Pinebrook Homes' model sits on Highway 11 just outside of Danville, Pa. An 1,100-square-foot split-level, it's nothing special. A white picket fence, beige vinyl siding, a narrow front porch. Although the interior is decorated, the things that jump out are the plastic runner on the carpet and the lack of air conditioning. Hot and stuffy.

Half a flight up are three bedrooms; half a flight down is the family room, which usually comes unfinished. Down some more stairs is the basement. On the door is a plain, lettered sign: "Office. Please come in."

Open the door and the heart starts beating again. In a hive of small offices that stretches back and out from the house buzz the 12 employees of Pinebrook Homes, busy planning, drafting, selling, and building about 35 houses a year. On the walls hang awards from local groups for community service. A map with pushpins marking homes sold looks like a pointillist painting. This seems like a company you'd want to build with. So what gives with the model from Sleepy Hollow?

"We're not very good at marketing," said Randy May when he contacted BUILDER about getting us to tune up his business. "This is a small county. We don't have an advertising agency or anyone who can help us with our advertising and marketing program. It needs improvement."

So in mid-July, BUILDER brought three experts into Pinebrook Homes to analyze the company's marketing and ways of doing business and to offer advice. Two of the experts are builders: Rob Bowman, president of Charter Homes in Lancaster, Pa., and Steve Klein, president of Steve Klein Custom Builder in Victoria, Tex. The third is a marketing consultant, Robert August, president of S. Robert August & Company in Denver.

What they found on that steamy day in central Pennsylvania was a well-managed company with a strong bottom line and a desire to grow, but also with several constraints: a market that competes almost exclusively on price, a lack of marketing expertise, and a heavy hands-on management style.

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ANALYSTS' COMMENTS: STEVE KLEIN

DELEGATE TASKS

Pinebrook Homes is an excellent example of one-stop shopping for first-time, mid-range move-up, and empty-nester clientele. Randy May exudes the quiet confidence that comes from more than 20 years of direct contact with all facets of building. This is what I told him.

Strengths

Stability. You have a strong accounting background, you're fiscally conservative, and you have strong cost management controls. Cash is king. Debt is minuscule and credit lines with lenders are untouched. You sign all the checks in the company.

Commitment. Pinebrook Homes has resisted the temptation to go into move-up. Although you could make higher profits off fewer move.up units, the certainty of the first-time and empty-nester markets is a safer bet.

Staff support. You're a great trainer. Your 12 full-time employees average eight years with the company and several have been there for 10 to 15 years. The office and model home atmosphere is homespun, yet professional and productive. The employees are proud of their abilities and their contribution to the team effort, and routinely decline other job offers.

Quality. Building lower-priced product is difficult. The temptation for speed, cost control, and profit can lead to poor workmanship, costly mistakes, and dissatisfied customers. The level of fit and finish and sense of quality when you walk into a Pinebrook home is immediately apparent in places customers can see as well as those they can't.

Community and commitment. You obviously understand your customers and community. Pinebrook's walls are covered with awards of excellence for construction and civic involvement. For example, you're a member of the development committee of a large regional medical center and a director of the local utility district. You have scrapbooks full of unsolicited letters from satisfied customers, and your referral business is strong. No amount of marketing dollars can achieve what your ability and sincerity have provided.

Recommendations

Delegate. Your staff is strong and has been with you a long time. Redesign your guidelines for their performance. Reward creativity and productivity both individually and as a team. That way, you'll spend less time reviewing and meeting and more time in other areas of the business, such as marketing.

Technology. You know you need to improve your computer system. New software programs will greatly reduce many manual functions and multiple spreadsheet steps. Integration of balance sheets, cash flows, budgeting, and estimating are critical in today's building operations.

Networking. Although you do a great job of being visible in the community, you need a better method for measuring your market. Cultivate a strong alliance with brokers and Realtors. Join the Realtor association as an associate member and attend and speak at functions. Provide current information on plans, inventory, closings, and new features. In short, become the Realtors' preferred builder in the market. Extend this effort to community groups, lenders, appraisers, and such, who will form a strong referral network. Partnering is less expensive than media.

Steve Klein owns a design/build custom residential company and a commercial construction company, and develops land in Victoria, Tex. In 1993, Klein was a silver medalist in the annual BUILDER's Spotlight Business Excellence Awards program, which honors the best home builders in America.

Builder, November 1994