The Masthead

Three Topics today, so let’s get started!

1. 2011 Louisville Manufactured Housing Show

We have received at www.MHMSM.com numerous positive responses to the report on the return of the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show in 2011. Some are public, as a review of comments posted in last weekend’s blog will reveal. Many more are ‘private,’ or coming in directly to me or others. These are overwhelmingly positive. If you missed last weekend’s post on this, please read the post and comments here.

There is genuine interest and even enthusiasm about the 2011 return of the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show. Most of the expected regional manufacturers have already signed on! My sources told me late this week that there are only six show spaces for homes left, and that there are ongoing talks with manufacturers who are considering what sort of presence and display model to provide.

A different look at this show is this fact: as of my last report, the show is only $15,000 away from break even! That’s an amazing and positive fact, considering there are booths/exhibit spaces to fill and a handful of model home display spaces remaining, too.

All of these are healthy signals for the Louisville Manufactured Housing Show and the Industry.

In addition to key points made last week in my blog, I want to say hats off to Dennis Hill and others who are working to promote this event and make its return a success. Decades ago, an MH Industry executive told me a memorable expression, “No guts, no glory!” Don’t be surprised if there will be glory for those who have taken this positive step for the region and for the Industry at large.

One last point on the show. I am told that in addition to the traditional methods, there will be new modern promotional outreaches, new ways to attract attendees, all to make the New Louisville Manufactured Housing Show in 2011 an event to attend, benefit from, enjoy and remember!

2. Workshop Change of Schedule

Friday, October 8, 2010

Precision Capital Funding and RainMaker Consulting are announcing a change of dates for their next Captive Finance Workshop in Chicago, Illinois from November 16th and 17th to November 18th and 19th, 2010. This was done to allow Ken Rishel, a member of the MHI Dodd Frank Task Force to attend a meeting of the task force, which he considers to be vital to the manufactured housing industry. Mr. Rishel is the only appointee actively involved in the owner-assisted finance movement within the industry and feels an obligation to community owners and retailers engaged in captive finance to attend and represent their point of view. He and the sponsoring organizations regret any inconvenience this may cause for anyone.

It should be noted that we plan a report on the work of MHI’s Dodd Frank Task Force and its members in our new issue next week. This is a good move, and the Industry owes a word of thanks to all those who are VOLUNTEERING their time and resources, as Ken Rishel and other lenders are doing.

3. Realist and Idealist

George Allen was very gracious in saying that

“Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management, during its first year of online publication, has earned the apt reputation for being an unapologetic cheerleader for the MHIndustry at large!” See this and others’ quotes at:
http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/what-our-readers-say

First, let me thank all those and more who share such positive words of encouragement. They are deeply appreciated by the MHMSM.com team and myself.

But I want to make a point. There are times in sporting events when cheerleading takes place when there is no hope. There are people in life optimistic when there seems to be no reason for optimism. My point is, there is Realism and Idealism. The two are NOT in conflict!

The Realist knows when it is raining; he doesn’t deny the rain. The Idealist sees the rain, and knows that it has its purpose, and that without the rain, without moisture, life would wither and die. The pessimist sees the downside, the optimist sees the opportunities.

Let’s be realistic, and not lose sight of the opportunities around us. There are companies who are selling homes and making money. Factories that are profitable and growing. Communities that are maintaining or growing occupancy, while others are losing occupants.

So long as one person can gain success, that means others can, too. Affordable housing is more important than ever before! We as an Industry sell and provide affordable quality homes, and can do so in appealing settings. Let’s remember the good, while we work realistically and idealistically to remedy the issues that hold us back from the next boom that surely will come.

As we approach our anniversary issue in a few days, let me take a few moments to stop and thank everyone that makes this online trade journal:

• Our many fine feature writers, who helped us launch our content for the factory built housing industry.
• The associations whose news and support have helped us to grow
• Industry pros who gave us interviews or special reports
• Cup of Coffee interviewees, who gave us insight into and experience from seasoned veterans
• Our Podcaster, Erin Patla
• Our Associate Editor, Catherine Frenzel
• Our INdustry in Focus Reporter, Eric Miller
• Our IT and Production Manager, Bob Stovall, who amazingly – given the volume of last-minute copy – has kept everything on time and moving ahead in a positive fashion.
• Readers like you.
• You!
• YOU!

