The Masthead

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! # #

Odds are, you want more favorable media for manufactured housing. Chances are good you want to learn how to grow and expand your business through favorable marketing, selling more homes and/or positive change management or maybe you want access to financing. Perhaps you are looking for a new manufacturer or supplier.

These are some of the business-building elements found in this three-part blog post!

Part I.

Let’s start with the latest on the International Networking Roundtable (INR), which is coming up fast (September 15-17, 2010)…

Joe Adams, Dick Ernst, Dr David Funk, Thayer Long, Ken Rishel, Randy Rowe, INR+ 12… in short: Marketing Magic, Media and Manufactured Housing!

Paul Bradley, Evelyn Bryant, L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, Susan McCarty, Jeff Mishkin, Fred Rice, Spencer Roane, Don Westphal. These are just some of the names who will inform, inspire and help guide you to better marketing, financing, deal making and more.

I’ve had the privilege of previewing Joe Adam’s upcoming presentation on Marketing for the International Networking Roundtable (INR) to be held in Phoenix Sept 15-17th at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort. Let me just say, you’ll want to BE THERE! If you love his feature articles here, you will enjoy hearing the great material delivered live by Joe Adams! I will be there and I hope to see you IN PERSON at this session and others.

In fact, there is plenty of star power bringing you great information at the 19th Annual INR. If you are interested in growing your business, all who are attending this seminal event say it is a great place to be for networking and learning what’s hot and what’s not; on-site deal making, financing opportunities, model homes on display and much more are all here. From the Gala Reception, show homes on display, to the prayer meeting for Our Nation and Leaders and more!

You can check with George Allen at 877-MFD-HSNG (877-633-4764) or 317-346-7156 for a brochure, actual order of appearance of the speakers and topics and related details. George tells me the list below is the latest update – in alphabetical order by last name, with their respective topics:

1. Keynote: ‘Effective Marketing in Tough Times!’ – Joe Adams, The Housing Market Place, Inc.

2. Panel: Open Forum Discussion of MHIndustry Issues & LLCommunity Concerns – George Allen, Moderator

3. Shared Equity, Reality or Fad? – Paul Bradley, ROC-USA

4. Keynote: ‘S.A.F.E. Act &You! UNSAFE or OK?’ – Dick Ernst, FINMARK

5. Keynote: ‘Loss Control in Era of Rentals & Contract Sales’ – Evelyn Bryant

6. Keynote: ‘MH Demographics & You!’ – Dr. David Funk, Cornell University Program in Real Estate

7. How to Get 150 Sales Calls a Week On-Site! – L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management, www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com or www.MHMSM.com (Since I know the speaker, there is MORE on this topic below.)

8. National Communities Council Update – Thayer Long, MHI

9. Registration & Special Gifts – Susan McCarty, Community-Investor.com

10. Landlease Community Investors’ Forum – Jeff Mishkin, Marcus & Millichap

11. Utility Sub-Metering in 2010 & Beyond – Fred Rice, Spectrum Utilities Solutions

12. Is ‘Captive Finance’ For You? – Ken Rishel, Precision Capital Funding

13. Symposiums, Spinoffs & More… – Spencer Roane, Pentagon Properties, Inc.

14. Keynote: ‘State of the Manufactured Housing Industry’ – Randy Rowe, Green Courte Partners

15. Community Series Homes, One Year Later – Don Westphal, Donald C. Westphal Assoc.

16. Panel: Home Manufacturers & Business Development Managers!

17. NSAC Update: Why You Should Support the RV/MH Heritage Foundation!

18. Panel: Real Estate Lenders!

19. Wells Fargo, Manage America & Origen LLC will be among the other firms represented.

20. Welcome Reception, Introductions, Informal Prayer Meeting for Nation and Leaders, Breakfasts, Lunches, Toasts, Visit Home Shows, the Gala Reception and more!

21. Wrap-up Session & Open Discussion Topics for Next Year?

I had planned to attend this event even prior to my being invited to speak on Marketing Magic, Industry Image Makeovers and share a reflection at the Informal Prayer Meeting.

Part II.

In my INR presentation, I am going to talk about how to generate 150 in-bound sales calls a week to your location.

Marketing. Every business, every Industry that wants to survive and grow needs good marketing. Marketing that doesn’t cost, marketing that pays.

Good, solid ROI (Return On Investment) Marketing.

