Marketing Yourself as a Green
Building Professional
October 2004
Green Materials Showcase
Marc Richmond, What’s Working, marc@whatsworking.com
Development of this presentation is funded by an energy efficiency grant from the CA Public
Utilities Commissions sourced through energy efficiency public good charges to California
ratepayers. This information is provided for general education and informational purposes only
and does not constitute an endorsement, approval or recommendation of any kind.
Today’s Building
Owners Want
• Reduced Operating Costs
(utilities & maintenance)
• Quality Indoor Air
• Reduced Exposure (IAQ, Mold)
• Comfort, Productivity, Quiet,
Safety
• Quality, Value
• “Green” Seal of Approval
What Else Does Your Customer
Value?
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Aesthetics
Dollar savings
Environmental protection
Sense of Community
Solutions to their problems, easing the pain of
owning a building
 Things that are fashionable, sexy, new, high-tech
 What their neighbors or competitors are doing
Overview of Market Trends
• Higher general awareness of “green building
benefits”
• Government agencies/owners/developers
are requesting “sustainable” buildings
• Increase in “sustainable” ads, claims, and
brochures
• Buyers are generally ahead of the
professionals in their awareness
Green Building Market Research
Conducted by Professional Builder Magazine, 2000-1
• Consumer
preferences
• How important
are the issues?
Green Market Research
• Benefits to the
homeowner
• What are
prospective
homeowners
looking for?
Green Market Research
• Upgrades – homeowner preferences
Green Market Research
• What energy conservation features
should be standard in a new home?
Green Market Research
• What resource conserving features are
important to them?
Green Market Research
• What indoor air quality features are
important to them?
Green Market Research
• What are they willing to pay to have
green features in their homes?
Local Market Research
conducted by American Lives, 2002
Price Willing to Pay
• Approximately 50% of respondents would pay $25-$124 or
more in added mortgage payments for a low energy home
equating to $3,750-26,250 - in value at 7% interest rate.
Focus Group Comments
What are the benefits that homeowners are
looking for?
–
–
–
–
Increased equity/resale value
Quality materials, durability
Curb appeal
Energy efficiency
Conclusion: Green building has to meet all the
above criteria before environmental issues
will be considered.
Focus Group Comments
What does “green” mean to them?
–
–
–
–
Green means paying more for an inferior product
Durable means green, but green means not durable
What does “green” really mean?
I feel good, but what else do I get from using green
products?
– Green products can’t be strong or good enough to do
the job!
Focus Group Comments
What would convince them to build green?
– Trust in the contractor/ architect that he/she is truly
committed to helping the planet, not just bottom line
– Green Certification
– Green labels on products (“I always read labels”)
– Proof that lumber was responsibly grown and
produced
– Demonstrated energy savings, money savings
– Not just being Politically Correct
Focus Group Conclusions
• Green must provide all of the benefits of typical homes
AND help people and the planet.
• People are willing to “do the right thing” if they have
quality information to understand it will make a difference
• Other factors (aesthetics, durability) are more important
than price
• If you can get past the skepticism and “greenwashing,
they are willing to pay more if benefits are proven
• More education is needed to overcome mythology and
concern about “greenwashing”
• Conclusion for Bay Area professionals is that an
organized Green Building Program is needed to
address these issues of lack of education in the
marketplace.
Where are You?
•
•
•
•
How are you doing now?
How are others in your area doing?
How are others around the country doing?
Evaluate your typical specifications &
processes
Align Yourself with Local Programs &
Take Advantage of Their Resources
• Education
• Marketing
• Technical advice
Resources
Building Materials Database
The Materials Database lists products, local suppliers and service providers that
correspond with guidelines developed by the Alameda County Waste Management
Authority.*
Searching the Database
There are three ways to search the Green Resource Database. Choose from one of
the options shown below:
Search by Category
Choose a Category
Select Category…
Search By Product
Enter the Name of a Product
Enter text
[Search]
Search by Alameda County Green Measures
Construction Type
Select Type…
To Learn more about Green Building Guidelines, click here.
*Listing in this database should not be construed as a recommendation or endorsement by the
Alameda County Waste Management Authority or the Alameda County Source Reduction and
Recycling Board, which is providing the information as a public service to promote the use of
Get Training and Certification
Get on Reference Lists
Also:
• Sonoma State University’s (classes, Green
Building Professional certificate, and degree
program)
• SF Institute of Architecture (classes, certificates
and degree program)
Use GB Guidelines
• Give to clients to educate
them on GB
• Offer a checklist with
scoring for previous
projects
• Challenge them to
compare this to other
professionals they are
interviewing
• An educated client is
desirable
Get Your Name and Concept Out!

