Four Seasons Sunrooms & Windows NYCU September 17, 2012


Issue #1079 - September 17, 2012

This Issue of News You Can Use...

Selling Season - Interview with Shaun Kennedy
Sale Extended Through September
Sunroom Idol Results so far...
Bootcamp in Toronto - Next Stop: Union City!
Finding Financing Solutions
The Hampton Room from Four Seasons
Mobile Showroom in Kentucky
Happy Customers...

Selling Season:
An Interview With Shaun Kennedy of Four Seasons Sunrooms

CEO Shaun Kennedy on why the company is planning for big growth.

Replacement Contractor: Is the crash in the sunroom market over or will the recovery have to wait for easy credit to come back?

Shaun Kennedy: The sunroom market, I believe, has come back. It hasn't come back to pre-recession levels but it is certainly coming back.

RC: What evidence do you see for that?

SK: We measure that through inquiries. Our inquiries have increased massively in the last two years. This year there are 10,000 more than last year. The financing is still choppy and I don't think it's coming back quickly. But there is a sense of demand, and I think what is driving that is "Don't move, improve."

RC: Are you seeing a different demographic buying the product?

SK: We have seen our demographic [become] a little younger. Historically, the sunroom customer was an empty nester, 45-plus [years old] with equity in the home and an average home price of about $300,000. Now we're seeing people add a sunroom to create a little space for their children. So the buyer is 35-plus, same home price, with less equity in the home but a need for space.

Marketing Mix

RC: What kind of marketing works best for you right now?

SK: We do a lot of print, but we've reduced our print budget by 25% over the last three years. We've also quadrupled our Internet budget. Four years ago we were spending $1 million a year on Internet marketing. This year it will be $3.5 million. We want to ensure that our dealers come up at the top of organic search rankings. We get about 70,000 search inquiries a year.

RC: How are sales?

SK: In 2007 our sales started to fall. In 2010 they began to turn around because of steps we took. Meanwhile, we reduced our cost base and began to obtain a lot more leads. We've invested in company stores and in sales training for the franchise network. We've also invested heavily in marketing. That's why we're here and our competition is struggling. Our sales were up $5 million in 2011, and we expect them to be up an additional $5 million this year.

RC: Which do better, franchises or company stores?

SK: The franchise is still the most profitable part of our business. Those 275 dealers contribute the biggest volume. But if you look at our eight company stores as a standalone business, that's a much more efficient marketing and sales operation. Our company store in New York turns three times the sales of our largest franchise.

RC: What would you tell a new franchise owner are the three best ways to produce leads?

SK: First, the leads that we develop at corporate headquarters represent 50% of Four Seasons' business today. That said, I don't want the franchises to be dependent on us for leads. Our intention is to dominate and build on a local basis. And every market is different. Some are digitally driven, some not.

Second, you can't succeed with vanilla marketing. You have to tailor that mix of lead sources and have a consistent marketing plan. Shows and events work. Second to those, you could have a mix of TV, print, and radio. But the mix could be different in every state.

[And third,] it's imperative to have a good monitoring system, whether you're a one-man band or a big company with multiple operations and many salespeople.

RC: You're encouraging dealers to sell windows. Won't that distract them from selling sunrooms?

SK: I think they should do that only if they can invest in separate salespeople. That said, we make a smashing window, and we use the best glass. And our retail stores are selling $5 million a year in windows. We intend to grow that business through the company stores and build a $25 million window business in the next four or five years. We also look to provide those windows to the network, without distracting from core business.

Improved Product

RC: What's different or better about the design of the sunrooms you're making today?

SK: The biggest change to the product is improved glass technology for better performance. Energy saving is a big issue on people's minds. So we've added more coatings to the glass. The glass is self-cleaning. Beyond that we continue to improve the product by reducing exposed fasteners. So it's a lot of little things.

And for the last 12 months we've worked extensively on a new product, which is an addition we'll be showing at the Builder Show in January. It will feature European design but American innovation.

RC: What are future plans?

SK: We'll be recruiting new franchisees as well as opening additional company stores. We believe we can double both dealer sales volume and store sales volume in the next five years.

Source: REPLACEMENT CONTRACTOR Magazine - Publication date: September 5, 2012

Extended Through September

Four Seasons will continue running a Promotion for $1000 rebate off of all sunrooms and $500 off of all walls only applications through September. Franchise/Dealer participation is required.

Here is how it works:

We will have banner ad on our website urging consumers make an appointment online and receive a $1000 off coupon to use on their sunroom purchase. The consumer must present the franchise with this coupon on the first visit to get the Factory Sponsored discount.

Four Seasons will contribute to this savings by offering you, the franchise/dealer, up to 10% OFF the net cost of the order (up to a maximum of $1000)!

