261 Merging Home Builder Sales and Marketing - Megan Bakel Mar 26 2025

Greg Bray: [00:00:00] Hello, everybody. And welcome to today's episode of The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast. I'm Greg Bray with Blue Tangerine 

Kevin Weitzel: And I'm Kevin Weitzel with OutHouse. 

Greg Bray: And we are excited to have Megan Bakel from Landsea Homes joining us. Megan is the VP of sales and marketing for their Florida division. Welcome, Megan. Thanks for being with us today. 

Megan Bakel: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to talk to you both. 

Greg Bray: So, Megan, let's just start off and get to know a little bit about your background. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what brings you to today. 

Megan Bakel: That's good. So, I've been in the [00:01:00] industry now going on 20 years. So, this is my actual 20th year in the industry, which is a fun round number. So, I started in Richmond, Virginia, in sales. Sold for 10 years for a builder, Ryan Homes. And then, through that process ended up becoming a corporate trainer for them, then landed in sales leadership. And around 6 years ago, I relocated to Florida and became a VP of sales for Beezer and was there for about two and a half years. Enjoyed that experience. Definitely encroached upon the whole COVID time and all of the challenges that we all went through with that, but a lot of growth, and really enjoyed working for them.

Switched over to Toll Brothers as a VP of sales for the Orlando, Tampa, Sarasota markets. And then eventually went back to Ryan as a regional marketing manager. And now I am at Landsea, which is where I've been, actually, this is my second year this week. So, I'm right at that two-year spot here as VP of sales and marketing, where I get to bridge all of the great things that I've [00:02:00] learned throughout the years and through the different builders that I've worked with. So, that's a little bit about my background to get to here. 

Kevin Weitzel: Before we dive into the world that is Megan with Landsea, could you please give to our listeners a factoid about yourself that has nothing to do with work, family, or the industry? 

Megan Bakel: Okay. So, I have been a distance runner since I was in college, actually was on the dance team in my college, but then through that process ended up getting into long-distance running. So, I have run well over 20 marathons, and I ran London last year, and then I'm going to be training for Berlin this year. 

Kevin Weitzel: So, I can relate to that. I'm a former cyclist, but currently, I'm an avid runner, too. I run, it's all to scale. So, I think it's a hundredth of a marathon is what I run. It's the distance from here to the bathroom and, or the mailbox or, you know, wherever it is. So, I can 100 percent relate to what you're talking about in a 100th scale. 

Megan Bakel: Yes. Well, and if [00:03:00] you know the distance of a marathon, I'd be really impressed because a lot of people use that term like it has all different values, but really, it's like one distance.

Kevin Weitzel: I could tell you that it's double a half marathon, which is 13.1. 

Megan Bakel: Wow, you are, you are advanced. You're like ahead of what most people probably know. 

Greg Bray: I do know, Megan, that there's two kinds of runners. There's people that set a goal to run a marathon, and then there's the people that just keep doing it to themselves over and over and over again. And I'm not quite sure I totally understand that, but there's a place for everybody in this world. 

Kevin Weitzel: Greg, I'm convinced that the energy bars they give you on the course are actually laced with an addictive drug. Marathoners don't actually want to run. They just want whatever is in those bars. 

Megan Bakel: Caffeine.

Kevin Weitzel: It's got to be. It's got to be. 

Megan Bakel: They put caffeine in them. 

Greg Bray: Well, Megan, Landsea Homes is not the smallest builder in the country, but for those who are familiar with you guys and your focus and where you're located, give us that quick overview of the company. 

Megan Bakel: Yeah. So Landsea Homes is [00:04:00] a public builder as of the last couple of years. We were private for many years before that. Started in California, and Landsea has been in California, Texas, Colorado, New York, New Jersey. Gosh, there's Arizona, and now, of course, the last few years we've been in Florida. So, we believe in high-performance homes, which means we're very big into sustainability but also into very tech-forward homes.

In my market specifically, it's really unique to be able to offer everything to people. We partner with Apple HomeKits. We have echobee doorbells. There's just something for everybody in more kind of tech future forward. So, I love that. A lot of our employees come here because of that message. And we also believe in the concept of living in your element, which is just this idea that your home is one of your most important places, and that's where your memories are made. So, we really connect with that with our buyers. 

Greg Bray: So, you talk about the fact that you guys are really technology-oriented in the homes with the features you're installing. Does that [00:05:00] same focus carry over into your application around the customer journey and experience buying the homes? Do you guys believe in the technology there the same way? Or is there a disconnect between what we put in the house and how we actually go about engaging with our customers? 

