Episode 34: Creating An Exceptional Handover Experience With Russ, Sky & Andy

In episode 34 of the Professional Builders Secrets podcast, we’re joined by Co-founders of the Association of Professional Builders Russ Stephens and Sky Stephens, along with APB’s Head Coach, Andy Skarda. Throughout this episode, the trio tackle why a builders handover experience is so important to their clients.

During this episode, Russ, Sky and Andy discuss what you should, and shouldn’t do during a handover, and of course, give some examples of what an exceptional handover looks like.

The trio explain the framework you can use to create an exceptional handover experience, and even go over the ways in which your handover process can play a part in your authority, and professionalism.

Throughout episode 34, Russ, Sky and Andy also go over how you can authentically leverage your handover process, and divulge the right time for you to ask your clients for a referral.

Listen to the full episode to full understand how you can create an exceptional handover experience for each and every one of your clients.

 

Russ Stephens - Co-founder

Russ Stephens is a Co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders, a business coaching company dedicated to improving the residential construction industry for both builders and consumers. Russ is a data analysis expert who has introduced data-driven decision making to the residential construction industry. Russ is also a proud member of the Forbes Business Development Council.

Connect with Russ

 

Sky Stephens - Co-founder

Sky Stephens is a Co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders, a business coaching company dedicated to improving the residential construction industry for both builders and consumers. Sky is a proud member of The National Association of Women in Construction and she was also recognised as one of 2021’s Top 100 Women. 

Connect with Sky

 

Andy Skarda - Head Coach 

Andy Skarda has owned and led businesses in South Africa, the United States, South-East Asia, and for the last decade, Australia. With 30+ years of business experience, Andy heads up the coaching team at the Association of Professional Builders (APB), helping business owners in the building industry identify and implement the skills and systems they need to be successful, without needing to go back to school or more importantly, without going bust.

Connect with Andy

 

Timeline

1:12 Why your handover process is so important.

5:39 How your handover process plays a part in your authority.

8:05 What an exceptional handover experience looks like. 

15:01 The framework for creating an exceptional handover experience.

20:40 What you shouldn’t do during a handover.

27:26 How to authentically leverage your handover process.

30:36 When is the right time to ask for a referral?

32:16 Real life examples of great handovers.

 

Links, Resources & More

APB Membership Demo

APB Website

APB on Instagram

APB on Facebook
APB on YouTube

Join the Professional Builders Secrets Facebook group for builders & connect with professional builders world-wide.

Bosco Anthony:

Hello, and welcome to the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast, a podcast by the Association of Professional Builders (APB) for building company owners, general managers, VPs and emerging leaders. Here we discuss all things running a professional building company from sales processes to financials, operations and marketing.

Bosco Anthony:

We have another exciting episode from the Professional Builder Secrets Podcast. My guests today are Co-founders Sky and Russ Stephens, as well as Head Coach Andy Skarda for APB. Thanks for all getting together in one place today again.

Russ Stephens:

Hey Bosco.

Andy Skarda:

Hey Bosco.

Sky Stephens:

Hey Bosco, how are you doing?

Bosco Anthony:

I'm doing well. Today we're going to talk a little bit about handovers and why the handover process from builder to client is so important.

Russ Stephens:

The handover of a new home or even a renovation leads to a lasting impression, whether that's good or bad. The building process is not easy and it can get very stressful, and the relationship between a builder and a consumer can become quite fraught at times. However, a great handover experience will result in a positive lasting impression.

Russ Stephens:

That is why we came up with a process for our members to follow, which we call ‘Creating an Exceptional Handover Experience’. Since then, we've seen countless examples where our members get this part right. They then enjoy an abundance of referrals. Sometimes it can even come after a terrible relationship through the build process. They've actually been able to turn things around at handover just by having what we call an exceptional handover experience.

Bosco Anthony:

I'm just curious, how did you land on this concept of an exceptional handover experience?

Sky Stephens:

Most builders have a handover checklist; this is something everyone can relate to. There are certain things that just have to be done when you hand over a new home. Then some builders go the extra mile and they just do that typical hamper for their clients at handover.

