NEEM™ News, Retailer Edition: NEEM+™ Sales Challenge Race for Great Gear Update
The NEEM+ Sales Challenge, which began on November 1st and runs through May 31st, is in full swing. We are excited to report that 10 sales people have risen to the challenge and have already sold 22 NEEM+ homes.
That’s 10 people sporting their amazingly comfortable and fashionable Patagonia Nano Puff® jackets. Calvin Berg of United Family Homes in Nampa, Idaho, is the first person to sell three NEEM+ homes during the event. Lisa Carlquist of S&H Manufactured Homes in Okanogan, Washington is right on his heels as they both took home Yeti Tundra Haul® coolers during January. Congratulations Calvin and Lisa!
We asked Calvin about his experience with NEEM+ and his customers’ reaction to the new efficiency option. He says that United Family Homes is excited to have the ability to differentiate their homes from others in the market, and they have gotten 100 percent behind NEEM+ by making it part of their standard offering in their display homes. Calvin reports that only a couple of customers have requested to option NEEM+ out of their homes in the past six months.
Lisa reports that the building and planning department staff for their local jurisdictions want to see NEEM+ on siting permit applications, as a way to demonstrate that homes are “thermally equivalent” to Washington’s state energy code. She includes the NEEM+ option for homes getting sited in those towns.
The NEEM website has lots of information about the NEEM+ package and selling tools on the Resources page. One key thing to know is that ENERGY STAR is about 30 percent more efficient than the standard manufactured home insulation package—including manufacturer “private label” options. Moving up to the NEEM+ takes the home to more than 40 percent more efficient than the code—a 30 percent improvement over ENERGY STAR alone. Both ENERGY STAR and NEEM+ pay back within a just a few years, and they deliver comfort every day.
Don’t forget to let buyers know about utility incentives. 83 utilities offer incentives for ENERGY STAR-certified homes—often to the tune of $1,000, and 43 of them offer even more for homes with NEEM+. The NEEM website has a Rebate Finder Tool that allows one to enter a ZIP code to see what incentives might be available. There is also a list of all the regional utility incentives here.