Five ways to market the $25,000 homebuilder cash grant and crush your sales

It’s been just a little over 6 months when a “Chinese flu” ominously called COVID-19 lay siege on the world and effectively punched down the global economy.

I’m still waiting to transition back “normal “ while the industrial world gets back on its feet. America is in chaos, Hong Kong is being subjugated to Chinese control and according to The Guardian, construction lobby groups predicted a 50% decline for dwelling investment by the end of 2020.

This isn’t just a smoke signal, the economic alarm bells are sounding loud and clear. What is even clearer from the chart below is the devastating impact COVID-19 could have on our very own construction sector.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you're aware that the Morrison Government has announced a homebuilder stimulus scheme of $25,000 grant for new homes or substantial renovations for contracts signed by 31st December 2020.

At a cost of $688m tax payer dollars, this implies that some 27,520 grants of $25,000 will be made.

A good win for all.

The stimulus may be designed to rescue the sector, save jobs and bring forward consumer decisions, but this doesn’t mean that property developers and construction company owners should simply grab it right off the bat without putting up intelligent marketing and sales strategies. 

We all know what happens when you feel a sense of elation and throw caution to the wind trying to sign up anyone who has a heartbeat.

Bear in mind that every building company or developer will also be vying for the same pool of clients, probably even fiercer than before and you’re still dealing with depressed consumer sentiment.

So while those in WA or Tasmania can be eligible for a further $20,000, the million-dollar question is how many will be brave enough to put pen to paper?

Contracts must be signed by the 31st December, and construction to commence within 3 months which doesn’t leave much room on either side and with the first week of June over, the clock is ticking…

So how do you crush your sales, benefit from this home builder grant, and stand out epically among the rest of your competitors?

Below are some of the key ways to make sure your marketing strategies remain at the top:

Identify and amplify your Unique Selling Position (USP). So what makes your company unique and more deserving of others? Since this grant is a special one-off incentive, expect that your company is not the only one contending for the same pool of clients. If your company has already created your own place in the industry, the intelligent way to prosper is to NOT attempt to enter new markets. This is not the time to rebrand and become a project home builder if that was never your bread and butter.

Continue with your other benefits and see this grant as a value-added and time-based incentive. Treat this grant as a ‘cherry on top’, something that will only add to your already nice offerings. A lot of penny-wise developers will try and contract their marketing or incentives thinking this will be enough but if you want to stand out, you need to accelerate even further. Don’t be pound foolish. 

Focus on content to educate consumers. The fundamentals of business do not change—developing trust and delivering value still applies, so with compressed time frames, it could be beneficial to you. As this scheme is so new, the amount of literature available is still minimal and it is a superb opportunity to be a leader in this space.

Remarket your existing databases like crazy, and do it NOW! This is a time-based incentive after all. So urgency and relevance are crucial. Remember, your database is probably being hit up by 3 other companies as we speak, so ensure the voice and promotion is spectacularly unique.

Target your market intelligently. Anyone who is on JobKeeper or JobSeeker right now are unlikely to qualify for finance and banks are scrutinizing occupations that are vulnerable to a potential second wave of infections. As for white-collar occupations who have traditionally been “safe as houses”, many have had to take circa 10% – 20% pay cuts so developing a product and narrative for this demographic would be prudent.