Megan Bakel: Yeah, I would say we absolutely believe in technology, right? Most builders do today. We all use some form of a CRM system, which gathers all the information which provides the information to our teams. I have a phenomenal marketing team locally, which I'm really excited about each of the people on our team. But, we have a local marketing analyst who really gathers and utilizes that data, which helps us to create a better buying experience. 

It really starts from community launch and understanding who our buyers are so that we can tailor the products, how the experience is going to go, the sales rep, the models, everything to that information that we're gathering very early on. So, we absolutely believe in incorporating that data [00:06:00] and the technology focus into approaching our communities, and it really does start from the beginning. 

Greg Bray: What kind of things do you guys say in your marketing about the technology in the home that you feel helps attract the buyer that's more interested in those types of features compared to maybe someone who's not as intrigued by that opportunity?

Megan Bakel: You know, I think there's several approaches to that, but everything today is about storytelling and sharing either testimonials and the customers who have experienced those things firsthand. And we actually do have a lot of our employees who have also purchased with us, so they've given testimonials as well. So, that's one way through testimonials or, blog or storytelling, or LinkedIn. Also, we have a lot of videos that we'll share. 

And then, of course, there's approaches with marketing as a whole, where we'll show that high-performance home, and we have snippets both on our website but also on some of the email marketing that we do. So, we do lean into that technology focus for those who are very interested in it. You know, we believe that most [00:07:00] people would benefit from it, and they may not even know that they need it yet, but once they're in that home, they're going to really value it. 

Greg Bray: How do you decide which of those features are the ones to invest in? Because it's not trivial to install some of these technologies and put them into the house. And it's kind of hard to retrofit and go back and change your mind later. Are you guys doing surveys? What kind of research? Or are you just letting the employees play with it and see what they like? What's your process for picking technology? 

Megan Bakel: So, our corporate team has a large hand in the picking of the technology, but a lot of it does come from surveys to our buyers and to our prospects and figuring out what aspects do they like. We do tweak it. In the most recent past, we added that doorbell system with like the video technology and echobee because we realized that something that a lot of buyers want and we didn't have. It does have a cost, but it's a value add to a lot of people and something they're looking for. Plus, it differentiates us from our competitors. 

But there are other aspects. We have the Reme Halo [00:08:00] system that is an air purifier system and provides, you know, better air and less worries about mold or allergies or things that really nobody wants to deal with. But definitely, in Florida, we think about those things frequently. So, that system is in every home around the country, but it is determined from surveys and from our corporate team working on what makes the most sense to align as a whole. 

Then there are some, you know, additional features that we can offer as add-ons. And that's something we typically do locally through, you know, talking to our partners and our vendors and what's important to our buyers and to buyers that may be working with other builders because a lot of our partners work with multiple builders in the area. So, we're using all of the data for sure to inform those decisions. 

Greg Bray: When you were describing kind of your journey and your background, you mentioned that you've kind of come from the sales side. You started out being a salesperson and worked into leadership. And now you're doing sales and marketing. Sometimes, we see that when someone's a leader over both of those groups, you tend to favor the one you know better and some of [00:09:00] those things. When you got moved from just sales to actually doing marketing as well, what are some of the things that you learned about marketing that maybe you hadn't really recognized when you were a salesperson about, you know, what went into getting those leads for you to be able to talk to these customers and buyers?

Megan Bakel: So, there's a lot I can hit on there, but before that, I'll even go back. So, my major was actually marketing management. So luckily, I did come from loving marketing before I even got into sales. And that generally doesn't work out where, you know, you go to college for something, and unless you're a lawyer or a doctor or engineer, you're generally not going into that same career path that you went to school for.

So, I've been fortunate that I was intrigued in that before I got into sales, which was really truly my passion, as you said. But then eventually did end up as a regional marketing manager for another builder before I stepped into this role. And at that time is when I really learned the most about marketing. And a lot of it is just how digital it has gone from when I was in school, which is an age ago. We weren't really paying attention to anything digital at that time [00:10:00], and how much data you can get in knowing your buyer and really personalizing the marketing, that is very unique. 

Where I think there used to be a lot more broad brush kind of campaigns out there, most builders, and definitely ourselves, are tailoring each marketing campaign to that specific community and to the buyer profile. So, I learned how much goes into that data that goes into the CRM system. And it's always been a thing that our sales reps need to put as much good information in there so the marketing team can utilize that to help them get even more quality traffic. That was one of the things I learned. 

