When I teach the Institute of Residential Marketing classes, one of the things that I am constantly stressing is how important teamwork is. To have a successful project everyone needs to be brought together as early as possible. This way everyone can be on the same page, and a team member that you typically don’t include might have some insight or suggestions that can change the path you are going on in a more successful and profitable way.

You would be amazed how rarely my clients take advantage of this service, but one of the exceptions is Patriot Homes. I had a meeting yesterday with their Texas division and we discussed changes for 2009, including what were realistic expectations of the cost of these changes that could be considered in budget meetings. By planning ahead we all not only understand the direction we want to move in but we also will know what we can afford.

The meeting included the sales team which were extremely helpful in letting me know what worked and what didn’t in the past and what we are missing that clients are asking for. Feedback like this can make all the difference in the success of future projects.