Struggling to keep up with today's hesitant homebuyers? Discover how Tim O'Brien Homes is transforming their sales process and delighting buyers with Higharc!
Learn how they're creating certainty, transparency, and trust in a challenging market by moving away from silo-based teams and embracing integrated systems. Find out their strategies for eliminating inefficiency, ensuring quality construction, and fostering accountability across their entire organization.
Danny Lowry and Ryan Hillgartner from Tim O'Brien Homes share their experiences, while Connor Sadam from Higharc provides broader industry insights. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to retool and rewire your operations for success!
#Homebuilding #SalesStrategies #CustomerExperience #Higharc
Learn how they're creating certainty, transparency, and trust in a challenging market by moving away from silo-based teams and embracing integrated systems. Find out their strategies for eliminating inefficiency, ensuring quality construction, and fostering accountability across their entire organization.
Danny Lowry and Ryan Hillgartner from Tim O'Brien Homes share their experiences, while Connor Sadam from Higharc provides broader industry insights. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to retool and rewire your operations for success!
#Homebuilding #SalesStrategies #CustomerExperience #Higharc
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NewsTranscript
00:00:00My name is Alison LaForgia. I'm the managing editor of the content studio at HousingWire.
00:00:05And today our webinar is From Custom to Click, How Tim O'Brien Homes Speeds Sales and Delights Buyers with Hire.
00:00:13Now, this is meant to be an interactive webinar. We want to hear from you.
00:00:18We will be answering Q&A questions at the end of today's session.
00:00:22So if you have questions at any time, don't hesitate to drop them in the chat.
00:00:26We'll be keeping an eye on it or by using the Q&A icon that you see at the bottom of your screen.
00:00:32Also, a recording of today's session will be sent to all registrants later this week.
00:00:37So there's no need to worry if you missed something or if you want to pass this conversation on to someone else.
00:00:42Now, today's moderator will be John McManus, who is the VP of Homebuilding at HW Media and the publisher of the Builders Daily.
00:00:49John, the floor is yours.
00:00:52Thank you, Alison. Good afternoon, everybody.
00:00:54And welcome to the second of our leadership webinar series, From Silos to Systems, with our partners at HighArc.
00:01:01I'm John McManus, founder of the Builders Daily and recently VP of Homebuilding at Housing Wire.
00:01:09We've all seen how the housing market has shifted in 2025.
00:01:13Builders are cautious. Sales cycles, they're stretching out.
00:01:17And the old way of doing business doesn't move fast enough anymore.
00:01:21Every builder I talk to is facing the same tension.
00:01:25On one side, pressure to maintain sales velocity and margins.
00:01:29On the other, buyers who are hesitant, uncertain, and harder to win over.
00:01:34So, if you're here listening to us today, then, like me, you want to hear about what's working in a marketplace that has its challenges.
00:01:44That's what makes today's conversation so timely.
00:01:47It's about more than software.
00:01:49It's about creating certainty, transparency, and trust in a business where those qualities are harder to deliver than ever.
00:01:57Now, what we're seeing out there today are some smart operators, outliers, who are doing something different.
00:02:06They're retooling and rewiring their operations.
00:02:10They're moving away from silo-based teams, each working from its own set of data toward more coordinated and integrated systems.
00:02:17The one goal here is a single source of truth, a playbook that the whole company can work from.
00:02:25Why are they doing this?
00:02:26They're doing it to eliminate inefficiency, to save time, to ensure quality construction that avoids costly warranty repairs,
00:02:35and, most importantly, to bring the organization's entire ecosystem of team members into a transparent state of accountability.
00:02:45When everyone sees the same thing and works from the same system, you get certainty.
00:02:50You get speed and trust.
00:02:52Now, that's the framing for today's discussion.
00:02:55That's exactly where our guests put their focus today.
00:02:58And I'm thrilled to be joined by three people who are right in the middle of that change.
00:03:04Danny Lowry, president of Tim O'Brien Homes, a company recognized nationally with award after award for building high-performance, purpose-driven homes in Wisconsin.
00:03:16His colleague, Ryan Hillgartner, vice president of marketing and customer experience at Tim O'Brien Homes,
00:03:22who's been on the front lines of transforming sales and process into an integrated system that is leaving the silos and moving into a system.
00:03:35And Connor Sadam, director at Highark, who's worked closely with Tim O'Brien Homes since the very beginning of their technological journey together.
00:03:44Now, here's how we'll run our webinar today.
00:03:47We'll hear first from Danny and Ryan on what's changed in their business and why.
00:03:51And Connor will add his perspective on broader industry lessons.
00:03:57We'll leave time at the end for audience Q&A.
00:03:59So if you've got questions, please drop them into the chat as we go.
00:04:03Danny, now let's start with you.
00:04:06Will you tell us a little bit about Tim O'Brien Homes, how you look at your customers,
00:04:12why it is that the customer-forward DNA of your organization is really what you've built with your team,
00:04:20and Tim himself for years now, and what the current state of the market is from your perspective?
00:04:27Why did you decide that certainty and visualization had to be a strategic priority right now?
00:04:33Hi, John.
00:04:34Good afternoon.
00:04:35Thanks so much for having us to discuss our recent journey and share some of how our team has been solving difficult problems
00:04:42while providing more value to our buyers while we're also trying to grow the business, right?
00:04:48For context, we serve the two largest markets in Wisconsin, Madison, and Milwaukee.
00:04:54Each market does approximately 1,500 single-family or duplex permits annually,
00:04:59and we're currently the number two volume builder in each market, doing roughly 100 homes a year in each market.
00:05:06Our mix of to-be-built to spec, or what we call ready homes, is under 50%.
00:05:14That's an area we've been struggling, I think, as we grow for years to keep even flow in the business.
00:05:21But we really, from an experience standpoint, we want to build two-be-built homes for a number of reasons I'm sure we'll talk about in this webinar.
00:05:31Each market has one larger production-based builder who serves buyers entering the market,
00:05:37while the rest of our competition or builders range from semi-custom to custom.
00:05:42We primarily build in mixed communities with other custom builders, many who build 5 to 20 homes a year.
00:05:49Our context might be relevant to others today, and I think many are faced with a similar challenge of trying to scale
00:05:56and bring efficiency and value to our customers, while competing with kind of those smaller, nimble custom builders
00:06:02that, at least on the sales floor, can promise to give buyers anything they want.
00:06:08Our value proposition is unique, like you mentioned.
00:06:12We're not the low-cost provider in our markets.
00:06:14We market to, and hopefully our reputation over the years brings us buyers who appreciate long-term value
00:06:21and homes built to a higher standard, buyers who will pay more on the front end.
00:06:26That's how we specifically market, that they're going to pay more to reduce their annual operating costs
00:06:32and invest in green and energy-efficient features that make economic sense, right?
00:06:38But we can't just data dump that onto the buyer and vomit all that information to them the minute they come into our model.
00:06:45We have to quickly create trust on the sales floor that we're here to help them solve a problem
00:06:50and continuous deposits of certainty, use that word.
00:06:53I think we'll use that a lot today as we solve their need for a new home.
00:06:58Ryan specifically will talk a lot about more of the integration and automation efforts today,
00:07:02but what we've been talking about in Timberbine Homes we're solving for a long time now is what our customers tell us,
00:07:09like in our feedback surveys that we've been doing for years.
00:07:13They wish they had the ability to visualize their home before they signed contract on it and before they built it.
00:07:21That's why our model homes, I'm sure a lot of the builders on the call know this,
00:07:25your model homes eclipse all other plans and sales and new home sales by far, right?
00:07:30I mean, we, a couple of years ago, we'll talk about simplification,
00:07:34but we were probably 35 to 40 plans in our portfolio and the top eight,
00:07:41nine would sell 80% and the models would probably sell 30 to 40% of our plans, right?
00:07:46It's what people can see themselves in.
00:07:49So I think why we're investing in this, you know, customers can visualize,
00:07:53and Connor and Brian will show some demos of what we're doing,
00:07:57but customers can visualize almost everything they buy.
00:08:01They can see and configure a car, a phone, a piece of furniture online and feel confident in the purchase.
00:08:08When it comes to homes too, buyers are asked to imagine the finished product from static plans or memory,
00:08:14or if we have the capital, we just build a ton of models for them to feel right.
00:08:18That gap creates a lot of hesitation when buyers are uncertain.
00:08:24They shop, compare, and I think unfortunately for us, too often they settle for a spec or an inventory home,
00:08:31causing our product to compete more heavily as a commodity, right, the existing house stock.
00:08:37So the operational efficiencies are all part of this, too.
00:08:42Why we've kind of had a, I think, a passive draw, a lot of plans and draw just enough and customize the rest.
