There’s no denying that the construction industry is still male-dominated. So, when we heard that Anne Benson is running operations at Benson Property, we did not hesitate to get in touch with her. Anne and her husband have been in the construction industry for more than 40 years combined. Five years ago, they decided to start their own business with the mission to provide exceptional customer experience to communities that are suffering from storm damage. Since then, Benson Property has grown into a successful full-service contractor specialized in restoring residential, agricultural and commercial properties. A year ago, the company started using HOVER for every job, allowing them to save time in the selling and production process.
Overview
Benson Property operates in central Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” The area is characterized by temperature extremes causing a wide variety of storms. Blizzards, thunder- and hailstorms, derechos, tornadoes and high-velocity winds, Minnesota homeowners have seen it all. Inevitably, they are also familiar with the overwhelming worries that post-storm damage brings along. To alleviate the homeowner’s headache of dealing with insurance companies, Benson Property has created a streamlined process to navigate and support homeowners through insurance claims from start through finish. Thanks to HOVER, the company has been able to speed up this process and return more properties to their original or better state.
Standing out from competitors by offering a positive restoration experience
Construction is a highly competitive industry and this is especially true for storm construction. Thanks to HOVER, Benson Property can show the homeowner the desired outcome of their work on an interactive 3D model of the homeowner’s actual home. It has helped the company put itself ahead of its competitors who are competing to restore the same properties.
“Minnesota is known as the “Land of 10,000 Lakes,” but we joke that it’s the “Land of 10,000 contractors,” explains Anne Benson, President of Operations at Benson Property. “The storm environment is cut-throat so we need to be able to set ourselves apart from our competitors if we want to succeed. The 3D model has been invaluable in our sales process as it allows us to show the homeowner that their home can look even better than before once it’s restored. That way, we can turn the overall negative experience of suffering home damage into a more hopeful one. It’s wonderful that we can offer homeowners a spark of excitement before we start the repairs.”
Helping homeowners make decisions on the spot
To help the homeowner decide on the look of their home, Benson Property would previously share addresses of houses that have been built with the homeowner’s preferred type of material. The homeowner would then drive to these properties to see what the products look like in real life. This would cost the homeowner both time and money and despite the effort, they would often still struggle to imagine what their own home would look like with those materials.
“The homeowner’s happiness is key in everything we do, so we never want to rush their decision-making process. But since we started showing homeowners on the 3D model what their house will look like with different products and colors, they confidently make a decision on the spot. This allows us to start repairing the house at least one week earlier, impressing the homeowner by our speed. On top of that, we can move on to the next property more quickly and help restore more homes after a big storm.”
Upselling without effort
The 3D model does not only allow Benson Property to speed up the sales process, it also helps them sell bigger jobs to customers. The company has upsold at least 10 big jobs after the customer saw what their home could look like on the 3D model.
“We’re no longer upselling to homeowners. Instead, homeowners are upselling to themselves. One time, the insurance company only approved the roof repairs. But, after seeing the siding options on the 3D model, the homeowner immediately applied for a loan to repair the siding of the house as well. Upselling has never been easier.”
Benson Property can also easily pull up all information they need when customers return with a request to have additional work done. “We love the Property Portfolio as it allows us to quickly pull up all measurements we need to create a quote when a former customer reaches out. The homeowner just needs to pick a color and we can get started straight away. HOVER truly makes our job much easier and always saves us time.”
Accurate measurements result in quick quotes and materials lists
Thanks to HOVER, Benson Property no longer needs to rely on the measurements from the insurance company to create their estimate and order materials. Previously, the company would have to pay a measurements technician to take additional measurements for parts of the house that would not be covered by the insurance company.
“It would take a day before we would have all measurements we needed and could create a quote. Thanks to HOVER, we can create a quote within 10 minutes. On top of that, we save about 15 minutes for every material list we need to build because HOVER’s measurements are more detailed and easier to use than the EagleView’ measurements we receive from the insurance company. When you work on more than 1,000 properties per year, the saved time quickly adds up.”
About Benson Property
Benson Property is a family-owned, full-service contractor with years of experience in residential, agricultural and commercial restoration and repair. With offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin, Benson Property delivers high-quality customer service throughout the claims and restoration process.