A key part of what we do at MHMSM.com is marketing. Yes, we have become the premier news source in the Factory-built housing Industry. Part of that was achieved through marketing, as well as having great content and, of course, the most news and feature articles found on any single site online.

I was asked by George Allen to give a presentation in Phoenix on Marketing, Media and Manufactured Housing. The title GFA suggested for the talk is How to Get 150 Calls a Week on Site!

• Those 150 calls a week refer to inbound sales calls FROM CUSTOMERS LOOKING FOR YOU!
• Those 150 calls a week refer to prospects in the market LOOKING FOR WHAT YOU HAVE TO OFFER!
• Those 150 calls a week could TRANSFORM any Manufactured Housing Land Lease Community location struggling with vacancies INTO A FULL LOCATION with a waiting list!
• Those 150 calls inbound sales calls a week could be a modular or HUD Code Manufactured Housing RETAILER’S DREAM!
• Those 150 calls are not theory. THEY ARE TAKING PLACE RIGHT NOW, TODAY for one of our clients. Not in boom time, but during this low ebb of the Industry.

It has long been my belief that Manufactured Housing – or most any aspect of factory home building – should never suffer due to the general ups and downs of the economy. We should be – and can be – the preeminent form of housing. The first choice instead of the last choice.

If you are looking for marketing solutions, sales solutions, a turn-around for one or more community or retail locations, business expansions or other Industry related business challenges, please give me a call. If you are looking for good PR for your company, please call.

Why should you? Please check out my LinkedIn Profile, for some of the currently 29 recommendations among my 469 connections: http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach

Just two words.

GET RESULTS.

I should hasten to add, that all ‘results’ are a team effort. We are not alone. We work as a team, and that is how we would approach working with any firm or organization in the manufactured housing field. Team work that Gets Results. Specialists for many different needs. Solutions for your real world problems. Great ROI, good work doesn’t ‘cost;’ it pays.

Part III.

Getting Positive PR: Media Relations and Manufactured Housing

What do the Chicago Sun-Times, the Dallas Morning News, Nashville’s The Tennessean and about a dozen other publications from coast to coast have in common?

Answer: They have all featured news stories on their sites this year that have a favorable message for manufactured housing.

Answer: These favorable messages were all generated by MHMSM.com staff, notably our INdustry in Focus Reporter Eric Miller – or myself.

http://topics.dallasnews.com/article/0aaJfyqbtfgnQ

http://envirolib.org/news/support-urged-for-bill-aimed-at-replacing-of-older-manufactured-homes-24-7-pressrelease/

http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/blogs/industryvoices/study-suggests-cities-and-towns-should-accept-new-manufactured-housing-communities/

Research Finds Manufactured Home Community Residents Under No Greater Threat of Crime

As you know, Manufactured Housing has all too often taken it on the chin from the mainstream media publications. Part of our goal at MHMSM.com is to share favorable news about Manufactured Housing and related issues.

As a media outlet ourselves, we can influence media.

Over time, this can have a favorable benefit for you and your business.

Should you desire favorable PR or marketing for your organization, please give me a call:
847-730-3692 or cell 832-689-1729.

Should you want to see what others say, please go to my LinkedIn Profile

Where you can see 29 recommendations of my work.

1.
The International Networking Roundtable

Jeff Mishken, Marcus & Millchap.  Susan McCarty, Community-Investor.com. George F. Allen, Community-Investor.com. Randy Rowe, Greene Courte Partners.  Dick Ernst, Finmark.  Thayer Long, MHI.   Spencer Roane, Pentagon Properties.  Paul Bradley, ROC USA.  L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management. Don Westphal, Donald C. Westphal and Associates.  Joe Adams, The Housing Marketplace.  Dr. David Funk, Cornell University.  Evelyn Bryant.  Ken Rishel, Precision Capital Funding.  These are the known names already on the billing for The 19th Annual International Networking Roundtable at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix AZ, Sept 15-17th, 2010.

If you want this type of presentation power and insights, please call George Allen to reserve your space at 877-633-4764, or 317-346-7156.  George tells me that 200 is the max, and he has dozens of sign ups, and more coming in daily.

From Randy Rowe’s planned State of the Manufactured Housing Industry report, to Thayer Long’s ‘Inside the Beltway’ update to some 15 other presentations by experts named above including post-brochure printing additions, this promises to be a focused and insightful event indeed.

Regarding the printed agenda, my sources tell me that at this point in time, MHARR has not scheduled someone to attend this function, but perhaps that could change between now and then.  MHARR has a heavy agenda they are working on for the Industry in Washington, DC, is their reason, I am told.  Allen has a replacement for that time slot in mind.

