Meet the Team: Jeremy Jackson, Vice President of Professional Services

MarkSystems' Senior Consultants are not only experts on the software, they also bring their experience in the residential home construction industry to each implementation. In this blog, we feature Jeremy Jackson, Vice-President of Professional Services. We sat down with Jeremy to learn more about his experience in the home building industry, what makes an implementation successful, and get his advice on what builders need to look for in a new system.

Tell us a little bit about your background. How long have you worked in the new home construction industry?

I have been in the Professional Services department of ECI Software Solutions’ Residential Home Construction Division for six years. I served as a Senior Consultant for five years and most recently as Director of Consulting Services.

I have 20 years of experience in the construction industry doing everything from hands-on labor to executive level management. I have managed purchasing, construction operations, and land acquisition and development for large national and regional builders in California, New Jersey, North Dakota, Minnesota, Texas, and Utah and have served in a consulting role for over 125 builders throughout North America. Currently, I manage a team of consultants that serve over 300 home builders.

How have you seen the home building industry change in the last few years?

I have seen the industry become more data-driven and technology-focused. Builders are leveraging technologies such as ERP and CRM systems, digital marketing, web analytics, web portals for construction managers, vendors, and customers, and reports to capture it all to make informed, timely decisions to manage their businesses. Today’s buyers are more educated and have more options than ever before, so builders have to make meaningful connections to get prospects to the signing table.

How many builders have you helped during your time on the MarkSystems team?

I have personally helped over 125 builders throughout North America. We work together to improve processes and communication to create efficiencies through the use of the ECI family of products.

What makes an implementation successful?

The following items are key to successful implementations:

• Executive level buy-in and support. Implementations are successful when the company’s owner and management team clearly understand the vision and end-goal of an implementation, and then take an active role in communicating that vision to their team.
• People that are willing to manage and adapt to change. Companies that are flexible and willing to look at ways to improve processes during an implementation are also more successful.
• Consistent, repeatable product offerings. This is key to setting up and managing data

What’s your advice to builders looking for a new system?

Find a system that is integrated for all departments and can grow with your business. It’s important to make sure that they have a team of industry experts to guide you through the implementation process and beyond.

What's your favorite feature in MarkSystems?

I love the integration across sales, purchasing, construction operations, accounting, and warranty. I’m also a huge fan of the ability to set up and manage take-offs and pricing in one location and have them filter down automatically to multiple communities.

What's the one word that describes MarkSystems?

Communication

Watch the webinar "Finding, Analyzing, and Eradicating Variance". Jeremy Jackson discusses the different types of variances and how to leverage your system to generate reports that can be used to identify, analyze, and eradicate variances.