Jerry Rouleau changed the marketing of housing in general and offsite in particular.
As the Building Systems Council transitions the annual Jerry Rouleau Awards in Home Design to the NAHB’s Best in American Living Awards, Offsite Builder magazine would like to take this opportunity to remember and honor Rouleau’s life, work and contributions to the systems building industry.
Rouleau was born in July of 1948, and by the age of 19 he had earned his commercial pilot’s license and had aspirations to fly for the airlines. His plans changed with the ending of the Vietnam War though when a large number of military pilots returned home and created a glut in the market.
Consequently, by the early 1970s he had made a major pivot into sales and marketing, starting off as a self-employed consultant. Little did he know that this would set the stage for a remarkable career, in which he would become a pivotal figure in the sales and marketing of new homes in general, and of systems-built homes in particular.
In 1978, Rouleau was hired to lead the marketing and sales team at Timber Log Homes in Marlborough, Conn. In 1988, he moved to Hanover, N.H. with his wife and three children, where he led the sales and marketing department for Real Log Homes. Rouleau traveled extensively and expanded Real Log’s dealer network, while also forging valuable connections with builders nationwide.
In 1992, Rouleau set off on his own again, founding J. Rouleau & Associates. He soon became known industry-wide for his marketing acumen.
Rouleau literally wrote the book on new home sales, with his Complete Guide to Marketing and Selling New Homes, first published in 1998. Many system-built manufacturers made it required reading for their sales staff. He was also known for his nationwide housing summits, where he educated builders on effective marketing strategies.
Throughout his life, Jerry held a strong belief in the power of charitable projects to raise money for worthy causes, while also raising the profile of systems-built homes. One standout achievement was the 1996 construction of a 3,000 sq. ft. log home in the Mall of America rotunda in Bloomington, Minn., with proceeds benefiting the Minneapolis Children’s Cancer Hospital.
However, his best-known project was prompted by the loss of his wife, Jan, to lung cancer in 1999. As a tribute to her, Rouleau created Jan’s House of Hope to raise awareness and money for cancer research and hospice care. It was a modular home built on top of a barge that travelled along the Eastern seaboard. It also helped raise the profile of modular construction and, according to Rouleau, offered “great oceanfront views.”
The 1.5-story, 3,100 sq. ft., six-module home was manufactured by Customized Structures in Claremont, New Hampshire. Crews clad in life jackets worked with cranes to assemble the modules in a day and a half. Additional structural and waterproofing measures were taken to ensure that the barge and the home could withstand offshore weather and 3-foot-high waves.
The home was a Craftsman-style structure with cathedral ceilings, refined columns, French doors and a loft that overlooked a great room. Amenities included Pella windows, a gourmet kitchen with Jenn-Air appliances, a media room with a plasma TV and a jetted tub in the master bath.
It set sail from Portsmouth, N.H. and stopped in Boston, New York City, Baltimore and Philadelphia, before arriving at its final destination in Norfolk, Va. With each stop, there was an open house and reception to generate funding for the Cancer Awareness Foundation and to raise awareness about offsite building.
Jan’s House of Hope raised $2 million and garnered worldwide media attention, including features in The New York Times, USA Today and on NBC’s Today Show.
Rouleau also broke ground on another marketing tactic in 2006 with Builder Radio, the offsite industry’s first podcast. He and his guests talked about best practices in systems building.
He was active in publishing as well. Charles Bevier, then Editor of Building Systems Magazine, relied on Rouleau’s experience for more than a decade. “Jerry was my go-to source for sales and marketing tips and tactics for both manufacturers and homebuilders,” Bevier says. And Gary Fleisher (Offsite Builder‘s Editor-in-Chief) credits Rouleau with helping him start his ModCoach blog.
Bevier says what stood out most about Rouleau was his altruistic nature and sincere desire to help people succeed. “He was always open to new ways to interact with homebuyers.” He says that Rouleau viewed marketing as the responsibility of every member of a builder’s team.
Louisville, Kentucky-based New Home Sales professional Scott Stroud enjoyed Rouleau’s real-life, guerilla marketing techniques. During one seminar, for instance, Rouleau asked an audience member for the phone number of their business. He then called the business — on speaker phone — and asked typical questions a homebuyer might ask. While the responses and interactions were hilarious, Stroud says they were also valuable, teachable moments.
Stroud and Rouleau worked together until Rouleau’s death in 2011. Later, Stroud revised and republished Rouleau’s Complete Guide to Marketing and Selling New Homes, to reflect changes in marketing tools and homebuying trends.
People who knew Rouleau say that a big reason for his influence was his attitude. Bevier remembers him as “relentlessly positive.” Vic DePhillips, a modular housing veteran, agrees, saying his attitude was always to “be positive, don’t be judgmental, be humble and never overreact.”
Stroud credits Rouleau with “impacting a whole generation of leaders through the tools and principles he taught.” Bevier describes him as “a Muhammad Ali-level champion for the building systems industry.” But while he believed in never giving up, he also advised not crying over losses. Rouleau’s message to builders was: “You try your best, then let the rest of it go. Some will buy, some won’t. So what?”
For all of his many contributions, Rouleau was honored with the prestigious S.A. Walters Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 from NAHB’s Building Systems Council (BSC).
That same year, BSC also established the Jerry Rouleau Design and Marketing Awards as a special tribute to Rouleau and his numerous accomplishments.
Writer’s note: I am grateful to everyone who contributed to this story. Special thanks Jerry’s son, Scott; Rouleau’s business partner and friend, Scott Stroud; and Charles Bevier. Jerry was a good friend and mentor to me personally. He is greatly missed.
Reed Dillon is a content brand specialist, marketing consultant and freelance writer that focusses on offsite and new construction. He is the owner of Creative Brand Content in Moneta, Virginia. Contact: reed@creativebrandcontent.com.
All images courtesy Scott Rouleau.