Sell the concept constantly (“You have reached ABC
Builders, creators of high quality, green homes”).

Advertise in local papers, magazines, large employer
newsletters, newcomers magazines, radio, web sites

Use a green logo on all of your marketing materials

Get free/lost cost advertising in newsletters, flyers, web
sites. Use co-op advertising to share costs
A Green Building
Marketplace
Builder’s Ads
Capitalizing on the Healthy Image
Focus on
Family,
Children, Health
Handouts
Model Home Marketing
Green Brochures
• Differentiate what you do from the competition
• Highlight the benefits of your green projects
Brochures
Come Out of Your Cave!
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•
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Rotary, Lions, Optimist,
HBA, NARI, AIA, BOMA, Realty organizations,
General Contractors, Habitat, Chamber
Local Green Building Organization
Business Alliances
– Good to place to meet potential clients
Community Involvement
– Temple, Church, Synagogue, Coven, Drumming Group
– Neighborhood Association
– Provide expert advice
– Volunteer work
Open Up!
•
•
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Get on Home Tours
Have an open house
Write an article
Get in Newsletters!
Teach a Class!
•
•
Informal classes at the local College
Seminars at Home Shows, Fairs, Professional
Organization meetings
It’s more than a telephone
•
Get the most out of your message
Think of your phone message as an ad.
 Ask them for a name and address and
be prepared to send them your brochure
and card.
 Offer them the opportunity to e-mail you
or visit web site (more about that later).
 Return calls promptly.

Get Wired!
•
E-mail and Web Sites are essential
– Include information, software, etc.
– Customer and Associate testimonials
– Get links to you and link to associates
– Tell your green story
Web
Sites
But don’t forget low tech
•
•
•
•
•
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Business Cards (Bulletin Boards, Drawings)
Postcard Mailers, Brochures
Door hangers, pens, key chains, magnets
Phone Book
Word of Mouth (talk to everyone, because your
potential customers are everywhere)
Referrals from clients and associates
•
•
•
Signs
Make sure your sign is
visible and
readable in front
of your projects
Don’t forget your
Green Building sign!
Car door magnets
Builders’ Signs
Green Building Professionals
are in the Yellow Pages
Green Sales Tactics
Get Your Customer’s Attention!
Follow the pain in your marketing!
 Are you paying too much for utility bills? Are you still
uncomfortable in your building?
 Do you get allergies from being inside?
 Are you spending too much time and money fixing up your
building?
 Don’t you hate that window condensation that drips onto the
drywall sill & makes it swell up and grow mold?
 Doesn’t that new paint smell terrible?
 Doesn’t it get hot in that western side in the afternoon?
 Are you ready to pay for a major indoor air quality lawsuit
settlement?
Communicate the Problem!
Tell them the environmental realities
 Air & water pollution
 Use of non-renewable resources
 Loss of community
To tell them the value of Green Building
 Energy, water, and resource efficiency, durability,
health, community
 Improved product quality
 Improved worker productivity / occupant health
Communicate the Problem!
Frame the issue so it is understood, internalized, visualized
 “If you added up all of the cracks in your home, it would
equal a 4x4 foot hole being cut in your living room wall.”
 “Having a lot of insulation and also having a single pane
window is like wearing a down jacket in the winter without
closing up the zipper.”
 “Why don’t you wear a black T-shirt in the summer? So,
why do you have a black roof?”
 “Air and water move in exactly the same fashion. HVAC duct
systems leak on average 25%. Would you let your plumber
get away with 25% leakage? Why do you let your HVAC
contractor get away with it?”
 “A full size tree can create a cooling effect equal to four tons
of air conditioning”
Communicate the Problem!
Show them applicable examples & a demonstration house.