00:08:50It doesn't work in a production environment when we're trying to scale, right?
00:08:54And that timeframe from Ryan bringing a marketing lead into the business to us delivering products right now,
00:09:01we're improving on this, but it's roughly a year plus or minus a month, right?
00:09:05And that's why you see buyers converting to specs.
00:09:08They don't, one, they can't visualize it, two, they can't wait for it.
00:09:12So we're working hard with partners like Hierarch to change the visualization space.
00:09:17You know, I'm most focused on how do we speed up that lead to contract conversion process
00:09:21and sell a much stronger mix of two-week homes versus inventory homes.
00:09:27Right. So, Danny, you mentioned that the timelines on To Be Built can be some number of months from contract to delivery.
00:09:38Now, how does that timeline affect customer hesitation and why visualization or the lack of it shapes, helps to shape buyers and their decision?
00:09:50Well, timelines specifically, you know, and I'm sure every market kind of deals with that spring market rush, right?
00:09:56And what we've been trying to solve, and when we were smaller, I'd say five or six years ago,
00:10:02our operations didn't totally operate together.
00:10:05We kind of had separate markets in both Madison and Milwaukee.
00:10:08When we were smaller in Madison at about 40, 50 homes a year, we could customize quite a bit more nimbly,
00:10:15and we could sell a home in June at the end of the spring selling market and still deliver it typically by the holidays
00:10:22when people wanted to make that purchase decision in the year and still move in.
00:10:26I mean, really, now that we're up around 200, 225 homes, it just got so complicated that by March, our delivery time is up, right?
00:10:37So, we missed that whole spring selling season on the sales floor for delivering a home.
00:10:42So, that's really what was kind of driving.
00:10:44We have to find a way to simplify this process, and that started with Hire,
00:10:49specifically cutting from 35 plans to 20 plans immediately into their product when we're learning and onboarding the drafting software.
00:11:00And now we're working on the second iteration of really bringing that down to 12 plans that we can flesh out
00:11:05and buyers can more readily visualize.
00:11:07Yeah, thank you, Danny. That set the stage perfectly.
00:11:12Now, Ryan, let me bring you in, and from your seat in sales and marketing,
00:11:17what have you seen since you began embedding Hirearch into your website?
00:11:20How has this changed the speed and the clarity that those first buyer interactions now kind of carry over to you?
00:11:31Yeah, great. Yeah, that's a good question.
00:11:34So, we've had probably about two months, just shy of two months, of being up on a new website platform.
00:11:44So, we had kind of went from one web developer, worked with a new developer now,
00:11:48and sort of with Hirearch and how that experience would be on our website in mind the whole time.
00:11:55I guess that being said, when we originally thought of that, the Hirearch solution was still sort of in beta.
00:12:03So, we've gotten to really see how that has kind of come to fruition right now.
00:12:08Yeah, since turning on the new website and then doing a little bit of, like, social media campaign around, you know,
00:12:17mirroring a phone and how you can whirl the plan in 3D and customize your home online,
00:12:23the feedback's been really, really great.
00:12:26We're still sort of at that, again, probably just under two months of data.
00:12:31So, we're really going to have to kind of take a sharp look at that once we've got a little bit more data.
00:12:37But kind of arbitrarily, just like kind of Danny and myself talking to the sales team,
00:12:43they're starting to really understand the benefit.
00:12:46And this is where we've been, from my point of view,
00:12:49I've been really excited about what we're doing with Hirearch for, like, three years.
00:12:52But for the rest of the organization and for other people in our industry and in our market,
00:12:57you haven't really gotten to, like, really see it too much.
00:13:00Like, we could, I could see it and I could talk about it and be excited about it.
00:13:03But now that it's sort of, like, live out there to the public and we're getting positive feedback from the public
00:13:09that is making some really cool-looking plans and coming in with their plan ready to go,
00:13:15not saying that the sales team would not still need to do good discovery and be like,
00:13:20is this the right home for you?
00:13:22What lots are you looking at?
00:13:23Can this home even fit on your lot?
00:13:25But there's been excitement of them putting together and then showing up to an appointment.
00:13:31I've had a couple sales professionals come up to me and be like, yeah, that was, like, really cool.
00:13:35They had this plan and it was ready to go.
00:13:37We talked through and then I moved it over into the neighborhood and we could start going.
00:13:42So, as Danny was alluding to, we've been wanting to figure out a way to have better visualization and go quicker.
00:13:50And we're right here at sort of the, you know, the beginning of having all of this kind of come to fruition with, again, having that on our website.
00:14:03And then at the probably 50% through a lot of the integrations that we're working on, which we can go over that in a little bit, too.
00:14:13So, sure.
00:14:14Can you just unpack a little bit of the reduced discovery time that when somebody comes in with that plan, you know, I can understand it being awesome for the salesperson and hearing it for you.
00:14:30Just sort of deconstruct it a little bit so we can understand that time and what may happen negative or positive in that time.
00:14:39Yeah, sure.
00:14:41Well, I guess to start, we don't put and we don't plan to put pricing on our website.
00:14:49So, I guess one of the things that you could say could be a drawback is, like, they're going to pick the biggest, most beautiful plan.
00:14:54But I think people are also smart enough to kind of do their own research.
00:14:59They can do their own research on our website to find out what neighborhoods we're in and, like, the general starting price points.
00:15:04So, I think they can get a pretty good understanding of what would make sense for their budget if they're going to just start right away with the biggest possible plan.
00:15:13You're probably going to be pushing up towards the higher end of what we're going to build for people.
00:15:18So, I think consumers are smart enough to do that.
00:15:22And I think everybody here on, you know, panel and, you know, listening in, everybody does a ton of research before they make any big buying decision.
00:15:34I mean, we know we're the biggest buying decision.
00:15:37But even the smallest things, I love researching my own personal interests.
00:15:42I did a lot of research, I was recently looking at getting a new coffee maker and a small price point of that compared to a home in the amount of time I'm spending doing the research, a lot goes into it.
00:15:55So, I think consumers are smarter and they're used to it.
00:15:59So, they're going to do a lot of research before they even want to speak to us.
00:16:04So, I think the more tools we're giving on the front end for people to be able to do that research is going to help them make the right decision, make the decision that's correct for them and their family.
00:16:18And I think adding visualization like this is only going to help going forward.
00:16:26I'm sure anybody else that's listening from a marketing perspective knows that they need to have and do have.
00:16:33A lot of people have really good visualization products.
00:16:36I just happen to believe that we have the best because of our decision to work with hire.
00:16:44Yeah, and you're getting at something that I'm hearing a lot among home builders,
00:16:49which has to do with recognizing that they've been successful and achieved some operational excellence,
00:17:00even in despite of having workflows that are run independently of one another.
00:17:08And so, when you're able to speed up that discovery process, as you said, at the consumer or customer level,
00:17:18it has implications as to how you can work that into your operation.
00:17:23And you've mentioned integrations that are important to be able to more than deliver that visualization,
00:17:31but then to carry that operationally back into Tim O'Brien homes and have responsiveness across the operational ecosystem.
00:17:41So, could you talk a little bit about what it takes?
00:17:45I know that it's a work in progress, but what are you looking to have happen with those connections on HubSpot,
00:17:53on Mark Systems and HighArk, starting to integrate as a full-text stack?
00:18:01Sure. I'll really quickly just, I don't like to rely on slides or anything,
00:18:06but I think it will probably help just so I'm not just kind of blabbing and talking.
00:18:12Does everybody see the screen?
00:18:14Yes.
00:18:14I know.
00:18:14So, this is a very, like, elementary, like, if you had to try to just explain it really simplistically,
00:18:23which I would like to try to do, this is what we are in the midst of doing.
00:18:29We know we have three great systems that we work with.
00:18:34We are raving fans of HubSpot, Mark Systems, and HighArk.
00:18:39This is the ecosystem that we want to be in, that we're proud to be in.
00:18:45We kind of just recently, maybe a year and a half ago, kind of really got into Mark Systems,
00:18:50and so far it's been very great for us.
00:18:53And with the idea, again, of trying to make, first, thinking about customers, what do customers want,
00:19:00but then second, how can we make things easier and better for our team to execute our plan?
00:19:06I think everybody would know, like, a lot of builders are kind of old school still,
00:19:12and we're not, like, just because I'm sitting here talking about some pretty cool things we're doing
00:19:16doesn't mean we don't do some archaic stuff, some extra Excel reports that we shouldn't be doing
00:19:22or keeping data in different spaces.
00:19:25But what the overall goal is, is that we're going to be able to say,
00:19:29this is where everything lives, and we actually will pull data out into Power BI for other reports.
00:19:35But for the sake of this discussion, we want things to be able to flow so that we're not being redundant,
00:19:42we're not having bad data, and that something needs to go from HighArc to HubSpot and back the other way.