And I also learned to focus on quality over quantity because it's probably a truism in our industry that sales is always going to want more traffic, and marketing is always going to say, you've got enough traffic, convert more sales. So, I'd say I learned that you probably have, for the most part, enough traffic, and a lot of times, we can fine-tune our skills and, convert more sales and get to know our buyers a little bit better. [00:11:00] 

Greg Bray: Kevin, do you think that's fair? Sales has enough traffic, just get to work and convert it. 

Kevin Weitzel: I'm telling you right now, I 100 percent agree in most markets. Attracting a lead isn't about just the number of clicks through a door because that's the old way of tracking it. It's not the number of clicks in the door. It's the quality of the lead that's coming in the door. And if you play your cards right, your marketing cards, you're going to be attracting the right kind of client. And then it's just a question of being the right solution for them. Nine times out of ten is, you just got to get out of your own way so the client can just buy their home. 

Greg Bray: And Megan, do your salespeople ever have those folks walk in and say no, I don't want all that newfangled technology in the house? How do I get one that's just simple? 

Kevin Weitzel: I was gonna ask the same question You know, when you offer all that tech, because i'm like one of those little hillbillies that I don't like all that tech stuff. I want a simple, simple house. Do you have any clients like that? 

Megan Bakel: You know, I think you have people who want it, but they don't want to pay for it.

Kevin Weitzel: That's fact.

Megan Bakel: People who say they don't want it because once you present somebody an amazing option, they generally want it, but they don't [00:12:00] necessarily want to pay for it or may not see the value until you educated them on it. And it's to anything. Right? It's like. You know, know everything share what matters, right? So, you've got to really fine-tune what does that buyer care about and help them understand the benefits of that. 

Greg Bray: So, Megan, Landsea obviously is a large national builder, lots of different areas. As someone in charge of the marketing for just a piece, how do you guys structure the corporate consistency with the flexibility for you to adapt to what's happening just in your market? Give us some insights into how that kind of tug of war, if you will, plays out for you guys. 

Megan Bakel: I mean, gosh, with anything, it's communication, right? So, we have great communication from our corporate team. They're always keeping us in the loop and requesting feedback from our local VPs of sales and marketing, and we really influence a lot what is needed. Like what's popular in the market right now. And I think we all know right now, promotion-wise, most everything is going to affordability, and how do you make a home more affordable for the buyers so [00:13:00] you can convert more sales. And that generally is coming down to some type of great block and a buy-down, right? So, we influence in that way.

But the campaign's itself, we work on giving feedback, and then our corporate team will tell us when a big campaign's coming. If there's not a large campaign, then that goes to the local team to figure out what do we want to do right now. What makes sense in our market? You know, we look at sales, marketing, you know, and all of our partners within the division to provide insight into what's going on locally because it really does come down to your local market, as you all mentioned in this discussion. 

As a local team, it comes to that cycle of sales providing feedback to marketing, marketing taking that information, all of us communicating it to our partners, and figuring out what campaigns make sense right now. Sometimes, you segment that out. We have some build-to-order communities. We have some spectrum and quick-moving communities, and those messages are going to be very different depending on that buyer experience and what they're looking for. 

Greg Bray: So, that [00:14:00] feedback from sales is so critical for marketing to be able to know what's working, what's not. Do you struggle to get your sales team to keep their notes up to date and to keep that CRM as a top priority to fill it out so you can trust that data? Or has Landsea found the magic sales training that all salespeople just love to fill out the CRM? And I know that if I push the CRM button, Kevin might go into one of his little CRM speeches because he believes very strongly in that. But how do you guys help your salespeople feel the importance of that feedback?

Megan Bakel: So, I wish we had found that magic button, and I could tell you that everything's perfect, and we've got all the great data, and we know exactly what each customer says coming in, and that we can account for every single one, but I think the reality is there's not any builder I know that has that like perfect model.

We have made huge improvements and definitely to your point, training, sales manager holding the team accountable, educating them on the benefits of it, showing them that we're not going to be like big brother and like utilizing [00:15:00] that to quote/unquote hurt them. That's not the game either, but we do have pretty good insights, and we are working to improve that.

