Being a successful tech builder does not mean straying into uncharted waters...at least not anymore.

Think about how successful a football team would be if they had the opposing team's playbook. Or better yet, what an advantage it would be to hear each play called. Well, welcome to the huddle!

As 2004 opens, builders nationwide are formulating the technology plans for their new homes. But some leading builders already have several years of tech experience under their belts. They've already made the mistakes, learned the lessons, and shared their success secrets with TecHome Builder, involving such key questions as...

1. How much technology to put into model homes? 2. How to forge solid relationships with integrators? 3. How to create online and brick-and-mortar design centers to show off technology? 4. How to properly gauge the potential technology usage of homebuyers? 5. How to create a physical design center?

The 13 secrets that follow, offered by builders to TecHome Builder over the past two years, might help you make the most of your tech plans in 2004.

1. Build a Design Center
New homebuyers don't generally need to view plumbing, framing, roofing and other aspects of construction. But they often need to see home technology in action to appreciate it and to purchase it. Unless a builder is working very closely with his integrator, who likely will have a showroom, it may be a good idea to actually build a physical design center.

Taylor Morley Inc. in Chesterfield, Mo., opened its Design Gallery in 2001 to provide homeowners with a hands-on experience with available technology. Every one of its production-home buyers visits the Design Gallery, which includes not only tech amenities, but choices from cabinets to flooring. The builder relies on experts from manufacturing companies and integration companies to periodically train its sales staff.

2. Showcase Tech in Model Homes Effectively
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Arvida wants to make sure that its homebuyers know exactly how to use their structured-wiring home networks. So to demonstrate it effectively, Arvida created model tech homes in which multiple home technologies are showcased.

According to Kevin Grossman, director of telecommunications and technology, the model homes are designed to showcase the "gee whiz" products.

Taylor Woodrow in Southern California really got creative in its model homes. The company was looking for a way to showcase technology, specifically home automation. With the help of its integrator, Audio/Video Entertainment of Laguna Niguel, Calif., the company created voiceover scripts that explained each home automation function. The voiceover was recorded onto a CD and played on the built-in speakers throughout the three model homes in its Wyndover Bay development in Newport Beach, Calif. When a visitor in the model home pressed a button on a touchscreen, the voiceover was activated.

Each of the three model homes included family-room entertainment systems, several other big-screen or flat-panel TVs, built-in audio and a home theater. Some of the music and DVDs playing on the TVs even matched themes in the home's decor. For example, The Man in the Iron Mask played in a model home decorated in traditional European design.

In nearby Pasadena, Calif., builder R.W. Hertel & Sons Inc. also wanted to showcase technology in its Oak Hill development. Working with its integrator, Home Tech Works, the company placed computer screen mock-ups throughout the model, so buyers could see that the home was coming equipped for a home network. According to purchasing manager Mark Mandernacht, homebuyers were selecting the den computer package even before they chose the home-office package. He chalks it up to the model display.

3. Create Community Intranets
Not only is the creation of a community intranet a selling point, it provides a homebuilder with the ability to maintain contact with homebuyers long after they move in.

In Chadwick Homes' Summer Grove development near Atlanta, Newnan Utilities created the Central Education Center on the intranet. It offers both in-person and remote learning through a school that combines the functions of a standard vocational/technical school and a local community college. One of its primary curricula is engineering. About 800 homes are connected to the intranet, allowing homeowners to communicate, socialize and debate town issues.

According to Summer Grove's developer Dan Camp, senior vice president and general manager of Pathways Communities, the dialog with residents provides instant feedback on their needs, and differentciates the company from other developers.

Arvida has also witnessed success by establishing community intranets, called TownTalk, for each of its developments. The intranets provide local news, an interactive town forum, community clubs, school homework assignments and lunch menus, email access to Arvida personnel, and a community bulletin board.

4. Market Tech on the Web
It's not news to builders that the first point of contact is increasingly occurring via the Internet, especially among female homebuyers.

KB Home's Lisa Kalmbach, senior vice president, says the company has seen a 700 percent increase in its Web traffic in just a few years. "Our plan is to make the Web site a tool during the entire homebuying and owning experience," she says. The site includes a mortgage calculator, floor plans, community info and the ability to make online appointments.

Arvida's Web site shows all of its available floorplans, sales brochures and community maps. Pricing is provided via integration with the back office, according to Tom Kuzma, vice president of information systems. Kuzma hopes this will make "a substantial difference in the way we market our communities and improve the way we communicate with our customers."

The key for many builders, however, is not to confuse their homebuyers with overly complicated tech jargon. For example, Arvida's site includes a "Home Technology" drop-down menu subdivided into several categories of home technology. An opening page describes what technology can do for the homeowners, but does not use any specifics. In fact, there is very little technical language at all. When homebuyers drill down deeper into that portion of the site, they can find specific tech amenities, such as connected appliances, home theater, and Ethernet home networks.

