Video Mystery Shopping: ‘Icing’ on the cake – YOUR Design Center!

Have you ever baked a cake? While I certainly do not claim to be a domesticated kitchen goddess, I have baked my share of cakes in the past. When my daughter Sarah was young, we would spend some quality time in the kitchen baking cupcakes, pies and the occasional cake. Sarah was always WAY more interested in the process when we would come to the final step of putting the icing on the cake. She just couldn’t resist that sugary sweet frosting that would turn a plain white cake into a scrumptious culinary delight! (Neither could I for that matter).

In new home sales, while we aren’t spending our time baking cakes, we are following a similar recipe. We are building a new home for our clients. It takes many ingredients to build this new home. Land, construction materials, drywall, and contractors are the equivalent to the butter, sugar, flour and eggs portion of baking a cake. Not the most glamorous or exciting, but nonetheless the foundation for our home. So, what then is the ‘icing’ on your new home cake??? Your Design Center, of course!

Your Design Center is one of the final steps in the new home process. It is the place where clients turn ‘your house’ into ‘their home’. The process is exciting and fun!

Are you marketing the design center in your sales presentations? Sure, your clients want (and need) to hear about quality construction, warranty programs and energy efficiency program but they also want to know about the Design Center and all the wonderful things that await them there. The sparkling light fixtures, the abundance of cabinet and flooring options, the appliance packages, the colorful of paint selections…this is the fun stuff! This is the icing on the cake, baby!

Most new home builders have spent a great amount of time, money and effort in creating a showpiece with their design centers.

Schedule some time with your design center manager to fully understand the design center process, this will help you to incorporate it into your presentation
Sales managers – INCLUDE your design center manager in some of your sales meetings. Let them discuss new features and options that are available. In fact, why not schedule one of your sales meetings AT the design center?

Still not sold on the importance of your design center? Well, next you bake a cake; don’t put any icing on it. Serve it for dessert and see the response you get from your family (especially your children!). A cake just isn’t a cake without the icing that goes on top!