It is readers like you who have made this – as you see in the “What our readers say” link – the Number 1 news and views resource of its kind. As we look back at the first year, take a moment to consider our tag line:

Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals

From our INspiration blog, to the Industry’s single largest news source, to daily business and market reports in our News at Noon podcasts (sign up free and join this GROWING crowd of those in the know who can listen on their iPods or MP3 players anytime!) to some 200 feature articles from Industry Pros and Experts, we thank you all! You made us #1 in readers. Please pass the word on to others; there is plenty to read, think and do in the days ahead! # #

Three broad topics today, as suggested in the title, so let’s get started.

1 Unintended Consequences

We hear and read a lot these days about “unintended consequences.” Unintended consequences may occur in business, government, politics or in our personal lives. An example of unintended consequences may be the Conseco-Greentree et al. lending meltdown a dozen years ago. Some put shaky deals on the books; in time, lenders took a bath (not unlike the huge, recent sub-prime mortgage meltdown), so private money lending dries up, government officials get concerned and our Industry (or now, housing as whole) has suffered as a result.

Because housing is THE Key Driver to our Economy and jobs, this is beyond important.

When elected officials hastily pass legislation, there are often unintended consequences. A case in point is the so-called SAFE Act. Maybe this was “well intended,” and many – including “friends” of our Industry – put this law on the books. But tens of thousands of businesses in our Industry are now unsafe – some are at risk for their very existence – because of the unintended consequences of the SAFE Act.

Whoever we are, whatever we do, we should plan ahead and try to avoid those unintended consequences. Before we cast a ballot, donate to a campaign, or do anything else, we should think the matter through, then act prudently. It is easier to do a thing right, than to explain why we did it wrong and then try to fix it.

2 Manufactured Housing Professional Dialogue

Between meetings like the recent International Networking Roundtable in Phoenix and the MHI meetings just finished in Denver, where do we as Industry pros turn for discussion, networking, inspiration and more? There are Industry publications – Allen Report, The Journal, Chattel Finance News or our own ‘Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management’ online trade journal (at www.MHMSM.com). Allen’s site has a blog that takes posts; we accept and encourage comments posted by readers here at MHMSM.com, too. But what I want to push for a few moments is:

LinkedIn Groups!

LinkedIn.com is free. I call it “Facebook for professionals on steroids.” There are half-a-dozen groups that are specifically for manufactured or factory built housing. While a certain amount of self-promotion takes place, there are also often ROBUST and candid discussions on vital topics.

There is YOUR chance to engage and sound off! Many leaders and thinkers do! But more involvement there would be better.

You or anyone else who cares enough to invest some time and brain power in thoughtful discussions can do so on LinkedIn.com in one or more groups. Here the small, medium or large all have a voice. This voice is semi-public and moderated.

While I will ask our own IT manager, Bob Stovall, to take a look at how we might provide a similar tool here for you at MHMSM.com, in the meantime, please let me encourage you to join an MH group and be a part of the discussion. Why gripe alone, when you can share your ideas with others, and test your ideas and solutions by using that wonderful – free! – tool!

3 The Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) Annual Meeting in Denver

• Great speakers on key topics (at least one of whom has already offered to join us at MHMSM.com as a featured writer!)
• Election of New Officers, as well as recognition and thanks to outgoing officers
• 26 Industry issues being tracked and addressed by MHI
• Political reports and MHI PAC reports and discussions
• The SAFE Act, Dodd Franks bill
• Finance coalition discussion, how the entire Industry can unite behind this critical issue
• Awards presentations, meals, networking, other group meetings and presentations

All of this and more were bullets from the MHI meeting in Denver. Let me take a moment to commend all involved in the planning, presentations, awards and more for their efforts. There is real value and potential from such meetings.

I’d like to say hi to all whom I met, and to beg the forgiveness of those who I had hoped to meet and chat with in Denver… they are busy days, and there never seems to be enough time to talk to everyone that you’d like to chat with.

We plan to defer to MHI’s own meeting brief, likely to be in their email on Friday. Then, starting next week, we plan to do a series of focused looks at the bullets noted above; at the presentations, the often spirited discussions and more that took place. You can read about some of the biggest names in the manufactured housing Industry, see their photos, meeting pictures and get the details right here at www.MHMSM.com.