The Web site of Village Homes of Colorado is even more sophisticated. Buyers can surf the company's TECH Touch section to see a schematic of a tech home, complete with a floor-by-floor cross-section showing the locations of surround-sound systems, multiport jacks and security panels. The TECH Touch section also includes a frequently-asked-questions page laying out complete details of tech amenities for potential homebuyers.

5. Integrate Web Selection into Sales, Ordering
One way builders can hone their tech offerings is by integrating front office with back office. In other words, adopting a system that automatically orders building materials and sets a construction schedule from the selections made by the homebuyer via the online design center. Likewise, integrating order processing based upon an in-the-field punch-list handheld increases efficiency. At best, these types of systems are difficult to integrate.

Nationwide builder Lennar Corp. has been tracking such systems for a while and has merged some systems. The key to such integration is "cooperation, patience and understanding," according to Mark Chevory, regional president and national accounts manager.

Arvida has its Automated Sales Agreement system that automatically updates the inventory and notifies management of a pending sale. When the sales agent selects an available lot and floorplan, all pricing and availability information is provided automatically. For example, when a homeowner makes his or her final selection on a connected appliance, that choice automatically creates a P.O. from the builder to the manufacturer. If it's a smaller tech amenity, an internal P.O. can be created to the builder's inventory department.

6. Work with Utilities
Builders already have to work closely with the local utilities to bring services such as power and phone to new developments. It's a long shot for a homebuilder to obtain a license to offer local phone service, so builders should seek partnerships with local phone companies, called Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), such as BellSouth, SBC and Verizon.

In Newnan, Ga., developer Pathways Communities and builder Chadwick Homes successfully partnered with the utility company to offer high-speed Internet service using fiber and coax. The community, called Summer Grove, will eventually have 2,000 homes with an Ethernet connection delivered via "The Newnan Network." For about a $2,000 charge to homebuyers (built into their mortgages), Chadwick installs structured wiring with 20 outlets and pays for a one-year home-networking subscription based on software from Vicar Networks.

7. Garner Recurring Revenue Streams
Despite the slow economy, the homebuilding market has been flying high for several years, but smart builders know that it can't last forever. One way to guard against the eventual market fluctuations is to create recurring monthly revenue (RMR) streams.

These can range from setting up complete turn-key operations to establishing partnerships with existing providers of security monitoring, satellite TV subscriptions, phone service, and even landscaping and pest control service.

Dallas-based Centex Homes is so interested in RMR that it constructed its own UL-listed central stations, which handles nearly 20,000 single-family-home subscribers in six states.

Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers also has its own security division, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.-based Westminster Security. The subsidiary provides central-station alarm monitoring services exclusively to Toll Brothers' homebuyers.

Lennar Corp. has a wholly owned subsidiary known as Strategic Technology Inc. that supplies cable television, alarm monitoring services and high-speed Internet access in tech-savvy markets of Florida and California. Lennar now coordinates its land acquisition services with the establishment of a cable franchise whenever possible. The company applies for a cable franchise at the same time it applies for zoning approval, while the trenches are open for dry utilities.

J.F. Shea Homes in Southern California enlisted help from AT&T Broadband to build the video and data services infrastructure at its 1,300-home Trilogy development in Corona, Calif. AT&T leases the infrastructure from Shea and pays Shea a share of the RMR. The companies have made a 10-year commitment to one another, with two subsequent five-year renewal options.

8. Create Tech Packages
Of all the "secrets" offered by top tech builders, creating technology packages is the least secretive. Nearly every builder patterns its technology offerings in some form, whether it's a "good/better/best" package or a standard base package of structured wire and security with other tech amenities as options.

KB Home offers four packages:

• Communication, including telephone, video and computer networking
• Entertainment, including surround-sound A/V and multiroom audio
• Services and subscriptions, comprising security monitoring and satellite TV services
• Security, which entails a full security system installation

The standard package offered by ICI Homes of Jax Inc. is a home network of Category 5 and RG-6 with drops in every bedroom, the family room, the home office and the kitchen.

At Witt Construction in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., a standard package is Category 5 and RG-6 in every room. The company leaves its upgrade sales of multiroom audio and video to its integrators.

Lennar offers two unique package programs. Its "Everything's Included" (EI) program creates an "all-in-one" package for homebuyers. The exact amenities in the EI program vary based on the community and design of the home, but EI is a package that does not just refer to technology. A Lennar-built EI home might have a package for carpeting, tile, appliances, as well as structured wiring and security. If a buyer does not want a package of amenities, Lennar's Design Studio program allows homebuyers to choose the features they want a la carte, from a menu of technology choices.

