Kelley says all sales are made through Orleans design center people, who, she notes, spent several days training at HiFi House. After the training sessions, HiFi House went to the design center in Bensalem and set up “good, better, best” displays. HiFi House also developed brochures for buyers and a training manual for the builder's design center staff.
“The rooms are actually labeled good, better, best,” says Kelley. “This seems to be going well for us. Our design center has reached a new level.”
TRAINING GROUND: Orleans Home-builders' design center staff spent several days learning the product line at HiFi House's showroom, shown here.
Though many of the customers who buy the home electronics gear tend to be first-time move-up or other experienced buyers, Kelley says Orleans is also doing well with younger buyers. The builder's homes range from townhomes in the low $400,000 range to single-family homes that sell for $1.2 million.
“Home entertainment is really important to a lot of the younger buyers, so it's really hard to pinpoint who the average buyer is,” Kelley says, adding, “People like that they can add the home electronics into their mortgages.”