You won’t find more depth of coverage anywhere on a single site.

Thanks for tuning in. I look forward to your return, and of course, your private and public comments are welcomed. # #

The International Networking Roundtable (INR) is behind us, and we are only days away from MHI’s meeting in Denver. A few brief thoughts… and more to follow.

The Roundtable (INR) featured a number of important ‘reality check’ keynote topics:

• Randy Rowe, State of the Asset Class address, in which he outlined 5 points that need to be addressed.
• Joe Adams, who touted leaders by example in the Industry, but also candidly addressed gaps in marketing and sales skills that hold individuals, companies and thus the MHIndustry back.
• Dick Ernst, who spoke about the SAFE Act, and how that impacts our Industry, why it needs to be understood and how it must be positively addressed.
• Dr David Funk from Cornell University, who gave us compelling insights into the world of Manufactured Housing demographics, general housing trends, and what it can mean for the Industry.
• Panel discussions on financing, manufacturing and general Industry issues, along with numerous other topics and presentations.

We plan to cover all of these, photos of show homes on display, my own presentation and more in some depth in the days ahead.

The rally?

What I wanted to focus on for a few moments was George F. Allen, ably accompanied and supported with Susan McCarty, some comments he made and some take-aways and posers.

Most of the attendees I spoke with felt INR was meaty, compelling and very much worth the time and investment. Many first-time attendees were present, and about 175 total came. As many noted with/to me, that attendance is nearly double the number who came to MHI’s summer session this past July.

While others aided in the process, there is no doubt that George F. Allen (GFA) deserves major kudos for what this (and previous) INRs represent! MHC and other Industry pros from some 26 states, plus Canadians, came to Phoenix, AZ for this executive level meeting. Chairman, CEOs, execs, owners and association leaders were in attendance. This scope and depth takes significant organizational skill; it is a laudable and noteworthy accomplishment indeed!

George Allen promoted MHI and gave Thayer Long the floor to speak, proving an opportunity as well for MHI PAC to raise Funds for the upcoming election campaign season.

GFA, who has inexplicably been passed over by the national MH/RV Hall of Fame, handed out literature for that worthy cause. GFA encouraged support and a visit to their historic facility in Elkhart, IN.

George took the time to pull me aside and make suggestions, share tips and insights. This he did for many others as well.

In short, GFA was a team player and a true Industry leader, living up to the Man of the Year award he earned not so long ago.

All that said, I want to note what GFA himself said. “Only some 2% of the MHC Industry leadership was in attendance.”

GFA spoke of the tough love statements by Randy Rowe and others. Thayer mentioned that MHI now has some 331 members. While billions of dollars were represented in that room – or are represented by MHI – wouldn’t it make sense for more people to be involved in associations and functions that are geared to support our Industry at its time of great need?

More than one speaker made the point that the Industry can’t wait for the FEDs or any outside force to come in on a white horse to save our collective bacon. We as an Industry are modestly up in shipments year to date. Some companies are clearly showing signs of improvement. Those who are improving are the ones committed to success, regardless of what is coming at them! They are the ones adapting, profiting and benefiting while some avoidably may fall by the wayside.

Regular readers of the Masthead blog know I believe we need to engage the Federal and other regulators, call on Congress, rally industry members and our customers into a force to be reckoned with politically. But I agree, we can’t wait for outsiders. But neither should we abandon the lobbying efforts. We need multiple converging paths to success. As any investment counselor would say, don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

Too many are outside the ranks of associations. Too many don’t attend meetings like INR. Too many fail to invest in self-improvement, coaching and the like, even if they clearly need it.

Some say to me, “Why should I be in an association? I don’t agree with so and so. I don’t see how they have turned our industry around yet.” But isn’t that like watching your neighbors man the levees during a flood, and saying, “Until they have all the sand bags in place, I won’t join and help”?

Where someone sees it differently than MHI or MHARR or any other association, group or leader, he or she should say so respectfully and also explain why. Those with a different perspective should say what they propose instead, and not just criticize. They should be prepared to do what so many others do, volunteer time and talent!

The same applies to Industry publishers, including us.