00:19:49We want to make sure that that happens so that the sales team can focus on selling
00:19:53and that they don't need to be spending time entering somebody into HubSpot,
00:19:58entering them into HighArc, then entering them into Mark Systems.
00:20:02So myself and then Ryan Johannes, who works with us on our team as a data analyst,
00:20:09would not be able to do this without his expertise.
00:20:13So then we're also working with another company called HomeBuilder Ops,
00:20:17who's helping us with some of the integrations.
00:20:20But essentially, really quick to kind of wrap that part up,
00:20:23is we're really excited for the possibility that we're on the edge of right now.
00:20:31ECI, Mark Systems, all the base pricing for communities and all the options being populated into HighArc
00:20:38so that our sales team would be able to sit with an engaged prospect,
00:20:43doing a pricing appointment, and go through and add everything that they want to add,
00:20:49all structural things, we'd still leave other things into the design studio.
00:20:52But price out in 3D, what is your home going to look like and what is it going to cost?
00:20:59We feel like we're getting very close to solving that.
00:21:03And then actually, and then one other one I can maybe demo if we have time too,
00:21:07is that we have an integration about to go live between HubSpot and HighArc.
00:21:12And we've worked with several members of HighArc's team with integrations.
00:21:18They've been really open to help us with that too.
00:21:20So I can show that in a little bit if it makes sense to our discussion.
00:21:26But this is really the flow that we're looking to solve.
00:21:30And I think we're getting really close.
00:21:33We're slowly chipping away at all three of these connections.
00:21:36I don't know about anybody else, but I'd love to see the demo.
00:21:49And that way we could have Conor enter the conversation and add, Conor,
00:21:55what you've seen in terms of adoption barriers for other builders.
00:21:58But yeah, Ryan, go ahead.
00:22:00Go for it.
00:22:00Let's see the demo.
00:22:02Sure.
00:22:02I just wanted to be sure that that made sense with the flow.
00:22:04So, all right, I'm switching between tabs.
00:22:07Can we see?
00:22:08I just want to make sure it wasn't locked on one part.
00:22:10Okay.
00:22:11So just on the website, just to kind of give the front-end experience
00:22:16a little bit of a background is if somebody was interested in this plan,
00:22:22we have a higher capability embedded right here,
00:22:25which is a walkthrough, which I can show to later.
00:22:28But then we have this launch 3D builder on our website.
00:22:33So for the sake of internet speeds, I already clicked on that
00:22:39and I already started building a home.
00:22:42So I think most people, if they are attending,
00:22:46probably have a little bit of understanding about Hierarch
00:22:49or probably have seen a Hierarch demo before.
00:22:50But I guess for the sake of just kind of showing a little bit is,
00:22:55you know, live in 3D, this is on our website,
00:22:58just from that link I just clicked.
00:23:00People are able to add and then see it in 3D,
00:23:04which that's really sort of the game changer.
00:23:08There's a lot of visualization companies that have it.
00:23:12It's normally some exterior rendering color choices
00:23:17and adding that sunroom would probably be more along the lines
00:23:22of in this 2D view, which you can go between 2D and 3D.
00:23:27Some of the other stuff that's really cool, though,
00:23:30is sort of that dollhouse view.
00:23:32So if you were looking at some of these options,
00:23:36if I wanted to change my fireplace, I didn't want a fireplace,
00:23:39you'll see that disappear from here.
00:23:43And so, again, pretty cool, pretty awesome experience
00:23:47for people on our website to be able to go through and do that.
00:23:50This is all customizable, too.
00:23:52You can have as much or as little options on here as you'd like.
00:23:59But I guess just really quick to kind of show a little bit more, too,
00:24:03about how that would work, I'm just going to use a demo name here.
00:24:08And we'll see.
00:24:10It worked this morning, but I wanted to see if we could just get that
00:24:13to go in live right now.
00:24:16So I'm going to go ahead here, save this plan,
00:24:20which is the experience that a customer would have.
00:24:26That would go into this area right here,
00:24:29which it just did go through already.
00:24:31So I see it right there.
00:24:32This is the test account.
00:24:35Not trying to switch tabs too much.
00:24:37That was the hierarch back end.
00:24:39Now we're in our HubSpot sandbox account.
00:24:43So sandbox is just basically the ecosystem of our HubSpot,
00:24:48but on a testing account, not having all of this live.
00:24:52So the integration is not live, like I said earlier.
00:24:54So if I'm looking through here as a salesperson,
00:24:58if this is somebody that's coming in,
00:25:01I've got an appointment scheduled with this person here.
00:25:04I'd be able to, you see right here, it's got higher home plans.
00:25:10If I just do a refresh, that should kick that new one in here.
00:25:15So you'd be able to see at a glance, like in addition to all the other things
00:25:19that salespeople need to be paying attention to in their CRM.
00:25:22This is just making that connection really easy for them.
00:25:27So this is the one that I just created right here.
00:25:30So the salesperson can be like, oh, they just made another one this morning
00:25:33before their appointment.
00:25:35Let me take a look at what changes they might have made.
00:25:38And then they'd be able to kind of get that view.
00:25:41So this is the view that the sales pro would get.
00:25:47Excuse me.
00:25:49So same exact plan that I just made.
00:25:50Everything's saved out.
00:25:52It has all the options listed over here.
00:25:53And just a really good way to kind of find what their interests are.
00:25:59It's probably highly weighted on what is important to them.
00:26:03So you can go through, check all the options that they have in there.
00:26:07And then again, through discovery,
00:26:10through making sure that this is the right plan for them,
00:26:14you can then very easily move this from a generic birchwood,
00:26:20sort of not attached to a community,
00:26:22and import that directly into a community.
00:26:26And then again, that's where that next integration piece falls into play.
00:26:31If I took this, this person wanted to build this birchwood in Autumn Ridge,
00:26:38I'd be able to open that into Autumn Ridge.
00:26:40And once that integration is complete with Mark Systems,
00:26:43all that pricing would be live and in front of them.
00:26:46So they'd be able to sit there and look at,
00:26:49oh, that falls in line with what I thought,
00:26:51or whoa, we got to back a couple things out.
00:26:53I think we're a little bit higher.
00:26:55And again, I'm kind of simplifying that experience,
00:26:58but trying to condense it so it kind of makes sense to everybody.
00:27:01That's kind of the quick tour.
00:27:07Yes.
00:27:07And this has evolved.
00:27:09You've been at this for three years with Hierarch, right?
00:27:12So, Connor, could you characterize?
00:27:15I mean, these are not a flip of a switch,
00:27:19and then you're into this.
00:27:20So capability, you've really worked hard.
00:27:24Can you talk about adoption and barriers and implementation
00:27:28and kind of what it takes to get where Tim O'Brien Homes has evolved its experience?
00:27:35Sure.
00:27:38From what, almost going on four years ago,
00:27:42we started on this journey together.
00:27:44And I think when we started on the journey,
00:27:47it was a lot about defining what that journey would be.
00:27:49Tim O'Brien was one of Hierarch's first kind of more nationally known builder customers.
00:27:58And so we spent a lot of time,
00:28:00and we still spend a lot of time listening to our customers
00:28:03and figure out what their needs are and how to make the system work for them.
00:28:07One of the reasons, personally,
00:28:09I went to Hierarch after 20 years of home building
00:28:12is because I thought they actually wanted to understand home building
00:28:15and not just be a tech company
00:28:17and that's going to provide some off-the-shelf solution
00:28:20that might work for some people
00:28:22and not work for other people.
00:28:24And best of luck.
00:28:27But I do think,
00:28:28Ryan,
00:28:29actually,
00:28:29Danny mentioned it a little at the beginning
00:28:31about going from 35 plans
00:28:33to 20 plans
00:28:34to 12 plans.
00:28:35And that was part of the evolution.
00:28:39And I think part of that process was,
00:28:43you guys have,
00:28:44Danny,
00:28:44correct me if I'm wrong,
00:28:45but you have less plans,
00:28:47but you have more capabilities in those plans.
00:28:49So you probably actually have more options
00:28:52and more ways to build out those plans.
00:28:55Ryan was showing a little preview of that
00:28:56with all the different ways you can build out the plan.
00:28:58And so what we've done is over the past couple of years
00:29:02is simplify the offerings
00:29:05to provide a better experience for the customer
00:29:08and also provide a better experience
00:29:10for the drafting team as well,
00:29:13purchasing and estimating,
00:29:15bringing all those things together
00:29:16so that everybody's working off of the same product data.
00:29:21Ryan had the image up with HubSpot
00:29:25and Mark Systems and then Hyark.
00:29:30Hyark, we like to say,
00:29:31is the ERP for your product data, right?