Sky Stephens:

But none of that is an actual experience. So we took a look at the luxury car industry because we wanted to see what they do. A luxury car, by the way, is a fraction of the price of building a new home. It’s a product that's much cheaper than the $500,000 home or the million dollar home you're handing over. So we actually looked at luxury car dealers, looked at what they do when they give you the keys to your new car. We found that their whole focus is on the experience.

Sky Stephens:

You've not necessarily designed your car, but you've kitted out that new car to your specifications and your preferences. You're going there on the day to pick up the keys to your brand-new car. They could quite easily just toss the keys over to you and say, "Well done, drive away," because the whole excitement is in the new car. But actually, the excitement is not in getting the new car.

Sky Stephens:

The excitement in getting your new car that day is how good they make you feel when you rock up to that showroom. When you get there, there's a beautiful silk cloth draped all over your car. You know what's under there, you know what colour, you chose the colour, you chose the car, you know exactly what's under that silk sheet.

Sky Stephens:

But ooh, the excitement when you get to rock up and there's a silk sheet draped over the car, there's a big bow on it and there’s a big sign saying, “Congratulations Sky Stephens.” Your name is on there, and you get to pick up that car. That's exciting. They leave you waiting for a little bit.

Sky Stephens:

They offer you tea, coffee, water, perhaps even a glass of champagne. It's an entire experience that they roll out, and it's very well thought out from start to finish. So, that's what we dialled in on. That's what we really used as a model: how well the luxury car industry hands over their cars. But we can do better for homes.

Bosco Anthony:

That's an interesting concept. You're really playing with someone's mindset as well in many ways. But did you notice that there was a gap? Is that why you wanted to create an even bigger process when you came to this discovery?

Sky Stephens:

Definitely. I think like anything in this industry, there are horror stories. There are definitely stories of builders just leaving the keys in the letter box, not even doing a handover experience. Just as if they were saying, “That's a formality. Here are your keys, go into the home. I'll send you all the paperwork that you need.”

Sky Stephens:

So there was an absolutely massive gap for the majority of custom home builders to be doing this. I think professional builders had a checklist. They did a hamper or something special, but we just tried to remake the entire thing into an experience, from start to finish. All the way from even before that handover day. What needs to happen? What happens on the day? What happens the day after the day?

Bosco Anthony:

How did you experience this exceptional handover experience, impacting the trust of the customer and that overall experience moving forward? As you mentioned, there was the old process in days of old, but it wasn't as elevated as what it is today. So, how does this new process play a role in building that trust?

Andy Skarda:

I've actually used these words before on a previous podcast: it's really your existing clients and the incredible experience they've had, that lends credibility to your process and everything that you've said. I've spoken about the fact that most of us have a built-in bulls**t meter, so that when we are being sold something, we can feel it, the meter is up there in the red.

Andy Skarda:

Doing this properly is, without doubt, turning those people who are already excited into raving fans. That’s the way we explain it. They are going to be all over social media. Not yours, theirs. They're going to be telling all of their friends. And we’ll get into some of the mechanics of this.

Andy Skarda:

Sky put together some really interesting takes on the kind of experience you can give the client for later on. But I was struck when I saw that for the first time. One of the things that Sky talks about is giving people the opportunity to, let's say, host a dinner for their friends in their new home. Bring in an outside chef who come in and cater for the meal and present it.

Andy Skarda:

There are four of your future clients sitting right there at that table. They get to actually participate in part of the experience. It's really the credibility from a technical perspective, obviously photographs, video case studies, which we aren't going into a lot of detail on today, and using the process to give you marketing collateral and assets that you can use in the future. It’s absolutely trust building.

Sky Stephens:

I think as well, Andy said something in there that is so important. He said they're already excited. And that is probably the biggest part about this whole thing. Your clients, when you're getting to the point of handing over the keys to a brand-new home or a completely renovated home or whatever it is, they are so excited for that day at a baseline.

Sky Stephens:

So what you do can either enhance that day or take away a little bit of the shine. You never want to take away the shine, but everything that we're talking about now is how to make it probably one of the best days they've ever had or experienced that year. 

Bosco Anthony:

What does an exceptional handover experience look like today, especially with what you've put into the industry as well? I'm just curious what that vision looks like.

