Executive Summary
Classic Homes is a custom home builder based in North Bethesda, Maryland, specializing in constructing homes on customer-owned lots and designing custom homes from scratch. With a team of 20 employees, they offer a library of pre-designed plans and build a limited number of speculative homes each year on company-owned lots. Currently developing subdivisions with 5 to 7 lots each, Classic Homes prides itself on providing personalized service and high-quality custom homes. To enhance their operational efficiency, Classic Homes partnered with Zenatta to revamp their contract management processes using Zoho CRM and related Zoho applications.
The Challenge
Classic Homes faced significant operational challenges with their outdated Sales System, which was critical for generating contract summaries and final contracts. This proprietary system, built on Ruby on Rails and other outdated technologies, was unreliable and increasingly difficult to maintain. “The system was built many years ago and has been falling apart,” explained Dinesh Jain, Marketing Director at Classic Homes. The limitations of this aging system hindered their efficiency and posed risks to maintaining smooth business operations, necessitating a more modern and reliable solution.
The Implementation
Zenatta worked closely with Classic Homes to develop a tailored solution within Zoho CRM that addresses their specific needs for contract generation and management. The implementation centered around building a comprehensive contract-building function within Zoho CRM, designed to accommodate the complexities of selling custom homes. This solution captures highly detailed model information directly within the CRM, allowing Classic Homes to maintain precise records of each custom home project.
The system includes two subforms within the CRM: one dedicated to capturing detailed custom model information and another specifically for custom options selected by clients. These subforms allow Classic Homes to gather extensive details on each project, from base models to individual customizations. By integrating this data, the CRM automatically calculates the total price based on the base model and the selected custom options.
A key feature of the implementation is a custom button that triggers a mail merge process. This button generates a complete contract document, including a detailed breakdown of all structural elements and associated costs. The automated generation of these contracts not only streamlines the process but also ensures accuracy and consistency in all client communications. This integration has enabled Classic Homes to replace outdated processes with a modern, efficient, and highly customizable solution supporting their sales and contract management workflows.
The Results
Although the new system is still in the early stages of deployment, Classic Homes expects substantial time savings and improved efficiency. “As our team adjusts, the new system will save us hours of time and avoid past frustrations,” noted Jain. The streamlined processes have not only addressed the immediate operational issues but have also provided a scalable foundation for future growth.
“Zenatta has proven capable and they have been upfront with use every step of the way – with a clear picture of what is possible, what is not, and approximately what it will take to achieve.”
Dinesh Jain – Founder Classic Homes of MD
