CBH Homes: NHQ Bronze Award

The enthusiasm among CBH Homes employees was so obvious during the 20 hours that NHQ judges visited the Meridian, Idaho, builder, that they considered the staff’s professionalism and the work environment among the industry’s best practices.

“Internal morale and marketing—aka office design, signage, communication, work environment—are extremely good,” was one of the site examiners’ observations about the 2017 NHQ Bronze Award winner. And the judges’ report states: “CBH Homes does ... have a first-class staff and solid personnel foundation. The work environment was fun, positive, infectious, and a joy to be around.” CBH’s “Love Wins” culture includes book clubs, a daily inspirational quote, office art, company-sponsored weight-loss and fitness competitions, and an activity at every quarterly CBH meeting, be it a dance party, games, making a music video, or some other celebration inside or outside the office.

There are more reasons why the company has made the Idaho Business Review’s list for Best Places to Work for the past six years. Flexible work schedules are available, and all 77 employees are encouraged to embark on an annual personal growth plan by reading at least three books, attending three classes or conferences, and watching a webinar and following an industry blog or magazine. The judges also noted that the employees and the company leadership are passionate about their work and their impact on the community. “We’re their family and [are] here to ensure they love what they do,” CBH’s NHQ Award application states.

CBH Homes boasts a 45 percent share of the new-home market in Southern Idaho, and one factor in its success is its rigorous sales training, which NHQ judges lauded as a “solid performance management process.” The builders adopted sales trainer Myers Barnes’ 10-step new-homes sales regimen for training new hires under the tutelage of the sales director and sales coaches. And ongoing training for the 26-member sales team continues via monthly meetings, webinars, book clubs (the latest title was Buying the Experience, by Jeff Shore), and sharing relevant blogs, articles, and podcasts.

The sales team responds to all leads with a personalized reply within 5 minutes or less of contact and uses customer relationship management software to ensure consistent follow-up with prospects and clients. Either by way of phone calls, email, videos, or handwritten notes, the CBH team contacts customers about 42 times within 12 months. That contact also occurs with CBH’s 15,000 homeowners through various homeowner and community events. The result is a high volume of satisfied customers who return to CBH for their second or third home and also refer family and friends—the builder had 342 referrals in 2015.