Russ Stephens:

Certainly, as Sky mentioned, what it doesn't look like is throwing the keys in the letter box. I know no one listening to this podcast will have ever done that, but the fact is it does happen, and it happens more times than it should in our industry. The problem is that these are the stories that consumers are sharing with other people.

Russ Stephens:

That's a terrible experience that they've had, and they're sharing those experiences. A lot of builders then get tarnished with the same brush. So obviously, that's not something that any member of APB is doing, and it's simply because they're all following the process that Sky outlined with the luxury car dealers.

Russ Stephens:

You can turn up at a luxury car dealer and you're going to get that orientation and the handover. Sometimes you're thinking, "Oh, just get on with it. Just give me the keys. I just want to get out of here." But you never regret it because it's good understanding what all the little buttons do and getting a better understanding of your car, rather than driving down the road and pulling over, trying to figure out where the windscreen wipers are. So, it is a case of allocating that time. But to answer your question, to create an exceptional handover experience, you've got to hit them with the wow factor straight away. That very first impression's got to be a wow. And then you've got to maintain that pace all the way through.

Russ Stephens:

We like to start off with a red carpet and even a ribbon to cut as they enter the home. Now that might sound a bit cheesy, but your clients are just so excited about their new home at this point. That's a real wow factor. You'd have the key members of your team there to actually welcome them into their new home as well. There's the ambience that's important. It's the smell as they walk in. It's the sound; the music that you play. There'll be champagne there on ice ready to be popped and poured. And of course, that's a great photo opportunity then as well because you really want to capture that moment, because that moment becomes the final photograph in the album that you also have there, which shows the history, the progress of their build.

Russ Stephens:

It's the final shot that will go in there. You'll have the manuals folders, all collated, all tidy in a nice binder, so they know where to find everything. You'll have a nice key ring in a presentation box. Not just a key on the tabletop, but in a nice presentation box. And then most importantly, you'll spend time orientating your clients on all aspects of their home.

Russ Stephens:

You need to allow 60 to 90 minutes for this. Take your time; don't rush it. Not all the members of your team need to be standing around at this point. You can have a few guys there, especially people they would've dealt with, contract's admin, supervisor, et cetera, but then you do the orientation, and you take them through. And that is what determines an exceptional handover experience.

Sky Stephens:

Might I add, it's not any detail too big or small. There are some big top-line exciting things to go through. But another really good example of the simple things that matter to the consumer the check of everything you do at your handover. It may not be a big deal to you. You've been in this house every single day, building it or renovating it or whatever.

Sky Stephens:

But on that handover, every little detail is important, even including the bathrooms. Make sure when you do a handover experience, if you're there doing a guided tour for 60, 90 minutes and you have a little moment before or after, you’ll all be there for a couple hours. Especially if people go there with their kids, someone's going to need the toilet. So make sure you have some toilet paper ready so that people can go to the toilet in their new home.

Sky Stephens:

Make sure there's a little bit of soap. Make sure that you actually have a seal on all of the toilets, just like when you go to a really nice hotel and they put a full seal on there, so you know it's just been properly cleaned. You're going to be the first to sit on that throne since it's been cleaned. Make people feel like that in their new homes. Make all those toilets completely sealed. This toilet has most likely been used since you’ve been on-site, but they are going to be properly cleaned ready for that handover. Make sure they’re all sealed. 

Russ Stephens:

Such a personal item, isn’t it?

Sky Stephens:

That’s it. It is. It matters.

Bosco Anthony:

Okay. So, I’ve got a checklist on my own in my head that I’m going to throw in. I just want you guys to say yes, no, or not sure. Air freshener or having a diffuser at the handover. Yes, or no?

Andy Skarda:

I'm waiting. I want to see which way this goes. I've got a feeling that I'm going to be the referee on this one. Go Russ.

Sky Stephens:

I'm sorry, are you talking about going through with the Glen 20 and spraying air freshener everywhere?

Bosco Anthony:

No, no, no. We're talking about the boujee kind. The ones that you see at Sage or something not too strong, but something that's perhaps friendly and inviting. Would you say a yes, or a no?

