A few years ago, I spoke with a young man who owned a small
but growing framing business. He had six employees, steady contracts, and a
hunger to learn how modular construction could help him expand.
He wasn’t asking for handouts or shortcuts. He wanted a
chance — to tour a plant, meet people who knew what they were doing, and
figure out how to transition from framing houses one at a time to selling and
setting modular homes with efficiency and scale.
But what he got instead was a masterclass in how to lose the
next generation of builders.
The Cold Shoulder from the Factory Floor
He lived in the Northeastern U.S., where modular factories
are plentiful. He called six of them, asking to tour their plants and talk to
someone who could explain how to get started.
To their credit, all six responded quickly. But what
happened next shows just how broken the “builder onboarding” process can be in
too many factories.
Three of the factories gave him the grand tour —
introductions to managers, handshakes, and promises of follow-up meetings.
Then… silence. No calls. No visits. No guidance.
When he finally reached one of the reps again, the excuse
was almost laughable: “Sorry, we’ve just been so busy.”
Two others didn’t even bother pretending to help. Their reps
told him to “send over plans” for quoting — even after he explained he didn’t
have any yet and was only in the early planning stages. Both admitted they
didn’t know how to help him start his business, only how to price a plan.
And then came the kicker. The last factory told him they
already had a builder in his area — and couldn’t “possibly” add another.
I knew that builder personally. He was about to retire… and
had only built three houses with that factory in the past two years.
That’s not a protected territory — that’s a missed
opportunity.
What the Factory Could Have Done (But Didn’t)
Let’s be honest: this story isn’t about one young man. It’s
about a mindset that’s too common in modular manufacturing.
Factories complain about the lack of good builders, yet when
a new one knocks on the door, they make it nearly impossible to get in.
Here’s what should have happened instead — and what every
factory should be doing today if they want to secure the future of their
sales pipelines.
Example 1: Create a Builder Mentorship Pathway
Instead of brushing him off, one of those factories could
have turned his enthusiasm into a relationship. A simple program — a one-day “Modular
Builder 101” workshop or mentorship pairing with a veteran builder — could
have guided him through the learning curve.
Imagine if he had left that tour with a short, structured
roadmap:
- How
modular homes differ from site-built framing.
- Steps
to becoming an approved builder-partner.
- Marketing
support and lead-sharing once he’s certified.
That’s all it would have taken to earn his loyalty. Instead,
the factory lost not just one builder — but the five to ten homes a year he
could have delivered within two years.
Example 2: Build a “Pipeline Incubator”
Factories should start viewing eager entrepreneurs like this
man as future assets, not interruptions.
An incubator approach could include:
- A
follow-up meeting with a sales rep and engineer to review basic designs
and modular constraints.
- Access
to online resources explaining logistics, financing, and code approvals.
- A
factory “coach” who checks in quarterly to track progress and offer
guidance.
That young man was ready to invest time, money, and
reputation into modular. Instead, six factories invested nothing — and ensured
he wouldn’t invest with them.
The Industry-Wide Lesson
If modular factories want to grow, they can’t just think in
terms of production capacity — they need to think in terms of builder
capacity.
Every new builder who shows interest is a potential
multiplier for the factory’s output. Ignoring them because “we’re too busy” or
“we already have someone in that area” is shortsighted at best and
self-sabotage at worst.
The modular industry doesn’t suffer from a shortage of
opportunity. It suffers from a shortage of follow-through.
The young man I met still builds homes today — just not
modular ones. And somewhere out there, six factories are still wondering why
their builder base isn’t growing.
My Takeaway
Factories, if someone calls you eager to learn, don’t
make them regret it.
Invite them in. Teach them. Show them how your system works.
Because today’s curious framer might just be tomorrow’s top builder.
And losing that kind of talent doesn’t just hurt your bottom
line — it hurts the entire industry.
If your factory would like to learn how to begin a program
to work with 'new to modular' builders, contact me at modcoach@gmail.com
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