I don’t mind the occasional critiques that come in from readers or their posts. I don’t mind a different point of view, especially if it is respectful and well-articulated. So long as there are no ad hominums, no profanity or slander, sound off! It makes for a better discussion!

What I do think is often lacking from nay-sayers in general is something beyond a gripe. We are not going back to the Conseco-GreenTree days. We should not want to return to worst practices, when best practices are the way to long-term sustainable success. We must care for our customers, as Randy Rowe, Dick Ernst, Joe Adams, Don Westphal and so many others at INR said.

But let’s move towards a close on the rally point. Hats off to George for pulling together such an impressive array of speakers and solid content! MH/RV Hall of Fame… are you listening?

If you aren’t already involved in positive change in association(s) and forums like INR that make it happen, please, get engaged! We need both – the new blood and new ideas, and also the wisdom that history and experience brings.

We must learn from the past, live in the present, and build for a bright future. We need more leaders willing to invest time, talent and treasure. We need more committed engagement. Working together is the path to success for any company, any team and – yes, for most industries, too.

That said, on to the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) meeting in Denver, CO! # #

Bring on the magic! Not the smoke and mirrors of illusion, but the real results of proven “outside the box” thinking and innovation – applied to the way you perceive the economy – to opportunities for financing – to technology and online marketing strategies – to Industry-media relationships – to recreating our Industry image – to sales-customer relationships – i.e., to every aspect of the Manufactured Housing Industry.

Our Editor L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach is presenting at the 19th Annual International Networking Roundtable in Phoenix Sept 15-17! His subject: “How to Get 150 Inbound Sales Calls a Week at your Location!” This is all part of the Manufacturing Magic made possible through eye-opening, mind-expanding insights on how to grow YOUR business, and thereby grow THE INDUSTRY! Check out Tony’s Blogs for more information.

Celebrate our 12th MHMSM.com Issue – one whole year of passionate pro-Industry service designed for win-win outcomes – through Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals like YOU – presented through DAILY news (News at Noon podcasts), WEEKLY (or MULTIPLE TIMES WEEKLY) Blogs and Industry In Focus reports, plus MONTHLY Feature Articles in podcast and written form, and TIME-SENSITIVE Calls to Action to help YOU get the results you want!

NOTE: There is still one Call to Action on the table:

• By September 30: LET’S UTILIZE SOME AVAILABLE MONEY for Retailers! YOUR assistance is needed to contact members of Congress and ask them to support the Dealer Floor Plan Program Extension and Improvement Act of 2010. This can benefit retailers, communities and manufacturing.

As we gear up for our First Birthday with the October Issue (Vol. 2, No 1), we want to hear from YOU:

1. What topics, issues or challenges are important to YOU that you want us to address?
2. What viewpoints or comments do YOU WANT TO MAKE to encourage and contribute to the Manufactured Housing Revolution? Think of writing a Feature Article, an Industry Voices Guest Blog – or easiest of all, join the conversation by posting, tweeting, calling or emailing your responses to what’s posted on the website. Increase your SEO; get compliments and feedback! Be part of the Revolution!

Easy emails to remember: Publisher/Editor L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach tony@MHMSM.com; IT Manager Bob Stovall bob@MHMSM.com; Industry In Focus Reporter Eric Miller eric@MHMSM.com; Associate Editor Catherine Frenzel catherine@MHMSM.com and News at Noon and Article Podcasts Erin Patla erin@MHMSM.com

Right now, Get More & Better Results! thanks to the galaxy of Feature Article contributors from A-Z – a spectacular selection of Industry Pros sharing vision, “possibility thinking” and answers to help YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS thrive and prosper. Check out the dozens of Feature Articles this month:

Featured Articles
and Reports for Vol. 1 No.12

Let’s shake things up for this 12th Issue and reverse the lineup of “All the Best” Top-Talent professionals from Z for Ziglar to A for Adams! Here’s your big September line up…

Zig Ziglar – Motivation & Inspiration
• Zig On…Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down, Down World – Part 1. You get back what you send out.

Don Westphal – MH Community Planning
• Land/lease Communities – Many Possibilities. Five scenarios for land/lease community layouts with terrain flexibility

Heather Vela – MH Business Practice
• Fostering a Positive Attitude in the MH Workplace. Multiple benefits include increased sales!