Russ Stephens:

I'll go with the diffuser. Yeah.

Sky Stephens:

Yeah.

Bosco Anthony:

Okay, diffuser. Nothing more?

Sky Stephens:

Smell is an interesting one, because you don't want to take over someone's new home. So you need to be very, very careful about how you take over the smell of someone's new home.

Bosco Anthony:

So, the first one is yes, but handle with care. The second one?

Andy Skarda:

Be careful.

Russ Stephens:

Unless the toilet doesn't have a seal on it, and you might need to spray.

Andy Skarda:

Yeah. I think the reality here is in amongst the jokes, if they've said to you, "We love the scent of eucalyptus," if you actually know that to be a fact, go right ahead. There's nothing worse than buying a scented candle that is a particular scent and then that happens to be the one thing that particularly the wife absolutely hates. You just wiped out every anything else you just did.

Sky Stephens:

A really good example of that, especially with scented candles, is the time of year is also super important. You can match the scent to the time of year when your home's actually getting handed over. So, it could be spring, a little bit fresher.

Sky Stephens:

We've had members who are handing over homes just before Christmas, or very close to Christmas, and they’ve had a little novelty Christmas tree there to help stage that moment. You can actually get scented candles that are very Christmassy smelling. So rather than hijacking the smell of the whole home, it was limited to that moment and that experience.

Bosco Anthony:

Okay. One more. You know a little bit about the client, so how about a freshly baked pie?

Sky Stephens:

Love it.

Bosco Anthony:

Okay.

Sky Stephens:

That's personal.

Andy Skarda:

The trick is make sure that it's baked there, so that when they walk into the house, they've got the smell of fresh pie. Then you're combining both of them.

Bosco Anthony:

I can see the slogan right now, turning the professional construction industry into bakers as well.

Andy Skarda:

There we go. 

Bosco Anthony:

Now let's go into some of the critical stages or steps in creating this amazing and exceptional handover. Do you guys have a framework that you give builders as well?

Sky Stephens:

Totally. First and foremost, it's all down to preparation, because you don't just get to a handover day and think, "Oh, I need to make an experience. I'll just make sure I take them on a tour." It's so much more than that, so preparation really is key. The handover day is not a surprise. You're communicating that to your clients constantly so that you can actually organise the day, date and time for that handover experience.

Sky Stephens:

You're also setting their expectations of how long it's going to take so that they aren't thinking they're just showing up for 15 minutes, grabbing the keys, doing a handshake, and then they'll come back later in the day to look at the house because they need to go pick the kids up from school or something.

Sky Stephens:

Preparation is so important on your team's side for your building company, but also your client's side, so you are preparing them for what to expect. But in terms of another critical stage or step, setting a budget is really important for this. Actually creating and delivering an exceptional handover experience is not free.

Sky Stephens:

And it's certainly not the time to be cheap. This is going to be probably, in most cases, the largest purchase your clients have ever made. Ever, ever. Even a car is cheaper than the home they're building, and car handovers are pretty exceptional.

Sky Stephens:

It's all relative as well; we're talking luxury cars. They're little bit more expensive than your average car, but the people buying those luxury cars are also buying and building luxury homes. So this is where your budget has to be all relative. So we say as a guide, it's about one percent of the contract price.

Sky Stephens:

So for example, if this was a $500,000 home build, you have a $5,000 budget to work with for your whole handover experience. If that sounds like a lot, re-evaluate and reconsider your margins. It sounds like there's a margin problem somewhere because this is what running a professional building company is about. This is what's actually required: $500,000 home, $5,000 handover budget; million dollar home, $10,000 budget. So, setting the budget, knowing what that's going to be and then allocating it.

Sky Stephens:

And the third thing we talk about a lot. We have a training module for all of our members, just like Russ mentioned, on creating and delivering an exceptional handover experience. One thing we cover off right at the start is surprise and delight. When we talked about preparing your clients for what to expect, you're not going to tell them everything you're going to do.

Sky Stephens:

Car dealers don't tell you everything. They don't say, "And there's going to be a silk sheet on the car. We're going to pull it off in slow-mo so you get to record a video. We're then going to offer you some cold water, but then going to sit in the car and go through how to connect Apple CarPlay." They don't do that. They surprise and delight.

