Join my talk at IBS: Using PR to reposition an active-adult community

This week, I’m in Orlando, Fla., where builders from around the country are gathering at the International Builders Show, sponsored by the National Association of Homebuilders.  Along with three others, I’m speaking to builders about repositioning their standing inventory of active-adult communities.

My position, of course, is that the prettiest homes delivering the best value won’t sell unless the community and the homebuilder enjoy a solid reputation. I’ll be talking about public relations, reputation and social networking with this group. Typically, I’m still massaging the talk and the accompanying slides, but I’ll post them here before  Friday.

Meanwhile, I’ve just kicked off the discussion with this post in a Linked-In Group sponsored by NAHB. Pls join our discussion:

Greetings from Orlando, where I’m at the IBS (#IBS2011). Along with Randy Hix, an expert in sales management; Cathie Daly, president of Design East; and Dottie Fawcett, of Constellation Web Design, we’re going to be talking with people about repositioning active-adult communities on Friday afternoon,.

Randy will talk about buying trends among active adults and how to adapt your sales strategies and tactics for that group. Cathie is on the cutting edge of what active adults want in their homes and in their clubhouses. Dottie will talk about who’s using the Web and someof the tools available. I’ll be talking about the power of your reputation and social networking.

The nice thing about social media, though, is we don’t have to wait until Friday to start the conversation.

We know many of you may be looking ahead to see what the active-adult market may be doing in years to come, but right now, you’re more concerned about standing inventory and how you revive those communties. Take a moment, please, and take this five-question survey: http://bit.ly/i85pSt .   Also, please tell us here what challenges you’ve faced and how you’ve addressed those challenges. Have you been successful? What are your main concerns.

Meanwhile, I’ll be writing about this on my blog, www.inhousepr.wordpress.com and we’ll use the twitter hashmarks #revivemy55 in addition to the #IBS2011.