Bob Stovall – Online Marketing
• Online Marketing 1-2-3, Part 3 – Social Networking. Getting your company involved in Social Networking provides access to new customers and vital feedback about your products and services.

Dave Shanklin – MH Industry Financing
• Six Major Recent Changes in MH Chattel Finance Guidelines that You Need to Know. Stunning drops, disallowances, requirements and considerations are Good News-Bad News!

Kenneth Rishel – MH Industry Finance Commentary
• Lender’s Guide to Hispanic Marketing. How to tap into the $1 trillion+ purchasing power of this market by 2020 and $2.5-$3.6 trillion by 2050

Dan Rinzema – Online Marketing
• Turn Internet Leads into Sales! What if you used these 5 Tips to improve your closings?

George Porter – MH Evolution and Finance
• Why Do We Need Two Foundations? Lenders are making structural decisions that result in twice the work and many more problems!

Shawn Mullins – Energy-efficient Manufactured Housing
• Flaunt It If You’ve Got It! How might homebuyer’s priorities change if we were able to demonstrate the dollar-by-dollar payback of energy-efficient manufactured homes?

Mike Moore – Sales
• What Are You Waiting For? We have become so distracted by new sales that we forgot the best way to get more sales is to make customers.

Eric Miller – MH Industry Reporting
• A Cup of Coffee with…Joe Kelly. “A good plan (violently executed) today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.”

Eric Miller – MH Industry Reporting
• A Cup of Coffee with…JD Harper. Financing is the tide that raises all boats in this industry; a unified voice is needed.

Greg McClanahan – Soft Skills and Personal Development
• Stop Selling Houses – Start Helping People. Every genuinely successful professional embodies the point of this story.

L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach – MH Industry Reporting
• Reality Checks – Inspirational Dissatisfaction. What is the key to change what can be changed?

Susan Knowles – MH Community Case in Point
• Indian Creek-A Case Study of Companies Working Together. Who wins when investment and technology companies work together with community residents?

Chrissy Jackson – Land Lease Community Management
• Upgrading Your Community – Part V. How to keep your residents happy and personally engaged during the disruption caused by your community upgrade program

Mike Hourigan – MH Business Practice
• When you think about it: It Is the Best and Worst of Times. Find how attitude, tenacity and creativity can turn the worst into the best!

Nadeen Green – Legal, Fair Housing
• 10 Tips on Parking as Reasonable Accommodation. What you don’t know can hurt you!

Sue Frost – Green, Energy-efficient Manufactured Homes
• Greenwise legislation ushers in the “Green Revolution”. Why is the manufactured housing industry well-positioned to increase market share?

Suzanne Felber – Trend Tracking
• How Dramatic Are Your Manufactured Model Homes? Three Tips for making your model homes irresistible.

Tim Connor – Sales
• Effective Cold Calling in a Changing World. Do you know the do’s and don’ts of getting hot results from your cold calls?

Tim Connor – Management
• Why Successful Executives in the Manufactured Housing Industry use Personal Coaches to Grow their Business. “You can’t solve a problem with the same mindset that created it.”

Chad Carr – Management
• E-mail marketing – What You Need to Know. A false start carries serious consequences, so learn from my mistakes.

George F. Allen – MH Industry Commentary
• Best Kept Affordable Housing Secret in the US! Why HUD Code Manufactured Housing & Landlease (nee manufactured home) Communities Continue to be ‘Best Kept Affordable Housing Secret’

Joe Adams – Marketing
• The Greatest Opportunity in Marketing Today! 6 Tips and more to make it your own

Only the patient folks with open minds and eyes to see – those committed to improve their results – will get the WIIFM (what’s in it for me) in this weekend’s blog post. I hope you’re one of them!

If you want to grow your business, if you want to see REAL Industry growth, please use the powerful resources known as passion and patience, then carefully clear your mind and then line by line, check this out…

Think road trip.

Think comfy and spacious SUV (environmentalists, what can I say…) with the leather and luxuries you’d like.

Think multi-night get-away stay in a resort area with your dear owner/friends in their avant-garde, magazine-stylish home and manicured acreage with all the goodies.