Sky Stephens:

So when you're doing your planning and preparation, when you're setting your budget and when you're working out what you're going to do and incorporate into that whole handover experience, you need to surprise and delight. You don't want to plaster everything on the social media. As Russ mentioned just before, as we talked about, you roll out a red carpet.

Sky Stephens:

When your clients come to visit their new home, they get to walk on a red carpet and cut a ribbon to get into their front door for what will technically be the first time that they get to walk into their finished home. You don't put that all over social media. That is an experience just for your clients, so they feel special. They feel nice, warm and fuzzy.

Sky Stephens:

That is what Andy was talking about, that they get to talk about this to everyone else because it's different. Here’s an example, it’s a really silly example maybe, but it will give you an idea of what I mean by surprise and delight. Say one of your friends gives you a call and says, "I'm going to come over to your house and I'll bring a pizza."

Sky Stephens:

Suddenly in your mind you're thinking like, "Well, I'm on a diet. I hope they know I'm actually doing no dairy. I don't want any cheese on that pizza," or whatever. You will have all these different expectations that are coming into your mind because the pizza that your friend is bringing over is no longer a surprise, it's more of an obligation.

Sky Stephens:

Whereas it would be an entirely different story if your friend just rocked up at your house, brought a pizza, brought some beers or drinks or whatever. Unexpectedly, they brought a couple of pizzas. You would be overjoyed. “How thoughtful is that? That's so lovely.”

Sky Stephens:

You'd welcome them in, and you'd say something like, "You know what? I did not want to cook tonight. I don't even care what's on the pizza. I'm so happy you’re here." And you're just enjoying the moment and the experience. I know that's maybe a terrible example. It's so small by comparison, but it's that essence of surprise and delight.

Bosco Anthony:

Well, it really goes back into that concept that people may forget what you tell them, but they'll never forget how you make them feel. I had the good fortune of attending one of your APB events in the city and you really go out of your way to create that experience for all the builders as well.

Bosco Anthony:

They get that concierge VIP experience, and they get to network with people. There's all these different surprises, everything from the training manuals to the booklets, to what they're going to have as an appetizer and everything else. So it seems like the same concept really can be applied in different aspects of business as well.

Andy Skarda:

We pride ourselves on the fact that we practice what we preach. There's very little that Sky puts in an action plan that we haven't done or aren't doing at the time at least in principle. So, absolutely.

Bosco Anthony:

We've talked a little bit about the framework and what that looks like. And we've talked a little bit about the key in the mailbox. But let's go into what shouldn't you do when it comes to this exceptional handover for builders as well. What are some of the things to avoid?

Andy Skarda:

The quick and easy answer to this one is going to be the reverse of everything that Sky has just said. If you look at the components that we're talking about there, planning is critically important. Don't wing this. Don't think you can rock up on the day and put something exceptional together. You can't. It’s just not going to happen. Don't be cheap. That's one of the biggest things that you want to look at. You are wanting an experience.

Andy Skarda:

You're wanting something that's got that wow factor: the surprise, the delight. That's not going to happen by accident. You can make it look like it happens spontaneously, but the truth is, for all of those kinds of things to really work, don't try and wing it. Make sure that you put in the planning. And I think the reality of staying away from anything that is going to potentially be a problem for the client.

Andy Skarda:

You've been in contact with this client now for six to nine months, maybe a year. You've got an ongoing relationship with them. You probably have a pretty good idea of what makes them tick. Although you want to have a framework and you want to be able to have a system to do this, you want to try and personalise this experience as much as you can. So it's staying away from that corner cutting, cheap mentality. Go all out on this. You've got the budget to do it. Do it properly.

Russ Stephens:

I guess it really all starts with construction slots, doesn't it, as well. The handover experience starts way, way earlier. Because by getting your construction slots, and these are your start dates planned, it helps you to plan the handovers as well.

Russ Stephens:

If you're only doing say six homes a year, you don't want to be handing over three homes in the same week, or even in the same couple of weeks; that puts way too much stress on your infrastructure. So by staggering your start date, staggering your handovers, that will enable you and your team to deliver the best possible experience.

