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There were about 120 builders in attendance from across the country. To maximize their time at the event, the builders were placed into three groups (High Volume Builders, Luxury Home Builders and Multi-Family Builders) which allowed them to spend more time with the technology partners that they wanted to learn more about.

Since the event was conveniently located about 30 minutes from our Northridge Campus, I accepted the invitation to participate in a panel discussion about the benefits of pre-wiring a home for home entertainment options inside and outside of the home. I was joined by Ken Peterson, the VP of Sales & Marketing for Shea Homes, Monica Wheaton, Vice President of Customer Success for ECI Software Solutions, and Sean Weiner, Co-Founder and President for Spexi LLC.

We were asked to provide the attendees with an update on today’s hottest technologies and how a builder could build a better home for their customers and grow their revenue along the way. We were addressing the attendees of the High-Volume builders who build from 100-50,000 homes per year. So, the interest level for revenue growth was high from this audience.

Sean Weiner, who has developed software that builders use to promote audio video solutions in their homes is also a systems integrator served as the facilitator of the panel. Sean was a founding member of Bravas, the nation's premier luxury residential smart home integration firm. Prior to his involvement with Bravas, he served as the President of Starr Systems Design, a renowned electronic systems and electrical contracting firm based in Baltimore, Maryland so he knew a thing or two about home technology.

Ken Peterson, based in the Scottsdale Arizona market, joined Shea Homes over 28 years ago as their head of sales and has helped deliver over 30,000 homes for Shea which is part of the JF Shea Family of Companies, still family-owned and in business since 1881.

Monica Wheaton has been in the home building industry for over 25 years and was recognized by the National Home Builders’ Association (NAHB) as Woman of the Year in 2023 for her support to the industry. ECI develops software that could be hosted on the builder’s website to allow potential home buyers learn more about the products and services they offer. Home Entertainment is one of the products that most home buyers are interested in according to Monica.

As stated, the purpose of the panel was to let these progressive home builders know what their future home buyer is expecting when it comes to accessing and interacting with technology in their homes. I shared with the attendees some relevant lifestyle trends that could impact their home designs including outdoor entertainment spaces. I shared that it was not only important to have AC power ran to locations that a homeowner would think about installing a Terrace television from Samsung, but also have CAT6/7 feeds ran to multiple locations for Wi-Fi repeaters to allow access for internet browsing and for expanding the party outdoors with wireless speakers.

Ken shared with the attendees how important it was to have a relationship with an integrator and the manufacturer when it comes to providing home entertainment solutions for Shea Homes. He said that his approach to offering technology in a home is not about adding more revenue for the job, but more about adding more enjoyment and pride of owning a home where their customers can entertain their friends and family. Ken stated that he only offers brands to his home buyers that have been approved by Shea Homes to add value and pleasure. He reinforced the need of the systems integrator as the expert on the job site.

After the presentation I had the opportunity to speak with several of the builders in attendance. To my surprise, most of them were not offering home entertainment options. Instead, they referred to their packages as low voltage options. To no surprise these same builders were not having success in selling pre-wired packages to their buyers. These same builders said it has been difficult for them to keep up with the ever-changing pace of technology.

This got me thinking about our business and the opportunity to better serve the home builders in our communities. What if HARMAN offered a program that would incentivize builders to partner with our dealers to offer our products before, during and after the home is built? What are the key benefits a home builder would want from us? With our extensive dealer network and our brands, we could offer builders home entertainment packages for any priced home they are building.

If you think there is a benefit in HARMAN partnering with you to develop a Best-in-Class program for home builders, send me an email at [email protected] with your suggestions on what a Win-Win relationship would look like.