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Models That Make
the Sale
Dueling Kitchens
Powder Room
Showers That Sell
Vent-Free Drains
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Showers That Sell
Oversize, spa showers increase sales figures
"When people see our showers, they think, 'Wow! You can get five or six people in there'," said David Stienke, general manager of Infinity Home Collection, a Denver-based production builder. "And that's exactly what I want them to think."
Stienke is a true believer in the sales power of spa showers in master bedroom suites, and his numbers back him up. "In every home where we offer a spa shower as an option, the buyer opts to have it installed," said Stienke, whose company will sell about 120 homes this year, almost half with spa showers.
What makes Infinity a groundbreaker is that it successfully sells a luxury item to buyers of midrange production homes. The company's "custom production" homes sell for an average of $500,000, but according to Stienke, you don't usually see spa showers in the Denver market until you hit the $1.5 million range. "Other production builders [in our price range] put a 30-inch by 30-inch pan in the master bath next to the bathtub, so a spa shower really differentiates us from them," he said.
The sell
Stienke's advice to builders who want to get in on the action is to put a fully optioned spa shower in a model home. "When buyers see it, they will feel like they have to have it, and they will head down to the design center to buy tile, shower heads, custom shower doors and hardware." These details have proved a healthy profit center for Infinity.
Speaking of details, don't expect to impress anyone with a single tiny showerhead. "You need to have at least two shower heads, and they need to have personality - a rainforest head mounted in the ceiling or body massagers along the wall. These specialty heads are more stimulating and impressive to show off," Stienke said.
As for sales technique, remember that you're selling an experience. A spa shower is a personal retreat where buyers can design their own special experience. "By the time they have selected the tile, the finishes, the towel bars and everything else, they feel like they have designed it themselves," he said.
That experience holds as much appeal for the man of the house as for the woman. "With this focus on the shower, we find that the man now has an opinion about an area he never really cared about before," Stienke said. This adds up to profitable sales of finishes like custom granite, marble and elaborate tile.
The strength of that appeal became clear when one couple didn't realize that they could get a spa shower until after construction began. They asked Infinity to rip out what it had already installed and paid for all the upgrades for the spa showers. "I am sure we win a deal or two because of the showers," Stienke said. Whether or not the shower itself closes the sale, he is sure of one thing. "Spa showers are a place home buyers want to spend money."
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