Sky Stephens:

Having a budget set for each of your handovers makes it almost like you've got permission to spend that. Because when you budget for it in your entire building company, you know that it's there, you've got permission to spend it. So you're going to go out of your way to make the most with what you have for that budget to actually over deliver.

Sky Stephens:

It seems counterintuitive, but often we talked about this to builders and they say, "Well, I don't have a budget." That's when money’s scarce, because not having a budget makes you feel like you can't spend anything. 

Russ Stephens:

That's a really good point. By the time you get to the end of the build, as a builder, you're looking at the actual expenditure, and you are looking at the contingencies allocation that's been eaten up. So the first thing that's going to go is the handover expenditure. Anyway, if you don't have a budget, you're less likely to spend anything.

Russ Stephens:

But even if you have a budget, there may be a temptation to think, "Well, we blew out here and there. I'm not spending all that. I'm going to recoup some of that." That is a terrible mentality to have because this is marketing. It's marketing and advertising, and you never compromise on that, because as we always say, marketing is linked to your margin. So, if you compromise on this budget for your handover, you will hurt your business going forward.

Andy Skarda:

This is effectively an investment in your future business. And I think the other thing, the way you phrased the question was interesting, Bosco. You said, “What should you avoid? What should you not do?” This is not the time to do your punch list. Don't try and put your defects list on the front-end of this. That was done two weeks before, everything that was on that list has been taken care of.

Andy Skarda:

Think about this logically: as we said, this is the biggest amount of money these people have ever spent in their lives. If there was something two weeks ago that was a bit of an issue, I promise you on the walk around they're going to be looking at that particular thing. The best thing you can do is to point out, “That thing that you said you were concerned about? Done, done, done, done.”

Andy Skarda:

And what that'll do is they will forget whatever the history was on that. What they'll be telling their friends is, “These guys are amazing. We literally walked into a completely defect free home.” That's huge.

Sky Stephens:

I'd say another thing as well, and in terms of the don't list, don't make it boring, because there are a few things to do. I remember creating an entire training handover checklist for builders. Because it was originally called a handover checklist, there were so many comments and different ideas and other building company owners were wanting to share what's on their handover checklist.

Sky Stephens:

Gosh, it was some of the most boring stuff ever we've seen. So that's why we decided, "No, no, no. We're going to talk about a handover experience." So that handover checklist, like your internal checklist, the things that have to get done, that is there in the background. But with your handover experience, everything is client facing. Don't make it boring, keep it fun, keep it sexy.

Sky Stephens:

Even things like, on the day, when you're having to hand over all those manuals, all that paperwork, you have to put it in a beautiful glossy document folder, nice and branded. And it matches the box that you're giving them the new keys in and it's still fun and light and exciting.

Bosco Anthony:

Speaking of which, when does the QA or the testing of the house come into play? And who is responsible? Is that the same person who's doing the handover, typically? Or who's testing all the appliances and the electricity and everything, making sure everything is working before that handover happens?

Russ Stephens:

Well, that would depend on the setup of the building company. Typically, that would be the supervisor's responsibility. Failing that, it would come to the project manager. When you come to handover, it's a nice touch if it's the owner of the building company who's actually delivering that.

Russ Stephens:

That is a really nice touch, yeah. A good investment of your time as the owner of the company. You're probably not going to be doing that type of work, the testing, unless you're a smaller company where you've been managing the build as well.

Sky Stephens:

If you have a bigger building company, especially if they worked with a salesperson on your team, and then they got handed over to someone else who was their primary point of contract during construction, at handover, make sure that new primary person in construction, usually the project manager, is there. But also, make sure the original salesperson is there, so they get to really relish in that moment with the clients.

Russ Stephens:

Because they're going to get the referrals, aren't they? 

Sky Stephens:

Exactly; it's a sales opportunity. But make the client feel special. I couldn't wait to say this; I remember a year ago having the conversation about what you were looking for. Make the clients feel special. It's their day.