An additional "savings certificate" is on the B2B for you to use in the event the homeowner has not printed the coupon out from the website, or you want to make this offer to a consumer who did not book their appointment online.

Orders must be submitted to Four Seasons by close of play on October 9th. Orders must ship by January 7th, 2013.

Cannot be combined with any other offers.

All walls only must come with a photo of existing roof to get special price.

The Current Promotional Certificate and Consumer Letter used for fulfillment, plus the additional "savings certificate" are available on the B2B Website in the Marketing - Promotions - 2012 Promotions Folder.

Sunroom Idol Results so Far

Brian Bassey from Oklahoma City is leading the pack so far in this year’s Sunroom Idol completion, followed closely by last year’s Sunroom idol, Mike Hanrihar from Hickory, NC. Luke Hoh, 2011 leader from the Midwest is again on a hot streak, selling four pool enclosures in the last two months! Ralph McKnight from Harrisburg, PA is running in a tight race in the North with last Bart Scesney from Winchester, VA who took top spot in the region in 2011. Jayson Miles from British Columbia is chasing Gus Antoniadis from Whitby, Ontario in a tight race for the top spot in Canada. In the West, Erik Schmidt and Neal Silverman, both from Southern California are neck and neck for the top spot.

Please make sure all orders are submitted with the Sales registration number to ensure you get your Idol credits. Please contact your Customer Service rep if you are unsure of the registration number. The competition runs through to the end of October.

The leader board for Top Company from each region to ALSO go on the trip is as follows:

North
Sunspace Design - Harrisburg PA
Total Remodeling Systems - Winchester VA
Efficient Home Products - Bristol PA
New England Sunrooms - Wayland MA

Canada
Four Seasons London - Ontario
Apollo Pools - Edmonton
Four Seasons Whitby - Ontario
Tiem Builders - British Columbia

South
Sunrooms and More - Oklahoma City, OK
Sunlife - Hickory NC
Columbus Solariums - Columbus GA
DC Enclosures - Kennesaw GA

Midwest
Sunroom Design Group - Appleton WI
Patriot Sunrooms - Kirkwood MO
Sunroom Designs of Nebraska
Kool View - Madison WI

West
Home Resort Living - Albuquerque NM
SunBoss - Riverside CA
Santa Barbara Sunrooms
California Sunrooms - Walnut Creek, CA
Colorado Sunrooms - Denver CO

All races are very tight in each region. Final winner is determined by shipments ordered and shipped during the promotional period, so these standings are very volatile and change weekly. Please contact your regional sales director with any questions and good luck to all!

Important note, orders must also ship in the qualifying period to retain awards points, so the standings are subject to change!

Bootcamp in Toronto - Next Stop: Union City!

Brian Gottlieb is bringing his 2.5 day fantastic sales training boot camp to Union City, CA! Dates scheduled are Tuesday, October 23rd through to Thursday 25th, finishing lunch time. We are just working on location specifics right now, so watch for an official announcement and registration form to be sent very soon!

We had 30 people attend the training camp in Toronto with fantastic results so far, this is a training not to miss...

"Thanks so much to you and Brian for setting up the training in Toronto. I sure needed the salesmanship touch ups. More than I thought. I'm normally a two-sit close presentation man. On my first appointment, I went back through the 8 point design profile layout with the customer, adapted to my style of course, and within a short 2.5 hours had gone through my habits, confirming everything on my pre-close... asked the tough uncomfortable question aside from price, are you happy with design, company, and layout. Yes yes yes. I used job estimater for the first time ever in a home. I used % discount drops for job sign. Home show and the closer was the batch order discount 8%. Yaya."
~Troy, Fourseasons Victoria

Finding Financing Solutions

With lending standards easing (based upon our own retail stores experiences), it’s important that we have someone to turn to who will give us the right advice and the best solutions to finance our potential customers. We must offer competitive financing options that make our products not only easily affordable, but easy to obtain. For over five years, Enerbank has been the provider of our highly successful 12 Month NO Interest NO Payment Promotion, with millions of dollars in approvals. Enerbank continues to be our first port-of-call in our retail business, with 27% being funded through them -- Quick, clean and easy!

Recently, Enerbank reduced its lending criteria from a FICO score of 700 down to 680, a twenty point drop. This is a further indicator that institutions are relaxing credit standards. Even with this, we know that we have a huge market in consumers who may not qualify for the NO Interest NO Payment Plan, but who have the ability to buy and pay for a Four Seasons Sunroom. With this in mind, we have continued to search for a partner who can provide alternative loan types to make financing a Four Seasons Sunroom easier so you don’t lose the sale.

