In business, partnerships can go a long way in growing and scaling a company.
That’s why many homebuilders turn to affiliations with a home building supplier to help meet many of the challenges in the custom home industry and take their company to the next level.
At Barden Building Products, we have a growing independent dealership program that’s designed to do just that. There’s nothing we love more than helping our independent dealers flourish with a backlog of upcoming projects.
While attaching your business’s name to a new home building supply company is a big decision, there are some misconceptions about what it actually means.
6 Misconceptions About Partnering With Barden as Your Home Building Supplier
In our more than 70 years in the custom home building industry, we’ve talked with plenty of custom home company owners who became Barden Independent Dealers. In our conversations, we fielded many of the same questions and misconceptions about partnering with us.
Here are some of the most common. Let’s clear the air.
1. There are Joiner & Membership Fees
While the answer to this question may be different with other home builder suppliers, at Barden a partnership does not carry any startup fees or recurring membership costs.
What your custom home building company invests in itself once it becomes one of our independent dealers is entirely up to you.
2. You’re Limited in How You Market Your Business
This is one of our favorite misconceptions.
While we certainly want our independent dealers to represent our brand ethically and responsibly, we also recognize that your custom home company is yours.
Creating a steady pipeline of new leads (potential clients) takes time and effort – and marketing plays a big role in that. Restricting our independent dealers’ marketing ultimately restricts their business and its growth potential.
One of the benefits of our independent dealer program is the enhancements it brings to a home building company’s marketing. In addition to leveraging the Barden brand name, our dealers benefit from:
- Marketing materials
- Advertising co-op funding
- Reports on industry trends and market conditions
3. You’re Only Allowed to Use “Our People”
Some home construction material supply companies restrict their affiliates to working with a list of pre-approved companies to complete work on custom home projects.
That’s not the case with Barden.
Though there’s something to be said for a high degree of quality control – something we pride ourselves on with our products and services – we don’t place such limits on our dealers.
In fact, we encourage our dealers to create their own bullpen of dependable subcontractors and trade workers. The last thing we want is for any of our independent dealers to hit roadblocks in building a home because of constrictions on who they can hire out to help get the job done.
4. You’re Limited to Only Using Our Construction Method
In a sense, there is some truth to this myth.
The only way to build a Barden home is by working with us directly to design and build a home using our panelized construction method.
While we’d love all of our independent dealers to exclusively build Barden homes, we realize the custom home building environment is dynamic and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
However, it’s worth mentioning: our panelized construction method streamlines the custom home building process for both the client and the dealer or builder. That’s why the majority of homes our independent dealers build are Barden homes.
Using one of the most efficient home construction methods, panel built homes are:
- Built faster
- Require fewer workers
- Use fewer materials
In addition, unlike other building methods, panelized construction makes a 100% customized home a reality. Unless a client has a vision for a home that far exceeds conventional building practices, there’s very little that can’t be done to tailor a panel built home’s floor plan to meet their needs and wants.
5. You’re on Your Own
To be direct: though Barden Independent Dealers are independent, they are not on their own.
A partnership works both ways, and when our independent dealers are successful, so are we. That’s why our independent dealership program is designed to help our custom home dealer affiliates succeed.
In addition to marketing support, we offer our independent dealers :
- Networking opportunities
- Peer mentorship
- Educational resources
- Sales assistance
- Our wisdom of experience from more than 70 years in the home construction industry
The Barden Independent Dealer program also offers strength in numbers. With a large collective of custom home dealers, we’re able to purchase home lumber & building supplies in bulk, helping to keep prices down. Savings on construction materials ultimately translate to savings for clients.
6. You Need to Have an Architect
Having experience or a working knowledge of how to design a home certainly helps. However, it isn’t a requirement for Barden Independent Dealers.
Unlike other custom home building suppliers, we have an internal design and drafting team that’s available to our independent dealers. There are very few Barden projects the team isn’t involved in.
What’s more, should a client come to the table with blueprints already developed, our team is more than happy to work with them and make adjustments as needed.
Barden Building Products as Your Home Building Supplier & Partner
Partnering with a custom home building supplier shouldn’t happen on a whim. It’s a big decision that requires careful consideration. A partnership shouldn’t feel like a prison sentence or impede your custom home business from reaching its potential.
The Barden Independent Dealership program is designed solely to help your custom home building company succeed and allow you to enjoy a long career in helping clients realize their dream home.
Learn More About How a Barden Affiliation Boosts Your Business
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