Bosco Anthony:

We’ve talked a little bit about marketing and sales here – how does the building company really leverage a great handover experience authentically? The keyword here is authentic. Because you see a lot of transactions sometimes where the conversations can end up being transactional. How do you make it so that everyone has a win, but it's done in a very authentic manner?

Russ Stephens:

There's a few different ways to maximise this opportunity once you've got the process in place. One of them is simply writing about the handover process, what happens at a handover. As Sky says, you're not going to give away the sizzle at that point, but you're going to manage client's expectations, so they know what to expect.

Russ Stephens:

Because as a professional builder with an exceptional handover experience, you want to raise those expectations so that you pull away from your competition. So that becomes a blog article; it's a marketing piece; you’re posting about the actual handover on social media, obviously with the owner's permission.

Russ Stephens:

But when you've got your client in that moment of happiness. You've got that picture of them sipping the champagne, their joy, their whole family there. As long as they're comfortable, that's a great social media opportunity. Another home handed over to happy clients. Great credibility there. Verbalising the process using stories in the sales process as well, brings an emotional hook into the sales process.

Russ Stephens:

The more you do this, the more prospects, if they are considering other builders or anyone else, they're going to ask those other builders, “What do you guys do?” And then they'll be staring at the blank looks. But of course, the most important way to leverage a great handover experience is asking for referrals because that really is the reward for everything that you're doing here.

Russ Stephens:

And you do have to ask for referrals. They're not just going to get volunteered to you. But providing an exceptional experience is going to help you with referrals. Here’s a good tip really to assist with that, so that you're not just getting referrals only on the day, but you're getting them for months, possibly even years to come. When you finish the home, just brand the home with a plaque over the integral garage door. It's non-intrusive. We all like brands; we buy designer clothes; even the cars we buy are branded. It's the same with homes; have pride in your brand. Have a plaque with the build number, “Proudly built by” and the build number.

Russ Stephens:

It will sit over the garage door. Now, what happens is every time that proud new homeowner shows someone through their home, they're going to point to that plaque and say it was built by. They're going to take pride in that. So, that can lead to referrals as well.

Bosco Anthony:

Now, you're alluding to the fact that this could have a really great impact on sales. The question I'm going to have here is, when is the right time to ask for the referral? On top of that, it sounds like there's a bunch of sales opportunities that are organic, some are subtle, some are actually direct through referrals. Take me through the process of how this particular handover experience can really impact sales.

Russ Stephens:

I spoke to someone probably two weeks ago who was organising a big event. When I got through and spoke to the guy on the phone and I said I'm in, he asked me if I knew anyone else who would also be interested in this event. He asked me three times on the same phone call. I then spoke to him three days later and he asked me again. I then spoke to him two days after that, and he asked me again.

Russ Stephens:

Every time I speak to this guy, he asks me if there's anyone else. So in terms of when is the best time, it's every time you communicate, would be my answer. But of course, on the handover day at the end, when you've delivered on this handover, you've delivered on everything you said you would. You've checked to make sure they're happy. There's nothing else on their mind. That's a great time to then ask them is there anyone else, your friends or family, who is considering building a new home?

Bosco Anthony:

It sounds like this can really impact sales in both the front end, but also the back end as well. It sounds like you're considering both sides of this as well, because there's a possibility that even three months from then or six months from then the referrals could be pouring in organically as well.

Russ Stephens:

Yeah, happy clients should keep on referring. It should never stop.

Bosco Anthony:

Can you give us an example of a home building company that you've worked with that's doing exceptional handovers, that are literally taking your blueprint and applying it with a lot of love and actually getting really significant results?

Andy Skarda:

That's very difficult to answer because we've got a time limit. I'm saying that seriously; the guys who have done the training and in a lot of cases stepped out on the tight rope with a little bit of trepidation thinking, “Oooh.” Once the first one has gone through and they see the result of it, they see the reaction to it, they will never, ever not do it again. And in fact, what we see with most of our guys is they literally improve on the fundamentals that we give them. They start to bring in little nuances and things that we didn't think of that just put this up.

Andy Skarda:

As you were asking that question, I was thinking around the world. That is really the piece that strikes me, because we've run this out as a protocol, as a system for people to use, and the consistent stuff coming back from all over the world shows how well this actually works.