One of the keys to financing is what actually happens in the home. If you can’t offer the consumer financing solutions, you lose the power to close! For instance, the excuse they need to not sign: “I will go and speak to my bank and see if I can get a loan.”

For the last twelve months, Four Seasons Retail Stores have been testing a new company, Service Finance Company, LLC, based in Boca Raton, Florida. Service Finance, under the leadership of Mark Berch, CEO, offers many financing options right from the house while the sales representative and customer are at the kitchen table! They offer attractive loan products that buy down deep in the FICO bands, such as a 1.50% payment factor, 36 Month Equal Pay, 12/18 Months with pay, deferred interest, 6 Month with pay, deferred interest loan that buys down to a 580 FICO coupled with FHA Title I loans that buy down to a 620 FICO and have repayment terms up to 20 years!

Four Seasons was introduced to Service Finance by Dave YOHO associates and with great clients from the home improvement industry such as LENNOX Industries, SEARS Home Improvement and EMPIRE Today. Service Finance is operated by home improvement professionals who understand how to help your sales team close deals in the home. From a state of the art call center in Boca Raton, they can help your sales people close by finding the right loan and the right monthly payment to fit your customer’s budget. All of this is done right there on the day while your sales professional is still in the home. Now, your sales rep can leave the home with a signed contract, not a promise to call!

We are delighted to announce a series of informational webinars to introduce you to Service Finance and the products and services that are available to help you sell more business!

Join us on the following dates to learn how Service Finance can grow your business.

To join in on these informational webinars use the instructions below and see how Service Finance can help you help your customers:

Click on the corresponding meeting link below to enter the Webinar you wish to join:

September 11th @ 10:00am EST USA ONLY
CLICK HERE to join this meeting
Meeting ID# 561-370-762

September 13th @ 4:00pm EST USA ONLY
CLICK HERE to join this meeting
Meeting ID# 768-064-026

September 18th

CLICK HERE to join this meeting

September 20th

CLICK HERE to join this meeting

Please join the meeting 5-7 minutes before the actual start time to allow the software to upload.

If the links above do not work for some reason:
Visit: GoToMeeting.com -- Click "JOIN A MEETING" -- then enter the meeting ID #

New from Four Seasons - The Hampton Room

Four Seasons is delighted to announce our latest innovation: The "Hampton Room." It is an advancement not only in the Sunroom market, but also an exciting step into the Multi- Billion Dollar Room additions market. The "Hampton Room" is a versatile product that oozes the elegance and sophistication of a bygone era, and yet still has a modern and contemporary feel.

The Hampton room is a versatile room for whatever the customer wishes to utilize it for; a kitchen, a dining room, a den or even an elegant spa or bedroom addition! With state of the art building components the ‘Hampton Room" is beautiful, adaptable and energy efficient for whatever use the customer wants.

Add LED lighting around the beautiful Conservaglass Select Roof and at night watch it transform into a flood of color to match your mood or just leave it off to stargaze.

Outside make a statement with the addition of natural stone, or blend it perfectly to your home with Siding, Brick or Cedar shingles.

The Hampton Room a modern step forward for modern living, providing light and space at an affordable price!

The Hampton Room has recently been added to the corporate website at www.FourSeasonSunrooms.com. In addition, new marketing materials are nearly complete and in within the upcoming week, The Hampton Room will be added to all Four Seasons Franchise/Dealer and Retail Websites.

Job Estimator version 10.55 will be out soon, which will include the new Hampton Room.

Mobile Showroom
Sunnyside Designs in Louisville, KY

Happy Customers...

Dear Ms. Cindy,

After the long time waiting since May this year, finally we got our new windows on 09-12-12 (Wednesday), although late, but with gladness and satisfaction.

First we want to give thanks to you and Nick, who worked so hard to prepare all the information to get approval from our HOA, included emails phones and several mails. Appreciated!

Second, we want to thank your great contractor Jose and his crew. First, Jose's father picked a penny and dime from our backyard and returned back to us. They are honest even if it's just a penny. They had good attitude, worked hard and were easy to get along with (all three of them), very polite even asking permission to use bathroom each time; they are neat and clean, sweeping and vacuuming very often. They are skillful and very responsible. They are just great and did a great job to install our all windows.

Please give thanks to them again for us! And best wish to your business!

~Wen-Tsung & Alice Lin - Houston, Texas

send your own happy customer testimonials to AmyM@FourSeasonsSunrooms.com to be included in future issues of NYCU and on our Facebook Page. Include photos if you can!

Latest Issues of NYCU...

For your convenience, you can now always find the most recent issues of the NYCU on the B2B on the welcome page right after you log in. They are always published on the B2B the same day they are mailed out (Friday of each week).


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