Think the all-natural high that family, friends, stunning sights and stunning company yields. Think shop talk mixed with delightful small talk. John Denver’s song, “Rocky Mountain High” came to life from a soul now long passed…

Then leave the life and love of the majestic mountains to travel through the dry deserts and sometimes lunar-like landscapes…

Think…Jersey Boys. Blue Man Group. Cirque de Soleil… Phantom of the Opera.

Think living legends like Willie Nelson or Cher.

Think World Class shopping and New York City style Fashion Night Out.

Think restaurants to delight the senses to be discovered in every resort and seemingly on every corner.

Think the energy of the Fremont Street Experience:

Think more Elvis wanna-be types than most any place on the planet. Imagine The Strip. The Lights. The Sounds. “Viva Las Vegas” is more than a tag line; it seems to be a statement of reality, for indeed this once hot and dusty spot in the desert has become a palm-tree-lined magnet for people all over the world!

This is what the past week has been for me and mine. From the Colorado Rockies to Vegas, what a grand time as we slowly work our way toward The 19th Annual International Networking Roundtable in Phoenix this week! But back to last night in Vegas…

As we walked, talked and gawked (isn’t that what we secretly do?) hand in hand watching performances and people from around the planet, my lovely lady and I bumped into a few Hungarians. It would have been a good night for a bet on 00 in roulette, because even in Vegas the odds are like a gazillion-to-one against that. So the son of immigrant parents (c’est moi) and the lady who studied at a noteworthy school there (my wife) are speaking with visiting Magyars in their own tongue. They were shocked and delighted, and of course we were, too.

So what does the rushing white water streams of the Rockies, the desert and the dazzle of Vegas have to do with factory built housing? With your future and that of the Industry? Potentially, plenty!

Visionaries took a look at a spot near the world famous Hoover Dam, a mere day trip (or quick copter ride) from the Grand Canyon, and said,

‘We can create a magnet here that will draw millions of people! We can create casinos, shows, shops, stores, churches (an amazing number of religious people in this city, especially by European standards) and eateries galore, all designed to serve and separate people from their plastic and paychecks.’

And so Las Vegas came to be! And so it has steadily grown for decades, in spite of the ups and downs of the economy!

We have that type of opportunity in our Industry, too! Not someday, but every day. Not in just a good economy, but in THIS economy!

Or think…

What does 9/11 mean to manufactured housing and you? How about how a single event can rock your world, can send shock waves of tremendous loss, fear and paralysis, until the Sleeping Giant is awakened and action is taken? 9/11 has tons of lessons for the Republic and our great Industry, if we will just stop and think clearly about it!

What do the Rocky Mountains, the Western Slopes, resorts, the desert and more mean to modular and manufactured housing? It is hard to travel through such areas without seeing old pre-HUD Code mobile homes and more modern manufactured housing. It is easy to see the many uses, applications and needs for modular, pre-fab, panelized and manufactured homes in resorts and remote areas alike.

There are many areas in America where conventional construction simply doesn’t make good sense, or is flatly not available without premium pricing. You don’t see this by flying overhead, but it is a fact that can’t be missed while you are traveling in your SUV with your iPhone and iPad close at hand. While the signal failed in parts of the Rockies, notes, photos and videos can still be made until the 3G signal returns and you can push Send!

The recent dip in stats from MHI, the recent report and analysis from MHARR, both remind us that we are still in the doldrums as an industry.

The exclusive we did with Congressman Joe Donnelley reminds us that we have tons of work to do collectively to move us to health as an Industry.

But in the past few days, I also spoke with and emailed with owners who are profitable! Right now. There are winners and losers in every economy! Which group are you in? Which group do you want to be in? What are you willing to do to achieve positive change? Wishing and wanting are meaningless, until we work with wisdom and will towards the wonderful world that can be! If developers and promoters can create a whole successful city in the desert, one step at a time, can’t we do the same with our wealth of opportunities from sea to shining sea?!!!

I spoke with and emailed with Execs this past week who are sick and tired of being sick and tired! Some of them are getting ready or are seriously exploring how to market/sell/manage their way back to good health with a little help from new friends (in some cases, that means us)!

Las Vegas is a Dream Come True because people saw not the dry desert that it was, but the oasis and modern man-made Paradise that it could be! Those visionaries didn’t focus on the obstacles and let those stop them. Rather they asked and answered,

‘How can we overcome this scenario and make this one of the all-time money makers?!’

