Longtime remodeling salesman Kevin King explains how, since joining the DreamMaker franchise, his job has become a whole lot easier

DreamMaker Bath & Kitchen President Doug Dwyer shows one of the visual project workflows that DreamMaker has developed to help franchisees track remodeling projects and keep them on schedule. The professionalism of DreamMaker’s systems allows franchisees to deliver much better customer service.

Before Kevin King started working for the DreamMaker franchise in Springfield, Illinois, last year, he spent 25 years in the remodeling industry — first as an insurance adjuster charged with estimating the cost of home repairs, and then as a salesman for another remodeling firm. The work could be tedious, because there were few tools available to simplify remodeling process. Parts catalogues were vast, pricing was hard to nail down, and it was hard to provide transparency to customers. That changed when he joined DreamMaker.

At DreamMaker, a new software system makes estimating and price quoting for customers much easier. The same software also makes project management easier, which helps customers enjoy a stress-free (and surprise-free) remodeling experience. Those are two advantages that makes it easier to make sales, and Kevin says there are more.

He loves the DreamMaker Design Center, a kitchen and bathroom showroom that allows customers to see examples of completed projects, get great ideas, get excited, and understand what they can expect from remodels at various price points. Top that off with the family atmosphere that pervades the Springfield office and the DreamMaker franchise nationwide, and it’s a pretty amazing place to work.

Kevin identified two huge advantages that he enjoys now that he is part of the DreamMaker team:

New software

Kevin, a salesman for franchisee Curt Trampe, says he enjoys using DreamMaker’s new software. He had been using Xactimate, a popular tool in the industry that has sprawling submenus, according to Kevin, and a confounding Scope of Work for clients.

DreamMaker’s software “is much more focused,” Kevin says. “It incorporates our products and supplies and is organized so that it’s just a matter of double-clicking to make selections, and it then prices everything for you. There are not 500 pages of materials to search through to design a kitchen. It’s two or three pages of scrolling, and you can have the whole kitchen designed.”

A software developer demonstrates DreamMaker’s proprietary software to franchisees at DreamMaker’s 2014 reunion in Branson, Missouri.

The Scope of Work generated by DreamMaker’s software is also easier for customers to understand, Kevin says. Rather than 15 pages of documentation about the price and labor to install each fixture, the Scope of Work covers broad categories of the remodeling project to make it easier to understand the major details, while allowing customers and the salesperson to drill down to the finer details with ease.

Kevin says the new system is very easy to learn, and is gaining utility every day as more items are entered into its database.

“It gets stronger and easier as we go,” Kevin notes. “If we start using a new type of countertop, we can quickly add that to the database, and then it’s just a double-click for the next time a customer wants it.”

DreamMaker President and Chief Stewarding Officer Doug Dwyer says by making the system powerful, yet easy to use, he hopes to make it easier for DreamMaker franchisees to hire salespeople and get them up to speed. Since a lot of knowledge about materials and price points is built into the system, even people without extensive remodeling experience can be trained to create accurate price estimates quickly. The new software also is expected to provide a powerful boost to entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a DreamMaker remodeling franchise, but who don’t already have extensive building or remodeling experience.

The Design Center

Kevin says that the DreamMaker Design Center provides a wow factor for customers walking in — they can immediately see kitchen and bathroom design examples.

The Design Center is one of the things that sets DreamMaker apart in the marketplace because it allows potential customers to experience a variety of cabinets, sinks, faucets, tubs, showers and surfaces in actual displays of kitchens, baths and more — and it also demonstrates a franchisee’s permanence in the community. Franchisees don’t have to open the Design Center on Day One — the timing is based on when their franchise location hits a tipping point of revenue generation. Once open, the Design Center becomes a powerful sales tool.

When working for another remodeling business, “I used to have to send people to other businesses to look at products,” Kevin says. “Here, it’s all right here. We’re not sending people out the door to have them never come back. Here, they can come in and we can take care of all their needs in one place — which they love.

“There are six bathrooms and six kitchens you can look at as a customer. When people can see it, feel it and touch it — it often sells itself.”

Learn more

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