This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Jaclyn Centofanti of Hulbert Homes joins Greg and Kevin to discuss the importance of home builders identifying and focusing on the ideal home buyer.
Making sure a home buyer and a home builder are an appropriate match can eliminate many negative issues during the home buying process. Jaclyn says,
“If I sign somebody on and they’re maybe a pill, I have to then hand them over to my interior designer, I have to hand them over to a project manager, and then we have to babysit them for 10 to 12 months while they build their house. Which is kind of a long time for somebody to be not a good fit for a company. We really think about that…are we sure this is the right fit? You know, are they going to get along with our project managers? Are we just handling something that we don’t want them to handle? And we’ve walked away before as needed.”
It can be financially challenging to vet home buyers, however, it will benefit the entire home building company to ensure that the customer is on the same page as the home builder. Jaclyn explains,
“…it’s a tough pill to swallow to say no to somebody when their money is green. But it’s more than just about me because I could kind of walk away after selling them and say, thanks so much. Nice to meet you guys. Here’s our project manager, Mike, and he’s going to be like for nine months, why did you give me this person? I don’t want to build their house.”
It might be necessary for a home builder to not accept work from a home buyer that doesn’t reflect the same values. Jaclyn says,
“I would like you to choose us because we’re the best, but I want you to do your homework. And I’ll also say that we’re not everybody’s cup of tea. We’ve turned clients down before that we’ve said, you know what? I don’t think that we can meet your expectations. That’s tough, you know, when you’re looking at a million-dollar home.”
Listen to this week’s episode to learn more about how home builders can secure the right type of home buyers.
About the Guest:
Jaclyn grew up in Flagler County and then moved to Lakeland to attend Florida Southern College, where she received her BA in Communication with a focus on news media. While taking her final classes and participating in an internship for a record label, she realized that she had a knack for marketing and other areas. She worked at Disney for almost two years before being offered a job in advertising sales at the local Flagler newspaper, The Observer.
During her ten years at The Observer, she made a name for herself in her home community, participating on many committees and serving on many boards. She got involved with the Home Builders Association, and that started to pique her interest. She met Mark Hulbert at an HBA event, and the rest is history.
She joined Hulbert Homes, which had newly expanded to Flagler from their home base in Polk County, just over two years ago. Hulbert Homes needed someone connected to that community. During her time with Hulbert Homes, she’s done permitting, operations, quality control, and purchasing. She finally landed in the seat of sales and marketing and business development. She works with prospective clients, being the first person they interact with at Hulbert Homes, but also works on deepening relationships with developers, the homeowners’ associations for the communities Hulbert builds in, realtors, affiliate tradesmen and women, etc. She took on marketing at the end of last year, with a focus on Flagler County, a newer market, and Hulbert Homes has become a household name through those efforts.
Jaclyn is the incoming vice president of the Flagler Home Builders Association and the Chair for the Government Affairs Committee. She sits on the committee for the Patient & Family Council for AdventHealth and the Marketing Committee for the Flagler Education Foundation and serves regularly in Children’s Ministries for her church.
Personally, Jaclyn has two children, an 8.5-year-old girl, and a 4.5-year-old boy. They live with her and her fiance. The wedding is set for February of next year. Jaclyn’s parents and sister and her family also live in Flagler County.