Give them statistics, case studies, fact sheets, home tours, and
samples.

Let them smell it and touch it and see it in action. People
need to see that it is working for others just like them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Austin used to pay $400 per month in their old
home and they were still uncomfortable. Their new home
costs them only $150 and they are soooo comfortable now.
They even have extra money to buy that big hot tub you
wished you had.”
Communicate the Problem!
Sell them a solution to their pain! Sell them on what they need,
not what you think they should be worrying about or what’s
nifty for you.
 They are in pain from discomfort and high utility bills. Show
them how to save money and how to achieve comfort. They
have an air conditioner in the first place, because it’s hot and
humid and they are in pain, not because its a nifty new
technology.
 Don’t sell them on lowering their humidity in their home.
Sell a way to avoid that aggravating window condensation
and a reduction in mold growth opportunities.
Communicate the Problem!
Sell them a solution to their pain!
 Don’t sell them on lowering their bills. Sell them on the
concept of not giving money to the utility company.
 Don’t sell them on saving the environment. This is way
down the list of priorities for most people and the exact
reason we are in an environmental mess. They obviously
don’t care that much or they don’t know how to actualize it,
but, either way, they don’t want to be shamed into it. Market
studies show they think it’s important, but buying and action
patterns do not match that. This is a secondary, “feel good”
type of attribute that you can throw in at the end, but it is not
a mobilizing concept unless that is your type of customer.
Green Marketing
Sell the
benefits:
Not the
features
Lower First Cost
Lower Monthly Costs
Improved Resale
More Comfortable
Quieter
Greater Safety
Green Marketing
Sell the
benefits:
Not the
features
Improved Indoor Air
Quality
Healthier
Higher Quality
More Durable
Less Maintenance
Environmental
Improvement
Spend Time Educating Your Client!

Use green building resources: GBP staff, sourcebooks,
brochures, checklists, fact sheets, web site, library, videos,
seminars, case studies, samples, checklists

Frame the problem and the solution. Give your customer
easy answers, when appropriate, and be prepared to give
long, knowledgeable and clear answers, when appropriate.

Give them an easy yardstick for analyzing energy costs.
When selling buildings, tell buyers what the estimated utility
dollars per square foot will be for their building. Utility
dollars per square foot is like miles per gallon for cars.
Just Do It!
Make a commitment:
 To getting more educated about green building. This means
coming to seminars, reading about it, and incorporating this
in your business. Send your staff to classes, and attend
national conferences.

Make many of the green building concepts part of your
business. Don’t ask your clients if you can use no-VOC
paint, just specify it and tell them if you want to why you use
it. People need to be educated.
Get customers to take action!
Make it trendy or fashionable or cool.
 People will pay a lot of money for this, but how much will
they pay to save $20 per month on their utility bill. Utility
bills are boring! Fashion and sexiness make it cool.
Exposure in all the standard home magazines makes it
popular.
Create a sense of urgency! Americans hate to be last.
 “Everybody’s doing it, so don’t get left behind.”
 “Everybody’s saving money. Why aren’t you?”
 “Everybody’s got a comfortable home. Why don’t you?”
 “Everybody’s got a 12 SEER. Why don’t you?”
Overall Strategies for Success
 Be a leader and not a follower. Work only
with fellow leaders, because the middle is
slow and the followers will always stay there.
 Sell better building, not green building. Keep
it simple. Look for the 80% solution and for
cost-effective, long-term solutions.
 Conduct a continuous improvement program
Overall Strategies for Success

Americans like to have more! We are far from a frugal
society. We like to use a lot of stuff and we like to feel a
sense of abundance. Sell the concept that you will get more
with green building; more comfort and more money in your
pocket. More free time with reduced maintenance. Better
health in your life.

Educate yourself. Always look for a new angle or tactic.
Look at others and learn from their mistakes. Go to
conferences, learn, network, read, and then incorporate your
learning into your business.
Overall Strategies for Success

Use professional sales tactics: Listen and let the customer tell
you what is important to them. Sell what the customer wants
not what you want. When you’re done selling, stop and
move on to the next customer or item to sell.

Talk about green building all day long. Always push,
persevere, and use whatever you can.
Q&A