Builder - February 2009 - (Page 34) SUCCESSSTORIES experimenting with a variety of small indulgences in his first model. They centered around four themes: relaxation, organization, flexibility, and entertainment. At just under 2,000 square feet, the first single-family model at Deer Brook proved modest in size but big on functionality, thanks to a host of sanity-saving features. Among them: a walk-in kitchen pantry with built-in shelving; a drop zone near the garage entry, complete with mail cubbies and an electronic recharging station; and a laundry room on the second floor (close to bedrooms) with additional shelving, storage cabinets, and a designated area for ironing. Accessorizing also made the little house big on style and romance. Quaint outdoor features include optional stone driveway pavers, metal roof accents, wide porches, mahogany decking, a floral motif doorbell surround, and curved landscape lighting fi xtures. The inside similarly displays a woman’s touch with arched doorways, window seats, wide plank oak floors, antiqued bronze and brushed nickel fi xtures, and custom cabinet pulls made by local jewelry designers. Fisher now allows buyers to spec up to three paint colors of their own choosing. All rooms are tricked out with 5 1/4-inch crown molding. “The women-centric people suggested some minor changes to our existing plans and advised us not to nickel and dime buyers. They were right,” says the Warwick, R.I.–based builder, who welcomed more than 250 visitors to the model on opening day. “Our homes now have very few optional features. We just load them up. It’s like buying a Lexus. Everything is included.” It helped that a newspaper reporter caught wind of Fisher’s plans and ran a preview story about Deer Brook Estates in late December 2007, shortly before the G model opened. “The next day, on Christmas Eve, cars were coming through the gate in droves even though we didn’t have the model finished,” Fisher recalls. “Every day this went on, and some people came back three or four times. We started taking names and numbers so we could call them when the model was ready.” This move paid off. The model opened in January 2008, drawing more than 1,100 visitors the first month. “The first day, we had only released five homes, but we took seven deposits,” Fisher recalls. “One woman called me on the phone wanting to buy a house; she had just come from a birthday party where a friend told her about it. Then a FedEx guy came by saying, ‘My wife sent me.’ ” Which brings up another important revelation about women, he observes. They talk to each other. A lot. “Our best salespeople are the PERSONALITY POINTS: Little things such as paint colors, people who have purtrim details, and lighting fixtures make a difference. chased from us,” he says, B 13’ x 11’6” B 13’ x 11’6” MBR 13’ x 15’ SECOND FLOOR D 13’ x 10’ Flex space 11’6” x 12’6” F 13’ x 14’ E FIRST FLOOR noting that nearly every sale to date has come via word of mouth. “The waiting list still has 45 people on it. I can’t build fast enough.” Granted, the shift in trade sequencing and cycle times has required some of the guys on the crew to step outside their comfort zones. “We had to train our subs to think women-centric,” he says. “Sometimes you’ve gotta beat them over the head with a shovel, but they’re getting there. In one of the condos, we took a fireplace down three times because the interior designer kept wanting to change something. That’s how we’ve changed our way of thinking.” And although the attention to detail has increased the construction costs on each home by $10,000 to $15,000, Fisher says he’s been able to raise prices to absorb that cost with no buyer resistance. “Before, if I had two people come by on a weekend, my salespeople were excited. When hundreds of people show up at your model from a $75 ad and a newspaper story, you know you’re onto something.” “I’m a typical cement-head builder,” he says. “When buyers used to ask me, ‘What color can I have?’ my answer was, ‘You can have off-white or off-white.’ Not anymore. I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid. I’m in.”—J.S. GOT A SUCCESS STORY? TO READ OTHER SUCCESS STORIES AND HOT SELLERS, VISIT OUR WEB SITE AT W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM/SUCCESS. E-MAIL JENN Y SULLIVAN AT: jsullivan@hanley wood.com 34 ■ B U I LD E R F ebrua ry 2 0 0 9 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM/SUCCESS http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM
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