Given the time, MHMSM.com plans to invite some of the presenters to share thoughts about this upcoming event in Phoenix on our pages.  But the ideal is simply to be there!  Speaking for myself, I know that I wish I could split in two or clone for a few hours so I could hear both presentations during various break out sessions.  For example, Don Westphal will be presenting during the same time slot I will be presenting. I personally would love to have an update on the Community Series Homes: One Year Later, and Don is certainly aces on the subject as he is on so many that regarding communities, development, redevelopment, zoning and related design issues.   So for those who come and skip me to see Don, no hard feelings!   I’d be in Don’s session if I could, and he is deserving of a packed room!

Let me provide this thought regarding the topic I was asked to present on, marketing.

There are a few challenges that almost everyone would agree on are keys to Industry growth.  Financing is one, and you will find Dick Ernst and Ken Rishel are among those presenting on finance related topics.

Industry image and marketing are another key challenge  for industry growth.  Joe Adams will provide a keynote on “Effective Marketing in Tough Times!”  I will be doing a break out session on a marketing related topic, “How to Generate 150 Calls weekly per Location!”

The industry needs more financing options!  The Industry also needs more effective marketing and image making!  Let’s see how these two topics dovetail.

Let’s say you have a land lease community with 30 vacancies, and your average site fee is $250 monthly.  That’s $90,000 a year in additional revenue when you fill those sites.  Let us further say that you cleared a modest $5,000 per home (a much lower net than the client I am working with) after commissions and expenses.  That’s another $150,000.  Finally, if you are doing captive finance, ala the meets the regulations style that Ken Rishel and company teach, you could add another $250,000+ a year by year 5 to your revenue stream.  Please confirm those numbers with their respective instructors, as they may be low…

…in other words, it is all about the bottom line results.

I recall an article in Joanne Stevens’ newsletter about three years ago.  The gent being interviewed stated, he has never worked so hard at the communities business as he was then doing.  Since he had decades of experience in the business, that was saying something.  But he also said that he was making more money than he ever had!  The hard work, the extra effort, was paying off for his business.

That is what I believe our industry has an opportunity to do.  Make more money than ever before.

Not necessarily easy stuff, but doable. Using proven processes and sound principles.  Processes that could take our Industry from 89% reported occupancy among the major LLCs, to capacity.  Processes that could take smaller ‘mom and pop’ type operations from vacancy rates that in some cases may hover around 50% occupancy, and reverse the trend back to capacity.  As more individual community operators or REITs learn and apply those processes, they too can earn more than ever before.  As more operators order more homes, factories begin to add to production, instead of cutting back or consolidating.

Learning and growing go hand in glove.

If you want a preview of some of the speakers and the content, including some marketing ‘secrets,’ please check out the new book, The Manufactured Housing Revolution! Yes, no surprise that many of the presenters planned for INR are also authors of key topics in The Manufactured Housing Revolution too.  See why Industry leaders and public officials in Washington DC last July walked away with copies and are impressed!  Over 500 years of experience shouldn’t be ignored, and that is what you find in the book and here at MHMSM.com with each new issue, on any given day!

So the 19th Annual International Networking Roundtable will provide attendees great insights plus networking and deal making opportunities.  See new home product on display from Champion and Cavco.  Invest a little time and money, come away with insights that can be worth a small fortune and increased revenues for years to come.

I look forward to seeing many of you in Phoenix, to listening and learning from other presenters, and to share the concepts that can bring 150 callers to your community or location weekly, until your location reaches capacity!

2.
Manufactured Housing and Media, ‘Regret the Errors’

For those who follow this blog, you have likely noticed the belief that information without context has little meaning.  You’ve noticed the pattern of sharing examples and analogies as ways of communicating a point.  This part of the post will stay faithful to that pattern.

In the last month, we have had some typos and glitches that are all regretted.  All have been corrected, sometimes within an hour of it ‘going live,’ that is one of the advantages of digital media, you can simply make the adjustment, and move on.  So some or most of our readers may never have noticed the mistake in the first place.

Nevertheless, in a perfect world, no mistakes would be made.  MHMSM.com strives to bring you more feature articles, more depth, more quality, more news than any other single Industry news and views resource.  We are the only platform that is routinely bringing you online digital articles and news, along with podcasts of feature articles, podcasts of daily Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon, along with informational or inspirational videos too.