00:29:35It's the single source of truth
00:29:37for the data that comes out of the home plans.
00:29:40And that has been,
00:29:42that was the focus at the beginning for us
00:29:44is how can we make Hyark work
00:29:47for industry leaders like Tim O'Brien?
00:29:52And now I think
00:29:54with the market conditions being what they are,
00:29:57I think it's been fun to watch
00:29:59builders like Tim O'Brien double down on that
00:30:02and say, okay, well, we've made that investment
00:30:05and now the market's pulled back a little bit.
00:30:06But what that actually does
00:30:08is give us an opportunity
00:30:09to get ahead of the next market upswing,
00:30:13which we know is coming.
00:30:15It always comes back eventually.
00:30:18And I think that's what the best builders
00:30:21are doing right now.
00:30:22And that's what a lot of our builders
00:30:24that are currently using Hyark
00:30:26and a lot of the ones we're talking to right now
00:30:28are things that are a little slower, sure.
00:30:30But this is when you dig in
00:30:31and figure out how can you protect margins?
00:30:35How can you do more with less?
00:30:37How can you accelerate your speed to market
00:30:39for new communities?
00:30:40How can you have better accuracy
00:30:42across your entire ecosystem?
00:30:45How can you minimize overhead?
00:30:47How can you get more out of the people you have
00:30:50so that when, by using systems
00:30:53so that when the market comes back,
00:30:55you're not just adding people,
00:30:57your systems are in place
00:30:58and they allow you to scale effectively.
00:31:00So I think that's what Hyark
00:31:04has always been focused on.
00:31:06And, you know, home builders always seems like
00:31:10we're too busy making too much money to change
00:31:13or too worried about not making enough money to change.
00:31:17And I think the best ones know that
00:31:20this is the time where we really figure out
00:31:23how to maximize opportunity
00:31:25when the market comes back.
00:31:26Sure, and we're in a time
00:31:32where structural forces,
00:31:36you know, the cost of capital is elevated
00:31:40and, you know, looks structurally
00:31:43like it's going to be challenging
00:31:45for home builders, private builders
00:31:48to access that capital
00:31:51and in a patient sense,
00:31:54we've got input costs
00:31:56on the materials and product side
00:31:59that are elevated
00:32:01and subject to volatility
00:32:03with respect to what's coming in
00:32:04and out of the country.
00:32:06We've got labor capacity constraint
00:32:09that could cause some stresses
00:32:11on costs as well.
00:32:14And so, and then we have this,
00:32:19you know, struggle now
00:32:21to make it so that households
00:32:23are going to be able to have the wherewithal
00:32:26to be in the homes
00:32:29that they're looking to be in.
00:32:30So having workflows and operations
00:32:35where you have opportunity area
00:32:36to work on that below the line cost,
00:32:42those below the line expenses
00:32:44and at the same time
00:32:45enrich the above-the-line experience
00:32:50of the home buyer,
00:32:52this is a pretty remarkable kind of nexus
00:32:55in terms of capability.
00:32:57Now, Danny, you've said that what excites you most
00:33:00is how your sales professionals
00:33:02are now becoming advocates of this system.
00:33:05Can you expand on that
00:33:07and how it's changed the conversation
00:33:09that they are having
00:33:11between sales and production
00:33:13and the rest of your team
00:33:15as a business change pivot?
00:33:20Yeah, that's been recent
00:33:21and a lot of fun for my seat
00:33:23because the last couple of years
00:33:26of investment and building
00:33:28and, you know,
00:33:29there's a lot of change management around this
00:33:31and we made a decision to invest
00:33:33and, you know, from Ryan's graphic,
00:33:35we bit off maybe in hindsight
00:33:37a little more than we can chew
00:33:39that we did a whole new ERP system.
00:33:42HubSpot was maybe a year old at that time
00:33:44and changing from Revit to HighArk.
00:33:47So it's been a lot of change management
00:33:49through the company.
00:33:50So starting to hear the fruits of,
00:33:53you know, at first complaints,
00:33:55of course, of a new system,
00:33:56something new you have to learn.
00:33:58But the idea of, you know,
00:34:00for years we developed,
00:34:02I'd say on average,
00:34:03six new plans a year, right?
00:34:05We just had a guy designing stuff
00:34:07and we didn't have maybe great data,
00:34:09a lot of feel data
00:34:11on what the market's asking for,
00:34:14what we need.
00:34:15And it was just add new plans,
00:34:16add new plans, right?
00:34:17So I think the initial pushback
00:34:19that, hey, we're going to find a way
00:34:20to get down to 20 immediately
00:34:22and eventually get down to 12.
00:34:23And then we'll start getting
00:34:25really good data,
00:34:26expand our plans,
00:34:27almost make them like transformer plans.
00:34:29It's a message that Ryan and I
00:34:31and others had to beat the drum
00:34:33for a couple of years.
00:34:34So most recently,
00:34:36I've been doing a lot of coffees
00:34:39or lunches with all of our sales professionals
00:34:41in the organization.
00:34:42And to the timing of that
00:34:45right after the release on the website
00:34:46for the demo that Ryan just showed you,
00:34:48couldn't have been better
00:34:49to hear them talk about
00:34:51how they're almost instantly seeing
00:34:52the fruits of that simplification
00:34:54on the sales floor
00:34:56and how they're almost becoming
00:34:58product advocates now
00:35:00to our production team, right?
00:35:01The receivers of what sales
00:35:04sells on the sales floor,
00:35:05which to date and still
00:35:07has a decent amount
00:35:08of customization to it.
00:35:09To hear them now preach
00:35:11to the production team,
00:35:14you know, how we're simplifying
00:35:15and how we're removing
00:35:17a lot of that pain
00:35:18within the organization
00:35:19has been pretty neat.
00:35:20Yeah, and that's underlying
00:35:25that is accountability
00:35:26across those different functional areas
00:35:31and which means that,
00:35:33you know, you can get
00:35:35the whole team working together.
00:35:37We have a question.
00:35:40I want to raise it.
00:35:42It came from Seth Clark
00:35:45to everybody.
00:35:47Can you speak to
00:35:49what the upfront investment
00:35:51is for setting up
00:35:52something similar
00:35:53for another company?
00:35:56Maybe, Connor,
00:35:57address this in the way
00:36:00that you can characterize it
00:36:01how you can
00:36:01so that we can get
00:36:04your sense of
00:36:05how that might be
00:36:07impacting different
00:36:09organizations
00:36:10and different geographies.
00:36:12Yeah, let me,
00:36:13thanks for the question, Seth.
00:36:15Let me talk about
00:36:16the second half
00:36:17of the question first
00:36:18which is
00:36:18what's the process
00:36:20now that the tool is built?
00:36:23The process is,
00:36:26you know,
00:36:26frankly,
00:36:27when we started
00:36:27with Tim O'Brien,
00:36:30the process has evolved
00:36:31a lot since then
00:36:33and we've got
00:36:36a pretty awesome
00:36:37implementation team
00:36:38and I would say
00:36:39one of the things
00:36:40that we learned,
00:36:41that Hyrex learned
00:36:42four years ago
00:36:43and through working
00:36:44with companies
00:36:45like Tim O'Brien
00:36:45was you can't
00:36:47take the train
00:36:48off the tracks
00:36:49in order to build
00:36:50a new train, right?
00:36:51So that's one
00:36:52of the hardest things
00:36:53about change management
00:36:55but one of the things
00:36:57that I think
00:36:58we have figured out
00:36:59and embraced
00:37:00at Hyrex
00:37:01is we have,
00:37:03I started at Hyrex,
00:37:04I was employee number 20
00:37:05and now we're close to,
00:37:07we're up over 140 people
00:37:08and a lot of those people
00:37:09are experts
00:37:12and professionals
00:37:13and spend all of their time
00:37:14on helping our builders
00:37:16implement the systems
00:37:18so that it's not just,
00:37:19oh, well, you know,
00:37:20you're going to go
00:37:21watch these videos
00:37:22or you're going to do
00:37:22a week-long training
00:37:23and then good luck.
00:37:25We actually spend
00:37:26a lot of time
00:37:27implementing the first homes
00:37:29for builders
00:37:31so that you're not
00:37:33pulling resources
00:37:35from your current workflows
00:37:36and, you know,
00:37:38trying to do two things
00:37:39at once,
00:37:40adding to the stress
00:37:41and adding to the,
00:37:42to the, you know,
00:37:43the stress of the
00:37:44implementation itself
00:37:45so the process
00:37:47is very involved.
00:37:50Our sales cycles
00:37:51are admittedly longer
00:37:52probably than most
00:37:53software companies
00:37:54because we really spend
00:37:56a lot of time
00:37:56on the front end
00:37:57before you sign up
00:37:58figuring out
00:37:59what the best plan is
00:38:01and making sure
00:38:02that we can execute it.