We need such visionaries leading in our Industry today.

The Manufactured Housing Revolution spells out the ways and reasons why factory built homes can become the dominant or a main stream form of housing in America.

My presentation on “How to Get 150 Inbound Customer Sales Calls a Week at YOUR Location!” at The International Networking Roundtable in Phoenix in a few days will demonstrate real world scenarios that can drive business for YOU – TODAY. In YOUR market! I will share real world examples where we teamed up with Community Owners, MHC Operators and home retailers who had struggled with sales, and moved them from nearly dead to well-fed!

There are Industry writers and publishers like George Allen or Ken Rishel or myself who have real world seasoning in this Industry. We three are among many who have personally, in their own locations, managed the home sales and filled the sites and provided or created the financing for their incoming residents and buyers of manufactured homes. Their insights and experiences, plus those gained by consulting and working with many firms from coast to coast, has power that a publisher who has never had such powerful and useful experiences simply can’t match.

When writers like those whom we feature here every day speak from real world experiences that worked, versus mere theory, there is a power to that which can’t be matched.

When you have filled hundreds of vacant sites at a community, like Ken Rishel has; when you have driven thousands of calls that lead to hundreds of sales at properties and locations that previously struggled, like I have for clients and companies – this has potential value and importance for YOU! You will want to read Ken’s amazing white paper on Hispanic Marketing, which will be an exclusive right here at Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management (aka MHMSM.com) trade journal ezine in a few days!

I think the Industry has plenty of fine publications and many useful resources. At the end of the day, leaders have to do their jobs and tap the resources needed to move the Industry from where it is to where it wants to be!

Your business, your market, may seem like a desert. But it can come to life again and flourish – with the right attitude, resources, people, plan and execution! From desert to money-making oasis, Vegas has ridden the waves and keeps coming up a winner! From the fruitful fields of Nebraska or Kansas into the Rockies of Colorado, we can climb from the valley of the shadow of death to new and exhilarating mountain top experiences!

This isn’t mere daydreaming or cheerleading. If you are a struggling pro, this is YOUR wake-up call!

From Pearl Harbor to Iwo Jima seemed like a long way. But American drive and determination made that a reality!

From the post 9/11 days with skies without airplanes, to 9 years without a successful terrorist strike in the U.S., we can go from fear to facing reality with courage and will.

I could have made this short and sweet and just said with our friends at Nike,

Just do it.

No excuses. This is America. You can do it, because where there is a will, there is a way.

Catch a Vision. Fire up and inspire yourself and your troops. If you try an excuse or some finger pointing at someone else, just remember you have three pointing back at you…

Learn or hire the skills you need from resources the Industry offers at MHMSM.com, or beyond. You have had successes in the past. With the will and resources, you can again.

So just do it. # #

Part 1. Technology delivers “Real-Results Testimonials!”

Most of us just love technology. I certainly enjoy its many benefits. One fun little item I am toying with for my INR presentation in Phoenix next week is letting some people speak – via technology – to those attending. These candid “in their own words” statements about our marketing process of generating more traffic than they ever dreamed possible could say more in 3 minutes than most of the rest of the hour! You can hear their surprise, feel and sense their excitement. Pros like you, happy about “Getting Results!”

Still not sure, but might do these techy testimonials as part of my “How to Get 150 Inbound Sales Calls a Week at your Location!” presentation in Phoenix! If you can, please come; there will be some eye-opening, mind-expanding insights on how to grow YOUR business, and thereby grow the Industry!

Plus tons of other super presentations; see my last weekend blog post for more details and also how to book your seat(s).

Part 2. An upcoming treat!

Can’t say more just yet, but thousands have already enjoyed it, and I think many of you will, too. Please stay tuned…

Part 3. Industry News you can use!

In sales, you or your best people already know the power of third party witnesses, especially with a doubting prospect. We pros know the sorts of negative things the media plants.

Well, we are continuing our “Influence the media as media, with the FACTS” campaign! More than a dozen newspapers from coast to coast have picked up on stories our INdustry in Focus Reporter Eric Miller has documented! From the truth about tornadoes, to hurricanes, to calls to action to passing pro-Industry legislation, we are writing and they are picking it up and sharing it with their readers! Dallas Morning News, Chicago SunTimes, Nashville’s The Tennessean and many more, coast to coast!

