SOFT SELL: Perfect pitch

Christopher Homes' Erika Geiser considers the term "luxury home" to be more than four syllables of lingo from the real estate realm. For nearly 16 years, she has practiced marketing at an elevated standard, since luxury demands it.

Geiser, 34, knows that her Marketing Director of the Year award, a recent crowning achievement for her, came from more than just piling on a few extra hours at her desk; it emanated from many years of tapping her natural perfectionism and meticulousness to maintain Christopher's touted luxury hallmarks: simplicity and elegance.

And for Geiser, rising to her standard can sometimes be accomplished through simple determination.

The unveiling of Christopher's The Vineyards neighborhood five years ago, for example, required her eye-peeled supervision. She was in charge of the grand-opening party, which was an important, high-society affair. If that weren't enough, Geiser was pregnant with her second child, which was overdue and could arrive at any moment.

"It was one of our newest and most prominent neighborhoods at the time," she said. "So I told myself, `I just cannot have this baby.' I couldn't let having a baby stand in my way. It was a VIP party, and I was responsible for putting on the event."

Sure enough the next day with the party over, Geiser went into labor.

"It was a very glamorous event, and we had probably a few hundred people attending it," company CEO Chris Stuhmer said. "And here was this lady who was nine months pregnant tending to every last detail. Of course, the event went flawlessly and that is attributable to the level of commitment and attention to detail Erika puts forth in everything she does for the company."

Geiser keeps simplicity, elegance and commitment in mind throughout her daily routine. After all, Stuhmer entrusts her with many high-level company decisions, as well as involves her with the luxury-home creation process.

That process puts Geiser in the middle of duties such as product development, advertising and client relations. And again, she considers the product in question to be more than just another upscale Las Vegas dwelling.

"We market to the luxury market and to custom clients, and because of the brand we've established, all of the marketing that we do has to be a notch above," she said. "I'm not trying to sound ostentatious when I say that. But it's like marketing The Four Seasons, or a Mercedes, or Tiffany's -- everything we do has to be a notch higher."

The ever-modest Geiser inserts the word "we" in practically every sentence; she's emphatic about crediting the team, not just herself, and she'll elaborate on how each team member fulfills a separate function.

"Creating a masterpiece" is the final goal, and Geiser believes that reaching it single-handedly is just as unlikely as a one-man double-teaming in basketball.

"I think the importance of designing a new product comes from working as a team with the architect, the interior designer, and the landscape architects -- all the disciplines working together," she said. "Each discipline is yielding to the other to create new ideas."

Geiser learned virtually all she knows about the industry from Stuhmer, calling him her "mentor" and adding that she is what she is today because of his tutelage. Stuhmer recalls the late 1980s when Geiser was fresh out of high school, diving into the daily grind as the company receptionist.

Still, Stuhmer could see today's Geiser in yesterday's version.

"She was highly motivated, very energetic, very enthusiastic about what we were doing as a company and very bright as well," he said. "She informed me that she had a sincere interest in the marketing endeavors of the company and I saw tremendous marketing potential -- we evolved into a professional relationship from there."

Stuhmer promoted the young office hand after she had shown a firm grasp of market research, as well as an intense dedication to the focus group. The architects would design the homes based on pertinent information Geiser and others provided.

Then began her involvement with product creation, which increased "slowly, over time." But it was at this point that Christopher started siphoning some of Geiser's creativity, since there was plenty of it to go around.

"I like the diversity," she said of her marketing director position. "I love the creativity. I especially love the product development side of my job, in creating new neighborhoods and creating custom homes that are innovative and on the cutting edge."

Geiser recalls one pivotal burst of inventiveness, one where she was coordinating the team designing the show home for the 2003 International Builders Show.

Builder Magazine had recruited Christopher to create this particular dwelling, and one moment during the design phase brought together a mix of people including the architect, the interior designer, and a representative from the magazine to talk strategy.

"There were mostly men in this room -- about three ladies, seven men -- and we were discussing having an office for the lady of the house," Geiser said. "This office went from being in the laundry room to the hallway. Then, it was a desk in the hallway.

"And then, it turned into a great idea: it turned into a `command center,' which is basically an office off of the kitchen. ... My role was in helping to evolve this idea into a functional and practical space in the home."

She noted how other builders subsequently began to use this office design in their homes, and mentioned how the courtyard fireplace, another Christopher-conceived component, is being used by other builders.

Over the years, Geiser's contributions have rarely gone unnoticed, and have culminated in her receiving her latest recognition at the 2004 Sales and Marketing Awards, referred to as "The Nationals."

Geiser displays the Marketing Director of the Year plaque next to her office door, but it was affixed to that wall with the same humble qualities that make her a team player. She added that it was nice to be recognized individually for a change and for the entire western region, which includes California and Nevada.

But Stuhmer remembers that when she accepted the award, she was "humble" and made sure to "acknowledge the management team."

In terms of simplicity and elegance, Geiser had once again embodied both qualities. Stuhmer was little surprised about her receiving the award.

"She's one of the top marketing people in country, not just the region," he said. "She has a tremendous grasp and understanding of how to convey the attributes of the homes we build to potential purchasers. She's an integral part of what this company has come to be over the past 20 years."

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