We are the only media in our industry I am aware of that has a designated journalist, our Industry In Focus Reporter Eric Miller, who is bringing you in depth stories that can help you sell more homes, inform and train your team, and bringing you Industry Market Reports every business day on our News at Noon podcasts, except holidays.

Quality as well as Variety might be keywords for our approach.  So when a glitch occurs for us, it smarts.  We appreciate our readers pointing out those glitches, so we can make it right!

In fact, we appreciate feedback period.

We get notes and calls of encouragement, and sometimes those messages are – “did you realize you have an important typo in x story or y blog post?”

We thank you for all the tips, kudos and feedback.

That said, we are not alone.  The mainstream media has their glitches and down right errors in reporting too.  Some recent examples include CNN’s referring to Washington DC at the “District of Colombia“ (sp) in print.

An even bigger glitch, which caused their network quite a media flap, occurred as Fox News host Greta Van Susteren apologized for “a doozy of a mistake” made on her show Monday when a picture of Shirley Sherrod was used to illustrate a segment on Congressional Representative Maxine Waters.

Waters, a California Democrat, has been charged by the House with ethics violations, while Sherrod was fired from the USDA for incorrectly being cast as a racist. What the two visually have in common is that they’re both black women.

An example of coverage on that media mixup is at:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20100804/pl_yblog_upshot/fox-host-apologizes-for-shirley-sherrod-maxine-waters-mixup

But this isn’t a recent or one time mistake.  Whole websites are devoted to the issue of media errors in reporting.  Our current president, Barack Obama, prior to his election had suffered from some very interesting media miscues:

From this page:

http://www.regrettheerror.com/2007/12/11/crunks-07-the-year-in-media-errors-and-corrections/

You’ll find the following excerpt shared below:

Obama Errors

“Barack Obama appears to be a magnet for press errors.

He was mistaken for “Osama” in two (1,2) news reports by CNN, and in one by the New York Post. Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle once referred to him as a Republican, and the Hartford Courant has misspelled his first name on six different occasions dating back to 2004, with two of those instances occurring this year.
There was also an unfortunate typo in the New York Times that may have led some readers to think the Obamas have a rocky marriage.”

I share these not to excuse our own errors, but simply to put it into its context.   We have only a tiny fraction of the resources of these major media outlets.  We have had a long, long run of relatively error free coverage.  Taken in their properly light, mistakes can become opportunities in disguise for improvement and growth.

Our recent – and rapidly corrected – miscues revealed something very important to us.  Namely, that a number of key people in this great industry are on our pages reading us routinely.  That is encouraging to know.  How do we know this?  When presidents, CEOs and executives write or call in, that’s how!  Those leaders are not alone, as during the month of July 30,300 visitors – 977 readers daily! – were on our pages.

I should also note that we get far more notes and calls thanking us for our work and coverage, which we naturally appreciate.

About 10 months ago, George F. Allen wrote me to say that publishing is not for the faint of heart.  How true!  We’ve seen many fine publishers fall, the venerable Manufactured Home Merchandiser Magazine, MHI’s Modern Homes, The Grissim Report late this past spring among the more recent ones.  Others are said to be wavering, which is regrettable if true.  I certainly hope that those serious publishers which remain will move to ever more solid footing, rather than see any more losses.

I share this context to say that we plan to be here for the long haul.  We want to live up to what Ken Rishel said, “I would consider it (MHMSM.com) the single most important free general interest source of information in our country for the manufactured housing Industry.  I have, and will continue to recommend to anyone in our Industry that they set aside time regularly to read the information on this website.  I now make this same recommendation to you.”

Thank you.  Please be a part of our ongoing effort to provide

Innovation – Information – Inspiration for Industry Professionals

In today’s blog post, GFA indicates the importance of media for our Industry.  I couldn’t agree more.  For those who are closely following, our plan at MHMSM.com includes influencing public officials and the media by BEING media, by REPORTING news.  Catherine Frenzel, Eric Miller and Erin Patla’s daily handiwork – along with our Bob Stovall’s Production and IT Manager magic – are all part of a plan to not only inform and inspire individuals in our Industry, but also to influence those outside who are looking in.

As we continue to grow in readership and build our staff – as we plan to announce our advertising sales associate in the near term – to serve you, we want to thank you for your feedback, encouragement and support. We love this Industry!  We are believers.  We are here to serve you and your associates. # #

L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management or MHMSM.com
847-730-3692 or tony@mhmsm.com