First talks with home fertilizer manufacturers - tips?

Depending on how decisive you are, your decision may already be made after the second provider. You can quite quickly tell whether you want to work with the company, and it’s not even about hard facts but rather the soft factors. Just keep in mind in the back of your mind that compared to a house-building conversation, you will never be lied to like this again. Don’t believe anything that isn’t fixed in writing somewhere. Forget right away the nonsense about us being available at all times. The companies usually have one civil engineer for 40 houses and the representative forgets about you as soon as he has the signature. If the first conversation already goes into detailed options (front door, roof tiles, etc.), walk out immediately.

A criterion not to be overlooked for the selection is also that the [GU-Baufirma] - and thus the construction manager - are located as close as possible to the construction site.

This can - but does not have to - simplify many things.
Because they are all overloaded at the moment.

Sample floor plans, good keyword: in round 2 you can also come with a floor plan from round 1 and have a counteroffer calculated for it; among the providers from the first round, I would let each present their own proposal.

And in the 1st round with their own proposals it already varies widely. Some talk, talk, put down the competitors, explain how great they are and you leave knowing nothing. Others already want information in advance, similar to the pinned questionnaire here, and adjust a model house to the wishes. After 2 hours you leave, roughly knowing the direction, and the sales consultant has clearly said, I know this, I can take this into account, I can only estimate this, and I don’t know this, the architect has to handle that.

And as many have already written here, you should think in advance about what you definitely want, what would be nice to have, and what you do not want. Especially the most important key data should be determined by you in advance: - approximate living area - basement yes/no - room layout - possibly smart home equipment - extras such as roof terrace, bay window, conservatory, etc. desired - preferred heating technology - garage/carport This makes the consultation easier, you can be sold less, and different providers are better comparable. Since you already own a plot of land, it would surely also be helpful to bring the development plan along, so planning can be more targeted.

Considering how decisive you are, your decision could already be made after the second provider

On the one hand, I would like to disagree with you insofar as marrying the first dance partner right away is rather atypical when building a house. On the other hand, if you have already reached your goal, continuing to search can also be counterproductive. The break after the first round also serves to clarify things in this regard; the second round is not necessarily required.

Since you already own a plot of land, it would certainly be helpful to bring along the development plan, so you can plan more specifically.

The factor "known plot of land" indeed helps significantly to clear the thicket of house models / "building proposals." In the specific case, however, the unfortunately formulated development plan is likely to be a complication for an initial consultation. Therefore, for the initial consultations, I would only mention the plot dimensions and the number of full floors and roof pitch; otherwise, the impressions will become too complex for you as laypeople to be able to classify them.

Thank you very much for the many helpful tips and your exchange of experiences.

In this special case, the unfortunately worded development plan is also likely to be a complication for an initial meeting.

That probably applies to us. you know our development plan and the current situation. Should we leave out the development plan at first and talk based on our own knowledge of the desired dimensions, or would it be better to let the seller reflect on the matter themselves?

Of course, we want to avoid two points:
(1) 2 hours of conversation, ending up beyond what is permitted.
(2) 2 hours of discussion with the seller about options for ridge height, without having discussed all the other topics listed here.

This could be avoided if the following generally applies: "Sellers can usually assess even more complicated development plans very quickly and well."

But basically, many of the "ambiguous" points are already fixed for us: basement + 2 full floors are allowed with a flat roof. If a shed roof (possibly desired up to 10°), then an exemption application has good chances (according to the city planning office), but that would entail a 2-3 month process. So rather a flat roof and tell the seller this right away, or let them think it over themselves and present proposals?