Last month, we attended the NAHB International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas. The show was a huge success with over 55,000 worldwide attendees and jam-packed education “break-out” sessions. For me, what stood out was the impressive traffic and enthusiasm that builders like you were showing for the nextBUILD exhibit. The nextBUILD exhibits were primarily those vendors focused on utilizing software to help builders with virtually any aspect of its operations. Examples include: Accounting Software for Builders. Construction Management Software. CRM Software for Builders Estimating software Project Management Software Service Management Software Takeoff Software Architect Software Hopefully, you get the idea. In addition to the nextBUILD exhibits, the education break-out sessions were extremely helpful. One of the sessions that stood out to me and to many others was a session called: 10 Questions You Should Be Asking Software Companies---But Aren’t. Not only was this session well-received, it had a 100% positive feedback rating from the attendees. We had to get a live replay of this session for our viewers and other builders that may benefit from the advice and guidance presented during the session! Erik Cofield was the lead presenter of that session and he as graciously accepted our request for a live replay in the form of today’s webinar.

1. 10 Questions You Should
Be Asking Software
Companies - But Aren't
Expert Webinar Series
Presented by Erik Cofield
www.FindConstructionSoftware.com
Link to Webinar Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_zMdUFUtA

2. Erik Cofield, CGA
Erik Cofield, CGA
Builder Tech Consulting LLC
www.buildertechconsulting.com
buildertech@yahoo.com
832-277-4805
10 Questions Builders Should
Ask Software Companies,
But Don’t
Just ask for the handouts
This .pdf presentation
A MS Word narrative
A MS Excel 200+ questions

3. How to Buy Software
Accurately, Profitably
• Builders lose money every day by making
uninformed software purchasing decisions.
We will hear typical builder questions, why
they are not the strongest you could ask,
and then some rather touchy, but important
ones you should be asking. This session
could save you hours of misspent time,
and more importantly, thousands of dollars
in misspent money.

4. Learning Outcomes
 Learn how to "peel the layers of an onion" to
detect brochure-ware vs. software.
 Get the 10 key questions you should be asking
that will give you the upper hand in purchasing
software.
 Explore the strategy of how you should connect
to the answers, not just get the answers.
 Discover the subtle ways to tell fact from fiction
and amateur from professional.

5. The wait time for this ride is
…0 Minutes!
Software companies want you to focus
primarily on the software itself, no matter what
industry you are in. Many builders only focus
on the software system and the features and
benefits.
Don’t do that.
One of the most important features is the
company itself. The correct software system
‘buy’ has to include what or who THEIR
company is, as well as yours, and your needs.

6. Typical Questions Many Ask
How long have you been
in business?
Will I talk to one person or
many people along the way?
How many employees
do you have?
Who is your biggest competitor?
What if I don’t like it?

7. BETTER
QUESTIONS

8. 1) How many customers do
you lose a month?
Talk about sensitive.
How many customers do you lose,
is a big deal and a very touchy question.
Good reasons….
Bad reasons….
The average MONTHLY churn rate
(customers leaving)
for cloud based software is 2 to 4%.
Psycho: What they say/How they respond

9. 2) Have you been involved
in lawsuits?
It’s a Trap!
Sub Questions:
Have you ever filed a lawsuit against
a builder?
Have you ever had a lawsuit filed
against you by a builder?
Psycho: What they say/How they respond

10. 3) When I call tech support,
who will I talk to?
It’s actually a big deal.
Common answers:
…dedicated support rep
…an assigned manager
Stronger answer:
…an account manager with a team
of support as back up
The not so obvious -- Why?
Psycho: How difficult is the system, really?

11. 4) What is your Support
Satisfaction Rate?
Trick Question. Perfection isn’t attainable.
90% is not really all that good
95% is reasonable & minimum expectation
97-98% is excellent
Now you know. Don’t get fooled.
Psycho: If you struggle with intuition, as
many men do, ask a woman to be part of
your decision making or questioning and
data gathering team. NEVER underestimate
a woman’s intuition! If it sounds like they
are making it up….

12. 5) How many hours per
MONTH is your system down?
What goes up, must come down,
but not much.
Average = 1-3 hours per year!
Don’t be fooled by:
“I don’t know” or “Couple of hours”
- amateur, dumb, liar, u-pick
Psycho: Use “month” to allow them,
to slip in to telling you a number
that seems small.
If they are not stable, you won’t be either!

13. 6) What are your 2
primary user profiles?
Typical answer: All Builders
– Maybe, probably not.
Better answers:
Custom Builders, Production Builders or
Marketing Managers, Owners, Remodelers
…..something more specifically targeted.
Alternative Questions:
Who are most of your customers?
What are all the profiles of your customers?
Psycho: Are your needs general/specific?

14. 7) Do you turn down customers,
and if so, why?
Nobody wants to admit they turn down
customers.
But they do.
They should.
You should too.
(for the right reasons)
Psycho: Ideally you want to get their answer
Before they know a lot about you.
It’s your burden to determine if you fit.
That’s for you to decide, not them.

15. 8) What is your ratio
of sales to support?
What sounds better?
“Oh a lot. You will never wait long.”
“About 5 to 1 I would say. There are plenty”
“1 to 1. We have 2 in sales, 2 in support”
Trick: “Do you have at least one tech
support person for 100 companies?
The amateur sales person will just walk in
to your trap and respond with something like,
“Oh yeah, at least”. That’s way too high.
Psycho: low sales/high support can mean the
system is difficult. Why do they need so many?
I know why. Now you do too.

16. 9) Will you Price Match Your
Competition?
Will you? You shouldn’t.
In the case of software, there is no such
thing as exact apples to applez.
Software company racing to the bottom?
You going to trust your world to them?
Psycho: The psychology of price matching
is not really in your interest. Ask what their
best deal is. Many companies have affiliation
pricing, show specials, or something to offer.
Flaky Pricing = Flaky Processing

17. 10) How often do you roll
out new features?
Reverse psychology-
Amateur sales person, “All the time”.
‘All the time’ is the exact wrong answer.
All the time? Is it new, basic, buggy, what?
3 Bears of Software Development (2-4x/yr)
Not too Much, Not too Little, Just Right
Psycho:
“What are the next two things coming out?”
Shouldn’t they want to tell you?

18. We Hope This Helps.
Q&A Next
Our intent at Builder Tech Consulting:
- Help builders run a better business
- Raise the bar for professionalism in
our industry
Remember:
If you have no system of record,
you will have a record of no system.

19. Erik Cofield, Managing Member
Builder Tech Consulting, LLC
832.277.4805
buildertech@yahoo.com
www.buildertechconsulting.com
THANKS!
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK
HANDOUTS COMPLIMENTARY
Head Shot

20. 10 Questions You Should
Be Asking Software
Companies - But Aren't
Expert Webinar Series
Presented by Erik Cofield
www.FindConstructionSoftware.com
Link to Webinar Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx_zMdUFUtA