Andy Skarda:

So I'm going to take the fifth on this. I'm not going to mention anybody by name individually. But certainly, if I think about our Private Mentoring program, anybody who has been in the program longer than about six months and has done this training, absolutely, once it's put into place, it never ever goes away again.

Sky Stephens:

I think even for anyone looking for actual examples in our members groups, that all our members of APB have a private group on Facebook. We celebrate wins in that group, and there's one post that is consistent in the group, and it's when someone does their first handover.

Sky Stephens:

It makes the client’s day, but my goodness, it makes the builder’s day as well because they're so pumped. They're just as excited for the clients. There's an example from one of our builders based in the US, I remember it was a joke. We've got a whole process for delivering that handover process experience, and it includes gifts and different paperwork and different things you need to pop in place. There was a joke between the clients and this particular builder about them wanting to be in by Christmas. But they inquired so late in the year, it was very clear that they would never be in by Christmas.

Sky Stephens:

So, in that whole handover experience, they made it like Christmas in the house. There was even a Christmas tree. It made the whole client's year because of that joke that was perpetuated through the build and the whole sales process. So, you make the handover unique for the clients in front of you, make their day, make their year. That's a story that just came back to me as Andy was talking.

Andy Skarda:

We talk often about the fact that building somebody's custom home or remodelling their home is a relationship. It's not a quick; it's not over in two weeks. It's six, eight, nine, 10, 12, 18 months sometimes, depending on the scale of what you're doing. With a lot of our builders, by this stage, people are friendly. They've had that much interaction.

Andy Skarda:

It's been a significant time in the client's life, and they've enjoyed it. The reality is when they are the only people at the next barbecue they go to who loves building, the mileage you will get out of that discussion is just incredible. When we talk about referrals, we talk about, “How do we keep ourselves in people's top of mind awareness?”

Andy Skarda:

Give them an experience that blows them out the water. Every time somebody says building, they're going to remember the fact that when they got out of their car in the middle of summer, you'd got a snowblower to come in and blow confetti onto the paths so they could think it was Christmas. They'll never stop talking about you.

Russ Stephens:

Great example because it's how you should be thinking in marketing, isn't it? “How can I create a story for my clients to retell?” That's all you’ve got to be doing, giving your clients stories, because they will repeat them over and over.

Bosco Anthony:

And people will be very complimentary when they have that experience as well, just as much as people would be telling other people if they had a bad experience. So it's really important to protect that reputation as well. Right?

Andy Skarda:

We've spoken about asking for referrals, but this is obviously the prime time. I think we've actually said this word out loud. I just want to make sure we put it in here. This is the best time to get a testimonial. This is the time that if you're looking for that Facebook or Google review; you're looking for that comment on your website.

Andy Skarda:

Obviously, we like to turn this into an actual case study that's captured in film and video and all that kind of thing. But make sure, because of the positivity that there's going to be around this experience, that you're capturing soundbites and comments and those kinds of things.

Bosco Anthony:

Final question for the day is where do builders get the resources to access this particular checklist and framework to hand over this amazing exceptional experience?

Sky Stephens:

We've got an entire training on creating and delivering an exceptional handover experience available for all of our members. So probably the easiest thing to do is we've popped a direct link in the show notes to a full demonstration of what our members get access to.

Sky Stephens:

It's courses just like this, so you can get a preview of a lot of them. It's just like a video that gives you a little bit of a walkthrough. So, I think that'd be the easiest thing. Click on the direct link there and you can check it out. You can get a little sneak preview of the handover checklist that we walk our builders through.

Russ Stephens:

Look behind the curtain now.

Bosco Anthony:

Yeah. This has been really insightful. I want to thank everyone for your time as well. And thank you for taking me through a storytelling of what an exceptional handover experience could look like.

Russ Stephens:

Thanks having us, Bosco.

Andy Skarda:

Thanks Bosco.

Sky Stephens:

Thanks Bosco.

Bosco Anthony:

Thank you for listening. Remember to subscribe to Professional Builders Secrets on your favourite podcast platform and leave a review. To learn more about how the systems of APB can help you grow your building company, visit association ofprofessionalbuilders.com. See you next time.