00:38:04We, we get comments
00:38:06all the time.
00:38:06Some of the,
00:38:07the most proud comments
00:38:09I think we get at Hierarch
00:38:10is from customers
00:38:12saying how committed
00:38:13we are to,
00:38:14to, to trying to get it right.
00:38:15Do we get it right
00:38:16every time?
00:38:17Absolutely not,
00:38:17but we are really
00:38:19a committed partner
00:38:20and not just a,
00:38:21a software that you buy
00:38:23and then we,
00:38:24we never talk to you again.
00:38:25So, um,
00:38:26in terms of the
00:38:27upfront investment,
00:38:29obviously really varies.
00:38:30If you're doing,
00:38:31um, you know,
00:38:32a hundred homes a year
00:38:33and they're highly customized
00:38:35and you've got 50 plans
00:38:37or if you're doing,
00:38:38you know,
00:38:38500 homes a year
00:38:39and you've got 20 plans
00:38:41and you've got less options,
00:38:42there's tons of,
00:38:43tons of variables.
00:38:45Um, also your goals
00:38:46for what you're trying
00:38:47to get out of the system
00:38:47first, how,
00:38:48how quickly you want
00:38:49to get set up.
00:38:50But, um,
00:38:51that is why we go
00:38:53into a pretty in-depth
00:38:54evaluation process,
00:38:56um, to make sure.
00:38:58So maybe it sounds like
00:39:00I'm avoiding the question,
00:39:01but you know,
00:39:01this isn't like a,
00:39:02oh, let's just go buy
00:39:03a car off the lot.
00:39:05Um, we want to,
00:39:06we want to provide
00:39:06a best in class implementation
00:39:08and we want to provide
00:39:10a service that works
00:39:11the best for your business.
00:39:12And so obviously
00:39:13that involves
00:39:14putting together,
00:39:15you know,
00:39:15a custom pricing investment
00:39:18that that's going
00:39:19to make the most sense.
00:39:20So, um, Seth,
00:39:22happy to,
00:39:22to speak to you about it
00:39:24and learn more
00:39:25about your business
00:39:25at a later time.
00:39:29Thanks.
00:39:29And, and you've talked
00:39:30about the,
00:39:30the process, Connor.
00:39:32Ryan, let's come back
00:39:34to you.
00:39:34And, um,
00:39:35obviously Tim O'Brien
00:39:37Holmes is,
00:39:38is very high
00:39:41on, um,
00:39:42the experience
00:39:44that there,
00:39:46you have with,
00:39:47with HighArc.
00:39:47And, um,
00:39:48what I wanted to see
00:39:50now is what you're
00:39:51looking at in terms
00:39:52of measuring,
00:39:53um,
00:39:54some of the benchmarks
00:39:55that you're looking at
00:39:56to measure the shift,
00:39:57uh,
00:39:58that you're going
00:39:58to be able to see
00:40:00in your,
00:40:01um,
00:40:02data points
00:40:03around referrals,
00:40:04around, um,
00:40:05you know,
00:40:06warranty,
00:40:07around, um,
00:40:08quality and,
00:40:09and customer satisfaction.
00:40:11What are,
00:40:12are you starting
00:40:13to kind of figure out
00:40:14how that dashboard looks
00:40:16and, and how,
00:40:17um, this,
00:40:18this experience,
00:40:19this richer experience
00:40:19is going to feed
00:40:20into that?
00:40:22Yeah, we,
00:40:24um,
00:40:24and again,
00:40:25we've been,
00:40:26we've been in
00:40:27and out of HighArc.
00:40:28Like now I feel like
00:40:29this is a good time
00:40:30to really start
00:40:32focusing on that data
00:40:33because now we have
00:40:35all the plans
00:40:36that we initially
00:40:38sought out
00:40:38to put in
00:40:39are all in there.
00:40:41And we've been adding
00:40:41a couple that maybe
00:40:42we didn't think
00:40:43we were going to,
00:40:44but, uh,
00:40:44just based on certain
00:40:45land positions
00:40:46or a few,
00:40:47you know,
00:40:48tighter home plans
00:40:49that we do have
00:40:50relevance going into
00:40:51HighArc,
00:40:51which we might not
00:40:52have thought originally.
00:40:53Um, so sort of
00:40:55the journey
00:40:56of the data collection
00:40:57is sort of going
00:40:58to start right now.
00:41:00Um, and I,
00:41:02I alluded to earlier
00:41:03we're, we're fortunate
00:41:04enough now
00:41:05to have two people
00:41:06working with us
00:41:07that are both,
00:41:08uh, data analysts.
00:41:10Um, and so we're
00:41:11really going to lean
00:41:12on them to be
00:41:13sort of building out
00:41:14a lot of Power BI
00:41:15reports.
00:41:16Um, I'd imagine
00:41:17you hit one, um,
00:41:19on the head,
00:41:19obviously referrals
00:41:20is going to be
00:41:22something that
00:41:22you, you can not
00:41:24definitively say
00:41:25that it was all
00:41:26because of HighArc,
00:41:27but like you start
00:41:28seeing some of the,
00:41:29the experiences
00:41:30and making note,
00:41:31um, of, you know,
00:41:33how quickly
00:41:33and how easy
00:41:34and, and how
00:41:36not custom
00:41:37we had to do
00:41:38to be in order
00:41:39to meet their
00:41:40expectations.
00:41:41I think those are
00:41:42the people that we
00:41:43need to continue
00:41:44to focus on
00:41:45and those are
00:41:45going to be the
00:41:45people that are
00:41:46going to refer us
00:41:47the most.
00:41:48Um, and then,
00:41:49and then we're
00:41:49going to be looking
00:41:50at some velocity
00:41:51metrics as well.
00:41:53Um, lead,
00:41:54lead to contract.
00:41:56Uh, how quick
00:41:57was that?
00:41:57We can break that
00:41:58down in different
00:41:59segments as well
00:42:00to kind of see
00:42:00where we might be
00:42:02lagging in certain
00:42:03points.
00:42:03But, um, yeah,
00:42:05we, we do see
00:42:06that one, once we
00:42:07have the integrations
00:42:09set in, the velocity
00:42:10is going to really
00:42:11start picking up as
00:42:12well.
00:42:12And then as we,
00:42:14we didn't really
00:42:15touch on this,
00:42:16but I'll just kind
00:42:17of paint the picture
00:42:18for a second, the
00:42:19next step that what
00:42:20we're really doing
00:42:21with Hierarch is
00:42:22Connor alluded to
00:42:23it for a second,
00:42:24but we're taking
00:42:25our, more of our
00:42:26core plans, not
00:42:29thinking about some
00:42:29of the fringe ones
00:42:31on the outside and
00:42:33building those out,
00:42:33adding rooms,
00:42:35subtracting rooms,
00:42:36and now sort of
00:42:37what Danny was
00:42:38saying a little bit
00:42:39too, sort of
00:42:40transformer plans
00:42:41where we're doing,
00:42:43we're doing less
00:42:44plans, but we're
00:42:45adding a lot of
00:42:46different options.
00:42:47options so that we
00:42:50don't have to
00:42:50customize anymore.
00:42:51There's always been
00:42:52the, yeah, if we
00:42:53just do this one
00:42:54thing, I'm going to
00:42:55get this contract.
00:42:57Yeah, they like
00:42:58everything about this,
00:42:59but we really just
00:42:59need to switch like
00:43:00two walls and make
00:43:02this a powder room
00:43:03instead of, you
00:43:04know, a rear foyer
00:43:05closet or something,
00:43:06you know, whatever it
00:43:07might be.
00:43:09We, we did, I
00:43:10think a, a good
00:43:13exercise along with
00:43:14our sales team.
00:43:16We, we, we
00:43:17mark down which
00:43:18plans we're going
00:43:19to get at this
00:43:20new 2.0
00:43:21treatment.
00:43:22That's what we're
00:43:22going to call it in
00:43:23the back end.
00:43:24On the front end,
00:43:24we're not going to
00:43:25call it Birchwood
00:43:262.0, but what
00:43:28plans are going to
00:43:29get this new 2.0
00:43:30treatment, which is
00:43:32sales team come
00:43:33with ideas.
00:43:35We're going to walk
00:43:36through this with our
00:43:37lead home designer,
00:43:38and we're going to
00:43:39talk through what
00:43:41options make sense
00:43:42for this plan that
00:43:43are missing so
00:43:44that you don't
00:43:45need to customize
00:43:46it anymore so
00:43:47that we can go
00:43:48faster.
00:43:49And it's not just
00:43:50about being faster.