Yes, manufactured housing is good news! Over time, this could be big for the industry.

That said, a reader wrote in to say we need to deliver a great retail customer experience. I couldn’t agree more! If we again get ahead as an Industry, if we set new records, we must give customers a great experience! Not sometimes, but every time humanly possible. We must work with lenders, and not bleed them with repos and losses. Vendors, factories, customers, communities, retailers – it has to be about mutual victories, about Everyone-Wins scenarios!

If most of us do that, if enough pros use new marketing and image-building systems (that we know works) to attract customers, we will have many key elements to long-term sustained growth and success!

My family and I are excited about traveling west before we go southwest to Phoenix! We are looking forward to seeing friends and new faces alike. To Colorado for a mix of business and fun, then Vegas (nope, no gambling, my better half wants to see the sights). Then on to Phoenix for the International Networking Roundtable! 200 maximum attendance; see why this event is growing strong in 2010 for its 19th time!

Hope to see you there. I enjoy hearing your views of industry in your own words in person, by email or by your posted comments.

Business growth is often very much dependent on government activity. The right, or wrong, actions or inaction on the part of government can help or harm the business environment. We all know that fact. We know, too, that organization and concerted effort can pay off; this is true of the winner of each and every political campaign. The one better organized, the one that creates the most appeal and gets out the most votes, wins.

“What sort of government have you given us?” It is said that this was the question asked by a woman as Ben Franklin and others finished their work on the U.S. Constitution. Ben Franklin replied, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it!”

When we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we pledge our allegiance to the Republic, not to the democracy. We are a representative republic. On the national level, our laws are passed by representatives of the people. Our representatives in turn need to know what we the people want, in order for them to deliver it to us via the mechanism of law.

I can look you in the proverbial eye, and ask you to contact your U.S. Representative and Senators. I can do so because I’ve done so this past week; I did it, then turned to my colleagues and teammates and asked them to do the same! We can advance the cause of manufactured housing and modular home construction if we each do our part. That part can be done in just minutes.

Those timely contacts of our elected officials can lead you to the business growth you are investing your time, talent and treasure in!

If a dozen or two of us sound off, oh well! But when hundreds or thousands of Industry professionals like you, your associates and ours sound off, then WOW is the impact on Congress! From there, we can foresee how Congress can move to pass legislation or muster its weight to move regulators on issues that need to be addressed.

Manufactured and modular housing builders need to learn from and support each other. I will simply draw your attention to this article, Builders of Mods and HUDs, can they get along?

Then, I will say, we can and should be learning from each other and working together! We are stronger together – politically and economically – than apart.

Modular and prefab builders have an agenda that could be aided by HUD Code manufacturers, and vice versa. “Factory built housing” is a broad umbrella, one well worth each segment mutually supporting the other!

The summer break for Congress is over, and they are going back to work in Washington. 2010 is a key midterm election year and we are going into the final weeks of an election. There is no better time to get rapid results than NOW!

I am asking YOU to write. Please see the list of issues on my previous blog post; add some of your own if you like. Or do a personal intro of yourself and your company, and then attach all or those parts of the message we sent that you like. (The links for contacting your Reps and Senators are given in that previous blog post, too.) But please, I am asking YOU to do it! Because if YOU do it, you can rightly ask others to do it, too!

Then, I hope some of you will have the oomph to inspire others by posting a copy of the letter, fax or email you send to your Congress person and Senators below, or on LinkedIn. Or share the message you send to your Congress person and Senators with others you know in the Industry. This is a great time for concerted action!

You and your company are in business to make money. Congressional action can help that cause. There are far more reasons to act than not to act. Action ALWAYS trumps in-action! Thanks for all that you and others like you, in associations or businesses do to promote and advance the cause of manufactured housing today.

L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, MHM – publisher, editor and The Masthead blogger at
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management trade journal at
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com aka www.MHMSM.com
tony@mhmsm.com
847-730-3692

And remember! Tony also does contract marketing and coaching for industry clients. Marketing that doesn’t ‘cost;’ it pays off on your bottom line. Enough said! # #