Yes, we’re so confident in our AI-driven predictions we offer a full refund if we can’t deliver what we promised.
I’ve been muddling potential opportunities lately. I know, not exactly what you want to hear from your Head of Growth, the person responsible for driving new revenue. But here’s the thing:
…At OpenHouse, we’re so confident in the predictions we create for home builders that we offer a full refund if we’re wrong. No strings attached. We’ll send your money back if we can’t deliver what we promised.
When I first introduced this refund policy, our CEO, Will, was understandably skeptical. “Why would we give our product away for free?” he asked. “Didn’t you say that giving away something for free depletes the value of our product?” And he was right—I did say that. I’ve given away products for free in the past, and it never worked. So, when I told him we’d refund home builders if our predictions didn’t meet their expectations, he thought I was a little off the deep end.
…But here’s why refundable pilots, not free pilots, are the way forward.
When I worked in logistics, especially last mile, there was so much that could go wrong. Opinions on what ‘critical success’ looked like varied wildly. Some prioritized on-time delivery. Others focused on customer happiness, even if the product was late, as long as expectations were managed. Then there were those fixated on response times of customer support, delivery driver performance, or even the appearance of the product upon arrival (imagine delivering 100 sushi rolls for lunch—no small feat).
The best relationships I had were those where the critical success factors were SMART—Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. Anything outside of that often felt like ‘opinions’ or ‘gut feelings’ on what their customers needed. It may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many leaders I’ve worked with on both sides of the table who lead with their gut instead of clear success metrics.
So why is OpenHouse so confident in offering a refund if our predictions don’t work?
We’ve seen the return on investment we generate for our home builders. We know how powerful it is—millions in additional gross profit, supporting the development of even-flow programs in their business. When the report is accurate, that homebuilder’s ability to predict their future will be a game changer. If we can’t predict that future and make that change, we have no interest in taking their money.
So why am I sharing this? For vendors out there looking to be long-term partners, if you can produce real ROI, what are you waiting for? Put your foot in the door, offer a refundable pilot, and show them what you can do.