00:43:51It's about customer
00:43:51satisfaction too, so
00:43:53that we're, we're
00:43:55going to be going
00:43:55faster and the
00:43:56customer has a
00:43:57better expectation
00:43:58of what they're
00:43:59actually going to
00:43:59get because the
00:44:01option is in
00:44:02a high arc.
00:44:02And when the sales
00:44:03pro turns on that
00:44:05option, they can
00:44:06see it and it can
00:44:07spit out a sales
00:44:08brochure of all the
00:44:10options that they
00:44:11selected and they
00:44:12can use that link
00:44:14later and go show
00:44:15friends and family
00:44:16and twirl their
00:44:18home around on the
00:44:19sides and do the
00:44:20dollhouse view.
00:44:21So you're just
00:44:21giving, you're giving
00:44:23the customer ultimately
00:44:25a better tool so
00:44:27that we're going to
00:44:28get more referrals.
00:44:29We're going to have
00:44:29higher customer
00:44:30satisfaction and we're
00:44:32going to go quicker.
00:44:34And we're widening
00:44:35in the gap too from
00:44:36that customization,
00:44:38right?
00:44:38I think that's one of
00:44:39the challenges we
00:44:40have is that,
00:44:40I said before we
00:44:43draw just enough
00:44:45and then customize
00:44:45the rest.
00:44:46And so the example
00:44:47for that is garages.
00:44:49You know, when we
00:44:49had 35 plans, we'd
00:44:51have our standard
00:44:51two-car garage, we
00:44:53draw our third-car
00:44:54garage and maybe a
00:44:55side load entry
00:44:57garage.
00:44:58And we would allow
00:45:00our sales team
00:45:02through options in
00:45:03the system to
00:45:04reconfigure the
00:45:05garage, add a
00:45:06four-foot bump onto
00:45:07the garage, pull it
00:45:08forward so we could
00:45:09get a staircase down
00:45:10to the basement.
00:45:11We're in a cold
00:45:11market with
00:45:11basements.
00:45:13So you're almost
00:45:14setting up your
00:45:14system to customize
00:45:15because we have so
00:45:17many plan offerings
00:45:19that we couldn't
00:45:20possibly keep up
00:45:21with all the
00:45:22options.
00:45:22So this is going
00:45:23in a little bit of
00:45:24reverse where it has
00:45:24to filter down into
00:45:25the operation where
00:45:27our sales team, we
00:45:28can't fault the
00:45:29sales team for
00:45:30almost going to
00:45:31custom because we've
00:45:32almost given them
00:45:32those tools to
00:45:33customize for so long
00:45:34where we have to
00:45:35re-engineer it.
00:45:36And now on that
00:45:37garage example with
00:45:38Hierarch and this
00:45:392.0 virtual, we
00:45:40have all of those
00:45:42options, right?
00:45:43We have the bumps
00:45:43drawn, the bumps
00:45:44forward, the bumps
00:45:45to the sides, a
00:45:46canted at a
00:45:47courtyard, a
00:45:47side load that
00:45:48will instantly
00:45:49price out so the
00:45:50buyers know what
00:45:51they're getting.
00:45:52Right.
00:45:54If I can add one
00:45:55thing to that,
00:45:56John, then
00:45:56obviously it becomes
00:45:57really important that
00:45:58depending on the
00:45:58community you're
00:45:59deploying that plan in,
00:46:01you can go through
00:46:02and say, okay, we're
00:46:03going to allow for
00:46:04these options to be
00:46:05available in this
00:46:06community, you know,
00:46:07these stone water
00:46:08table heights, that
00:46:10becomes really
00:46:11critical and that's
00:46:12what most systems
00:46:14can't do like
00:46:15Hierarch does, which
00:46:16is go, okay, I
00:46:17now have this plan
00:46:18with hundreds of
00:46:19options and now
00:46:20I'm going to just
00:46:22by going through
00:46:23and toggling on and
00:46:24off a bunch of
00:46:25settings, instead of
00:46:27redrafting a plan
00:46:28for this new
00:46:29community, I'm
00:46:30redrafting it with
00:46:31toggle settings
00:46:32instead of with
00:46:34hours and hours
00:46:35and hours by a
00:46:35drafting team, so
00:46:36sorry to
00:46:37interrupt.
00:46:38No, and I
00:46:39think that's
00:46:40important.
00:46:40I just want to
00:46:42go back to
00:46:42you, Danny, for
00:46:43a moment.
00:46:44You know, the
00:46:45customer experience
00:46:47and the
00:46:48impact on
00:46:50referrals and
00:46:52warranty and
00:46:53customer
00:46:54satisfaction
00:46:55scoring is
00:46:57beginning to
00:46:59kind of come
00:46:59clear.
00:47:00Can you talk a
00:47:01little bit about
00:47:01KPIs on the
00:47:02business itself in
00:47:03terms of how
00:47:04you achieve
00:47:06greater
00:47:07operational
00:47:09improvement
00:47:09through this
00:47:12tech stack
00:47:12integration,
00:47:14pulling it
00:47:15through so that
00:47:16you're able to
00:47:17purchase better
00:47:18and be
00:47:20responsive to
00:47:21the different
00:47:21areas of
00:47:23volatility in a
00:47:26marketplace like
00:47:27now?
00:47:28Sure, yeah.
00:47:29I mean, first and
00:47:30foremost, I think
00:47:31people are getting
00:47:32the picture.
00:47:32We've taken the
00:47:33long view on
00:47:35this, right?
00:47:35It was not
00:47:36something we knew
00:47:37we were entering
00:47:37into lightly or
00:47:39could flip a
00:47:40switch and see
00:47:40results right away.
00:47:42As far as KPIs
00:47:43that we're starting
00:47:44to mention, Ryan
00:47:45mentioned that
00:47:46speed of sale.
00:47:47That's the one I'm
00:47:48watching the most
00:47:49is when we get
00:47:50that lead in and
00:47:52our e-lead
00:47:53sales professional
00:47:54sets an on-site
00:47:55appointment and
00:47:56them kind of
00:47:57coming in and
00:47:57moving through what
00:47:58we see in HubSpot.
00:48:00How is that
00:48:00shortening and
00:48:02how are we
00:48:02achieving additional
00:48:03to-be-built sales
00:48:04out of it?
00:48:05For our
00:48:06organization, we
00:48:07know just
00:48:08controlling that
00:48:09process and
00:48:10setting up that
00:48:10process with the
00:48:11buyer being able
00:48:12to set expectations
00:48:13from day one.
00:48:15And we see it
00:48:16because, again,
00:48:16we're close to
00:48:1750-50 between
00:48:18spec homes and
00:48:19to-be-builds.
00:48:20Our survey scores
00:48:21on our to-be-builds
00:48:22typically far out
00:48:23exceed our survey
00:48:25scores on our
00:48:26ready homes because
00:48:26we just don't have
00:48:28the time.
00:48:29And they may be
00:48:30coming in with a
00:48:30realtor for a
00:48:31home that's already
00:48:32built, right?
00:48:33We don't have the
00:48:33time to set those
00:48:34expectations and
00:48:35manage that journey
00:48:36with the buyer.
00:48:37So we know just
00:48:38by increasing our
00:48:40to-be-build mix,
00:48:40our survey scores
00:48:41will go up.
00:48:42We'll get better
00:48:43data and feedback
00:48:44from the customer
00:48:45and from an
00:48:46operational profit
00:48:48standpoint side of
00:48:49the business, just
00:48:50increasing our mix
00:48:525% to 10%
00:48:53will easily make
00:48:55the ROI work
00:48:56for us.
00:48:58Right.
00:48:59So let's pivot
00:49:01now into that
00:49:02kind of takeaway,
00:49:05Danny, that speed
00:49:08of sale, velocity
00:49:10that you've got.
00:49:12If there's another
00:49:13builder on the
00:49:13fence on making
00:49:14changes in this
00:49:16kind of environment
00:49:17where people are
00:49:18sharpening pencils
00:49:19and looking for
00:49:21both the cost
00:49:24control and management
00:49:26as well as being
00:49:27able to delight
00:49:29customers, what's
00:49:31the single most
00:49:32important reason
00:49:33not to wait
00:49:34even though it's
00:49:35a slower time
00:49:36now?
00:49:38Yeah, you know,
00:49:39whether it's
00:49:39higher or not,
00:49:40I think our
00:49:41biggest focus and
00:49:43takeaway over the
00:49:43last couple of
00:49:44years is just
00:49:44simplify.
00:49:45Find a way to
00:49:46simplify.
00:49:47You know, if our
00:49:49example of 35
00:49:51plans down to
00:49:52now eventually
00:49:5312, that just
00:49:54runs through the
00:49:55whole organization,
00:49:57right?