Lennar's basic structured-wiring package consists of four Category 5 outlets, four RG-6 outlets, the enclosure, and one combination telecommunications/video module. The next tier elevates to six outlets each (Cat 5 and RG-6), and the highest tier has seven outlets each (Cat 5 and RG-6). Its base security package consists of one motion sensor and four door/window contacts, with a secondary tier offering up to 25 contacts or the option to protect an entire floor. The final security package includes a contact for every door and window in the house.

9. Build a Tech Team
The decisions on which home technologies to add, or which back-office or front-office technologies to adopt, often lies in the hands of the chief technology officer. But most builders don't have the luxury of creating such a position. The solution is to create a team of individuals in your company who cooperatively make the tech decisions.

At JPI, an Irving, Texas-based builder of multi-dwelling units (MDUs), the company has formed its 2010 team initiative, a multi-departmental effort to forecast building and design trends for the next decade. The goal of the 2010 team is to put technologies and infrastructure in place to provide the best possible services and lifestyle experiences for its MDU residents. The team consists of a few full-time members that define goals, make plans, and gather information from JPI department managers, including property management, asset management, construction and development.

10. Know Your Demographic's Tech Needs
It seems logical that the purchaser of a $1 million home will be more interested in tech upgrades than the buyer of a $100,000 home. Not necessarily.

KB Home is very proactive about conducting market research. The company's studies of more than one million people show that today's homebuyers are increasingly Internet-savvy and tech-demanding. To meet those needs, KB offers several key tech packages. The company also knows that immigrants and single parents are a key demographic for its homes. To meet those needs, its telemarketing center and Web site communicate in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Demographics also mean that builders must understand the age of their potential buyers, not just their income and ethnicity. Every home built in the past three years by Clayton, N.C.-based builder Fred Smith Company has included a base structured-wiring package from OnQ. Chief Operating Officer Jule Smith says the structured wiring falls in line with its "commitment to wire all of the homes we build for the future."

"In our starter homes and town-homes, we have some Generation X and Generation Y buyers that are very technology-savvy [and] who will upgrade," says Smith.

GHO Homes in West Palm Beach, Fla., targets empty-nesters, retirees and semi-retirees; thus, selling elaborate tech upgrades is not in the cards (except for security systems). But when GHO sells to a younger demographic group with children and multiple computers, home network upgrade sales are more common.

Shea Homes conducted research among the entire building industry, its sales team and integrators to determine what technologies homebuyers were craving. From those surveys, Shea determined that buyers wanted home networks with structured wiring.

11. Rely on Your Integrators
The success or failure of some homebuilders' tech offerings is directly tied to the performance of the integration company. After all, they not only do the actual installations, they are often responsible for upselling the homebuyer.

At ICI Homes of Jax Inc., division president Don Wilford relies heavily on his integration company, Habitech Systems of Ormand Beach, Fla. Sales staff from Habitech are allowed to use ICI's design center for meetings with homebuyers.

"It's not unusual for Habitech to walk away with a $20,000 upgrade package for the home," says Wilford.

The same is true at Fred Smith Company, which allows its integrator, Lifestyle Technologies, to set appointments in its design center with homebuyers needing a more in-depth technology consultation. However, Smith staff still handle all sales.

MDU builder JPI heavily relies on Infinisys, its Daytona Beach, Fla.-based integrator, which supplies complete design and project-management services for all its low-voltage needs...before, during and after construction.

12. Prepare for Post-Move-In Upgrades
It's not unusual for homebuyers to realize that they need (or want) more technology after they have moved in. Of course, the homebuilder is the first phone call for an upgrade. Savvy builders recognize that after-the-occupation sales can be a strong profit center, if they are properly prepared. It may only be a matter of establishing a solid referral deal with your integration contractor (but make sure your integrator can handle retrofit installations). One way to help make a potential retrofit easier is to use conduit throughout the home. Conduit makes pulling new wire simple, without tearing up the walls; however, it adds cost and time to the production cycle.

At ICI, Wilford says it is not unusual for his integrator, Habitech, to receive calls from ICI customers two years after move-in.

13. Be a Trendsetter
Of course, a builder who puts amenities that are not in demand in his homes will waste a lot of money. Thus, most builders end up waiting for customers to demand products before including them as standard or optional amenities. But why do you have to be totally reactive? A progressive builder who does proper research and really understands the psyches of potential homebuyers can be a leader by including tech amenities first. That may translate into quicker sales at higher price points.

Witt Construction in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., started including structured wiring in its custom homes 10 years ago...long before any customer asked for it. The result is an edge "beyond the competition," according to company president John Witt.