tree and hit every branch on the way down, ended up in a pool of cash and Sour Patch Kids.”

Remember that markets change! What are you doing to market to the future that slows down? Are you planning ahead? Our friend Meredith Oliver at Meredith Communications hosts a live stream event the first Friday of every month to discuss sales and marketing. It’s a great place to get ideas, keep on top of market changes, and connect with other people in the industry. She also has guests that are worth following. One of her guests may become a valuable resource! Bottom line: find resources that work. Luck won’t last forever.

7. “There’s two buttons I never like to hit: that’s panic and snooze.”

I just wanted to drive the point home here. We are at an unprecedented time in the housing market. But it is not time to panic. Maybe it was a few months back for those of us who weren’t prepared for the sudden and massive shift to online home sales, but that ship has sailed my friends! Hopefully, by now everyone has made the necessary changes, and customers can explore homes online. It is, however, time to put a plan in place on how to continue that progress. Know customer expectations. Have a budget for those things. Even if those things are in place, it is not time to get complacent. It is, also, not time to snooze because the market is booming! It’s time to be preparing for when the market slows. Know how to make it through lean times, and how to drive sales during those times.

8. “I believe in Communism. Rom-communism, that is. If Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan can go through some heartfelt struggles and still end up happy, then so can we.”

This is an industry with extreme highs and extreme lows. We struggle together, and luckily, we are not in it alone! What can we do to prepare for those heartfelt times of struggle? First, consider working with industry experts to grow your home sales. Many larger builders already do this as regular practice. Experts help incorporate web tools like interactive floor plans and virtual tours that buyers expect and that top builders are already using. They also help maintain unique brand identities. Those items are our second point. Even without expert help, it may be an important strategy to incorporate web tools and present a strong brand identity. We want customers to recognize us in the din of online marketing vying for their attention. This is how we all end up happy, builders and buyers, no matter the market position.

9. “We all know speed is important. But being able to stop and change directions quickly? Well, that’s like Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak. It don’t get nearly enough credit.”

During 2021, we witnessed the beginning of the “Great Reshuffling.”² People began to move from where they had to live for work to where and how they wanted to live for work from home. This shifted market demands to different areas as well as the type of housing that customers were demanding. Amidst a housing shortage, it was now the mark of a great home builder to be able to shift their offerings. We’ve seen a high demand for things like flex spaces, green spaces, and so many other trends. Ted’s lesson here: be able to build a quality product quickly but be able to evaluate market demands and change quickly when the market calls for it.

10. “Here’s an idea that’s gonna help a little or hurt a whole lot. Who needs a drink?”

Like Ted, making real changes and progress in home building starts with belief. From there, it takes a whole lot of hard work. For many, it may take changing decades long attitudes, traditions, and processes. It may take going against the grain, investing in new technology and new talent. What can’t happen is continuing to do things the same way that we always have. Like my TV mentor Ted, I’m going into 2022 with a little belief, a whole lotta optimism, and an open mind. I can’t wait to see how all of our friends out there progress as they adapt to this ever growing industry! We’ll be here to help.

Courtesy Apple+

Tabitha Warren was an Income Tax Accountant for 15+ years. In the first months of the pandemic, she took a chance and re-careered to freelance in Marketing. She currently, and very happily, works with video and photo editing, social media marketing, and now blog writing.

Zheng, D. (2020, May 14). The 15 Second Rule: 3 Reasons Why Users Leave a Website. Retrieved January 7, 2022 from https://www.crazyegg.com/blog/why-users-leave-a-website/
Zillow NewConstruction (n.d.), New Construction Conversion Playbook. Retrieved January 7, 2022 from https://wp-tid.zillowstatic.com/bedrock/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/09/Zillow_NewConstruction_ConversionPlaybook_2021.pdf