00:49:58It gives them,
00:49:59if you're trying
00:50:00to bring something
00:50:00on, I mean, to
00:50:01give your team the
00:50:02win of some
00:50:03breathing room and
00:50:05some early wins
00:50:06with all the
00:50:06additional tasks
00:50:07they're going to
00:50:07take on for
00:50:08implementing a new
00:50:08system, I would
00:50:10definitely use that
00:50:11strategy.
00:50:12And then we've
00:50:14tried to be, in
00:50:15some other areas of
00:50:16our business, we've
00:50:17tried to be more
00:50:18and more transparent
00:50:19with tracking and
00:50:21showing some key
00:50:22KPIs, because it's
00:50:24amazing what you
00:50:25track and you show
00:50:26and you talk about
00:50:27week after week, how
00:50:28it just naturally
00:50:29improves.
00:50:30So I would say if
00:50:31you're taking on,
00:50:33if you're taking on
00:50:34Hirec or taking on
00:50:34some other
00:50:35initiative in your
00:50:36organization, especially
00:50:38related to new
00:50:39softwares or big
00:50:39initiatives, find
00:50:41some KPIs that you
00:50:43know you can
00:50:44improve in the
00:50:45short-term and
00:50:46long-term.
00:50:46and track and
00:50:47show them.
00:50:48And that's, this
00:50:48has been kind of a
00:50:49game changer for us,
00:50:50especially this year.
00:50:53Ryan, how about
00:50:54you?
00:50:55Is there a, is
00:50:55there a number one
00:50:56takeaway that you'd
00:50:57want your peers to
00:50:58leave this
00:51:00conversation from
00:51:01as a value?
00:51:07Yeah, I suppose
00:51:08I've been so
00:51:09ingrained in like
00:51:10what we're doing.
00:51:11It's kind of hard
00:51:12for me to, you
00:51:13know, say, you
00:51:14know, exactly
00:51:15like, you
00:51:17know, what
00:51:17to say to
00:51:18somebody else
00:51:18that doesn't
00:51:18have the exact
00:51:19same systems
00:51:20that I have.
00:51:20But like, I
00:51:21think that the
00:51:22direction that
00:51:22we're going with
00:51:23integrations is
00:51:25extremely, I'm
00:51:26trying to think
00:51:26from like a
00:51:27non-Hirec, because
00:51:28not everybody on
00:51:29the call will be
00:51:30with HighArc.
00:51:30And obviously
00:51:31we're glowing about
00:51:32that decision.
00:51:33But I think
00:51:34where a lot
00:51:36of people are
00:51:37going, some of
00:51:37our builder
00:51:38peers are going
00:51:38is really
00:51:40being smart
00:51:42about your
00:51:42data and
00:51:43knowing that
00:51:45traditionally
00:51:46builders have
00:51:46been old
00:51:47school, taking
00:51:48that very
00:51:48seriously, I
00:51:50think is, I
00:51:50think is extremely
00:51:51important.
00:51:53I've always
00:51:54kind of understood
00:51:55that, but didn't
00:51:56really understand
00:51:57until this
00:51:58journey of like
00:51:59how important it
00:52:00is to think
00:52:01about, well,
00:52:02where is that
00:52:02data going to
00:52:03originate and
00:52:04like what
00:52:05friction and
00:52:07problems you
00:52:07cause by not
00:52:08having clean
00:52:09data.
00:52:10It's been a
00:52:10really great
00:52:11exercise working
00:52:11with our data
00:52:12analyst on just
00:52:14kind of talking
00:52:14about we really
00:52:15need to plan
00:52:16this out before
00:52:17we hit go.
00:52:18So if we
00:52:19wanted to, we
00:52:20could have raced
00:52:20through this and
00:52:21had all these
00:52:22integrations up at
00:52:23probably, you
00:52:25know, 50%, but
00:52:26you'd still be
00:52:27running into
00:52:27problems.
00:52:28So I think
00:52:28we're seeing
00:52:30this from other
00:52:31builder peers
00:52:32that we're in.
00:52:32We're in other
00:52:33networking groups
00:52:33and a lot of
00:52:34people are kind
00:52:35of going down
00:52:36this data
00:52:37analytics and
00:52:38business analyst
00:52:38type roles for
00:52:40their organization.
00:52:41I think that
00:52:41that's extremely
00:52:42important.
00:52:45Yeah.
00:52:46And Connor, I
00:52:48mean, after
00:52:49having listened
00:52:50to Danny and
00:52:51Ryan, what
00:52:52would you say
00:52:54that the audience
00:52:55could take away
00:52:56from hearing
00:52:56them in terms
00:52:58of some of
00:52:59the barriers
00:52:59and kind
00:53:01of hesitation
00:53:01that you
00:53:02find from
00:53:02other companies
00:53:03thinking about
00:53:04adopting this
00:53:05kind of system?
00:53:08Yeah, I
00:53:08think I've
00:53:11been traveling
00:53:14a lot lately
00:53:14and talking to
00:53:15a lot of
00:53:15builders all
00:53:16across the
00:53:17country and
00:53:18everybody's
00:53:19kind of, you
00:53:20know, a lot
00:53:22of people are
00:53:22on edge or
00:53:23kind of waiting
00:53:24to see what
00:53:24happens.
00:53:25I said a
00:53:28little bit
00:53:28before, but
00:53:29I think this
00:53:30really is a
00:53:31time where,
00:53:33you know, when
00:53:33I've been
00:53:33talking to
00:53:34builders, this
00:53:36is the time
00:53:38to see what's
00:53:39out there,
00:53:41evaluate what's
00:53:41out there,
00:53:42evaluate how
00:53:44you're going
00:53:45to use data
00:53:46as an integral
00:53:48part of the
00:53:48future of your
00:53:49business.
00:53:49because, like
00:53:51we mentioned,
00:53:52a lot of
00:53:53home builders
00:53:53are still
00:53:54using tools
00:53:56for the
00:53:57fundamentals of
00:53:57their organization
00:53:58that are,
00:53:59frankly, not
00:54:00even from this
00:54:00century.
00:54:01So, now is
00:54:02a perfect time
00:54:04to start, you
00:54:05know, stacking
00:54:06the sandbags
00:54:06to get ready
00:54:07for when the
00:54:08next flood of
00:54:09buyers, you
00:54:11know, the
00:54:11floodgates open.
00:54:12You can't start
00:54:13stacking the
00:54:13sandbags once
00:54:14the river's
00:54:15already crested,
00:54:16right?
00:54:16That seems like
00:54:17a bit of an
00:54:19old-school
00:54:19metaphor, but
00:54:20sorry, I
00:54:22just thought of
00:54:22it in that
00:54:23moment, but
00:54:24I do think
00:54:25that's the
00:54:26key.
00:54:27What I've
00:54:28been, frankly,
00:54:29very frankly
00:54:30telling builders
00:54:31that I've been
00:54:32talking to is
00:54:32if you're
00:54:34looking at
00:54:35evaluating
00:54:35technology and
00:54:36looking at
00:54:37making an
00:54:37investment,
00:54:38right now,
00:54:40you probably
00:54:41have slightly
00:54:41more time to
00:54:42do that than
00:54:43when the
00:54:43market is
00:54:43insanely busy.
00:54:45And if
00:54:45nothing else,
00:54:46if you decide
00:54:47not ready to
00:54:48make a leap,
00:54:49whether it's
00:54:49hierarchy or
00:54:50anything else,
00:54:52you're educating
00:54:54yourself and
00:54:55you're up to
00:54:56date on what's
00:54:57out there so
00:54:58that when you
00:54:58are ready to
00:54:59make a decision,
00:55:00you can make a
00:55:01better informed
00:55:01decision and
00:55:02you're not
00:55:02starting from
00:55:03scratch and
00:55:03going, oh,
00:55:04man, now all
00:55:05of a sudden
00:55:05everything's
00:55:06blowing up and
00:55:07now we need to
00:55:08add five people.
00:55:10Instead, you'll
00:55:11know, okay, well,
00:55:12we could add five
00:55:12people or we
00:55:14could start
00:55:14investing in
00:55:15systems and
00:55:15data in order
00:55:16to let the
00:55:17people we
00:55:18have, which
00:55:19already have
00:55:19that inherent
00:55:20knowledge of
00:55:20our business,
00:55:21do more and
00:55:22be better at
00:55:24their jobs.
00:55:29We have a
00:55:31minute or two
00:55:32left if there's
00:55:33any questions.
00:55:34some of the
00:55:38great work I've
00:55:39been seeing
00:55:40builders do in
00:55:41the last few
00:55:42years is just
00:55:43recognizing how
00:55:44their systems
00:55:44all have data
00:55:47that haven't
00:55:51necessarily been
00:55:52managed in
00:55:53legacy systems
00:55:54and are all
00:55:56starting to
00:55:57recognize that
00:55:58they represent
00:55:59the power to
00:56:01transform an
00:56:02operation, to
00:56:03be better at
00:56:05the operational
00:56:06level as well
00:56:07as the meeting
00:56:08a customer's
00:56:09needs.
00:56:10I think this
00:56:11time period where
00:56:12sales have been
00:56:13slower and
00:56:15given home
00:56:17builders more
00:56:18challenge in
00:56:19terms of meeting
00:56:21a marketplace
00:56:21where affordability
00:56:23and other
00:56:26forces are
00:56:28more challenging
00:56:30now,
00:56:31understanding
00:56:32that the
00:56:33data is a
00:56:35part of it
00:56:37at the CRM,
00:56:39the sales
00:56:40level, the
00:56:41product
00:56:41development
00:56:42level, the
00:56:44purchasing and
00:56:45resourcing
00:56:46level, a
00:56:47necessary first
00:56:48step.
00:56:49So I think
00:56:49that what you're
00:56:51all saying is
00:56:51that use the
00:56:53time, the
00:56:54slower time, to
00:56:55appreciate that
00:56:56you have to make
00:56:57that change to
00:56:58secure that data
00:56:59and make it so
00:57:01it's able to
00:57:02be common
00:57:03enough shared
00:57:03across your
00:57:04system to
00:57:05eventually evolve
00:57:06a system that
00:57:08is holistically
00:57:10operating all in
00:57:12that single
00:57:13source of truth
00:57:14that people talk
00:57:15about.
00:57:16So I want to
00:57:17thank Danny
00:57:18and Ryan and
00:57:19Connor so much
00:57:20for your
00:57:21remarks this
00:57:22afternoon.
00:57:24I do want to
00:57:25jump into one
00:57:25quick audience
00:57:26question, John.
00:57:27Oh, okay.
00:57:28Oh, yes.
00:57:29So the
00:57:30audience question
00:57:31that I have
00:57:32is that
00:57:33first, clearly
00:57:34the tools like
00:57:35Hyark are helping
00:57:36builders move to
00:57:37market more
00:57:38efficiently.
00:57:39And the question
00:57:40is, have the
00:57:41Tim O'Brien
00:57:41folks seen ways
00:57:42in which it's
00:57:43helped you
00:57:43offer better
00:57:44products,
00:57:45healthier, more
00:57:46sustainable, higher
00:57:47quality in the
00:57:48design and
00:57:49construction?
00:57:50Besides the
00:57:50GTM speed, can
00:57:52you talk about
00:57:52other benefits
00:57:53you've experienced?
00:58:00Connor, do you
00:58:00want to take that
00:58:01one?
00:58:01I saw your note.
00:58:03I did write a
00:58:04note.
00:58:04Well, I mean, I
00:58:05was going to ask
00:58:06you guys, I
00:58:07haven't been
00:58:07involved in the
00:58:08design side, but
00:58:09what I've seen
00:58:10other builders be
00:58:12able to do is
00:58:12because you can
00:58:13iterate on design
00:58:15in Hyark
00:58:15Studio, which
00:58:16is our kind
00:58:17design software
00:58:19that feeds all
00:58:20of this data.
00:58:21It's the
00:58:21basis of the
00:58:22data engine.
00:58:25Because you can
00:58:26iterate in 3D
00:58:27and you can do
00:58:28it really quickly,
00:58:29I'm thinking of
00:58:30one builder in
00:58:31particular who
00:58:32will have design
00:58:33meetings where
00:58:33they'll make
00:58:34changes on the
00:58:34fly and they'll
00:58:36actually go in
00:58:36and be able to
00:58:38look in 3D.
00:58:39And I know
00:58:39Hyark's not the
00:58:40only system that
00:58:41can look at a
00:58:42BIM model, a
00:58:44building model in
00:58:453D, but because
00:58:47we can make a
00:58:49change to a
00:58:49design in 3D
00:58:50and then
00:58:51immediately see
00:58:52what the cost
00:58:52outcomes are of
00:58:54that change because
00:58:55we're connected
00:58:55with estimating and
00:58:57we can immediately
00:58:57see what that
00:58:59will look like on
00:59:00our website and
00:59:01we can do so
00:59:03much more faster
00:59:04because of the
00:59:04connected nature of
00:59:05the system.
00:59:06I'd love to hear
00:59:07either of your
00:59:08guys' thoughts on
00:59:08how, I mean, I
00:59:09know you guys are
00:59:10big into green,
00:59:11but from a design
00:59:13perspective, it's
00:59:14all about being
00:59:14able to quickly
00:59:16evaluate and
00:59:17investigate design
00:59:18alternatives, and
00:59:20I'm sure some of
00:59:20those are.
00:59:21Yeah, I would
00:59:22say with that,
00:59:25we use Microsoft
00:59:26Teams as a
00:59:26platform here at
00:59:28Tim O'Brien
00:59:28Holmes, and we
00:59:30have a monthly
00:59:31architectural kind
00:59:33of design meeting,
00:59:34but what's changed
00:59:35with Hire is using
00:59:37a Teams platform
00:59:38and channels is
00:59:39we've been able to
00:59:39integrate our
00:59:41sales pros into
00:59:42that design
00:59:44iterative process
00:59:45primarily right
00:59:47now to find
00:59:48mistakes that
00:59:49wouldn't be found
00:59:50until they're in
00:59:50the field and
00:59:51very costly to
00:59:52us, right?
00:59:53But just the
00:59:56visualization of
00:59:56Hirearch when we
00:59:57release a new
00:59:59plan or new
00:59:59iteration of that
01:00:00plan, they're
01:00:02involved in the
01:00:03process so quickly
01:00:03that we'll
01:00:04typically find
01:00:05three or four
01:00:06things that, you
01:00:08know, getting
01:00:08through all the
01:00:09options we missed
01:00:10and our lead
01:00:12designers able to
01:00:13fix it within a
01:00:14minute, right, and
01:00:15respond back that
01:00:16this is fixed, where
01:00:17typically it was
01:00:18queued up, changes
01:00:19were so hard to
01:00:20manage, things you
01:00:21would find would be
01:00:22queued up for like
01:00:22that next quarter or
01:00:24next half year for
01:00:26fixes.
01:00:28Yeah, I could just
01:00:29touch on it for a
01:00:30half second, just so
01:00:31I know we're at
01:00:32time.
01:00:33That's something, I
01:00:34mean, besides go to
01:00:36market speed, we
01:00:37probably need to start
01:00:38pushing on that a
01:00:39little bit more, but
01:00:41the walking the
01:00:43home in 3D before
01:00:45you build I think is
01:00:47going to be extremely
01:00:47important, and then
01:00:49you did talk about
01:00:50healthier, more
01:00:51sustainable.
01:00:52We have not gone
01:00:54down that angle as
01:00:55far as like how
01:00:55could we use
01:00:56Hierarch to amp
01:00:59that up even more.
01:01:00I mean, that is one
01:01:01of the things I'm
01:01:01most passionate about
01:01:02what our company does
01:01:03as a distinguishing
01:01:04factor in the
01:01:05marketplace is we
01:01:06are the high
01:01:07performance, healthier,
01:01:08sustainable builder.
01:01:09But that's an
01:01:10interesting point, so
01:01:12I like where you're
01:01:13going with that.
01:01:16And unfortunately, we
01:01:17are at the top of
01:01:18the hour, so that
01:01:19about wraps up
01:01:20today's webinar from
01:01:21Custom to Click,
01:01:23How Tim O'Brien's
01:01:24Home Speed Sales and
01:01:25Delights Fires with
01:01:26Fired.
01:01:26I want to thank our
01:01:27panelists, Ryan,
01:01:29Danny, and Connor,
01:01:30and John for leading
01:01:31us through this
01:01:31conversation and
01:01:32sharing their
01:01:33expertise to our
01:01:35audience.
01:01:36Once again,
01:01:36Housing Wire and
01:01:37the Builders Daily
01:01:38will be sending out
01:01:39a recording of
01:01:40today's session to
01:01:40all registrants.
01:01:41You'll also be able
01:01:42to access the full
01:01:43webinar on the
01:01:44Builders Daily and
01:01:45on our website at
01:01:46housingwire.com slash
01:01:47webinars.
01:01:48Thank you again for
01:01:49being with us.
01:01:49We look forward to
01:01:50seeing you all at a
01:01:51future of the
01:01:51Builders Daily or
01:01:52Housing Wire event.
01:01:53Have a great
01:01:54afternoon, y'all.
01:01:54for those of you who
01:02:11are
01:02:12droomish
01:02:19who are
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