One of the ways we're improving that is through community diagnostic meetings, which are now happening monthly with our sales leaders, our sales reps, and our marketing leads. And so, they're together kind of assessing those key areas that you're always looking for. So, you're looking at the community presentation. You're looking at the quality and quantity of traffic. You're looking at the conversion and how that sales process is going. And then you're looking at, ultimately is, that price value perception there and product presentation. So ultimately, when you look at those core components, when they're communicating on it, you can generally get the right information and make the right decisions.

Kevin Weitzel: Let me ask you this. You've been in the industry 20 years, and you've been on both the sales and the marketing side, if you could go back in a time machine and teach yourself something 15 years ago, so five years in when you were just a fledgling new sales and marketing person, what would you teach yourself?

Megan Bakel: I [00:16:00] would go back and make sure that I understood the importance of knowing your buyer. As a sales rep, you understand that in that moment that, you need to connect with the customer, understand their story, and help them to solve whatever it is that's in their lives that needs solving so you can move them forward then. But when you connect that to marketing, it's that importance of that feedback and understanding that customer so that you can truly influence the marketing in that way. That's something that's always been around, but with the data-driven marketing that we all have now, everybody's aware of that. But going back several years, that would have been a new insight for all of us.

Greg Bray: So, what are some ways, Megan, that you take the information, the data, the feedback and actually apply it to make some marketing decisions, maybe to change focus or to double down on a campaign that's working well or things like that? Is there a formal process of we review this every Monday? Is there something a little more gut-driven, even though it's data-driven, there's still a gut that comes into play there. How do you guys approach that? 

Megan Bakel: So, [00:17:00] I think everything with sales and marketing is a bit of science and art, right? Like the marketing is more the science, the sales is a bit of the art, and merging those together is kind of where that magic moment happens. But I do know weekly, we're looking at what we call our community virtual traffic. And we're analyzing the numbers for each community throughout each stage of that funnel. We do separate it for what's happening online and coming into the communities. And we also separate it for on-site traffic and what sales reps are kind of driving themselves through their network. We find that very helpful.

But in terms of a formal process, what we've started including in our launch process is a like SurveyMonkey for each of the people on our VIP list. And we're getting their feedback with the intent of helping to shape the community. Because often, in that early community stage, you have the most control over what you're going to do.
What included features you're going to offer, you know, what product you're going to be offering, lot release specs versus build to order.

And so, we do get their feedback early on with [00:18:00] the promise that they can help shape the community a bit. And so, you do find people wanting to do that, and you keep the questions fairly simple. But that does drive when we go into kick off, some of the things that we have created and tweaked to, or it helps us to know how we're going to overcome an objection. 

Greg Bray: So, you're getting feedback from prospective buyers who have already expressed interest in the community to help you shape that community. I think that's kind of different, Kevin. I don't know that we've heard that very often. 

Kevin Weitzel: I don't think we have heard that at all.

Greg Bray: And Megan, do you get good response rates from those, or are people like, I don't know, they're up to something? 

Megan Bakel: I think it does depend on that buyer profile a bit, but, you know, in recent communities, we'll get, I'd say, like, 25%. So, for a VIP who's given us their information, 25 percent of people will then take that survey. And then, of course, our online sales team can then utilize that, and they know even more about them when they're nurturing that lead or that customer journey to get to our sales team. And then when we actually finally do meet that customer, that's like, you know, [00:19:00] we know who you are. You've got a bit of information about us, and we're able to convert them and help them solve whatever that is they're trying to solve in that moment a little bit faster. So, yeah, it does get pretty good rates. 

Greg Bray: So, some of the people listening, Megan, are going, you know what, that all sounds great, but I don't have the budgets that Landsea Homes has to work with. I'm smaller. I'd love to do these things, but you know, those national builders get to do things different. What kind of thoughts do you have for that marketer who wants to accomplish some of these things but maybe doesn't have quite the same access to resources that a large builder could have? 

Megan Bakel: So, I consider us small but mighty, right? We are a large builder, but we're not everywhere. We're large in Florida with how many communities we have and the staff that we have, but our budget probably doesn't compare to some of those large national builders that are able to kind of really throw that marketing out around there. So, we do have to tailor it a bit, especially locally with our budget.

So, that's where some of these things really don't cost much. Like SurveyMonkey doesn't cost much. You [00:20:00] just take the lead that you have, and you send a survey to those people. So, you can implement things like that. But you do have to figure out where are you going to spend your money. And a lot of things are done by testing it. Like, we may test it in one or two communities before we use that same approach in another community and see if it makes sense. So, that we're not just spending money all around to the, you know, 25 plus communities that we have in this area.

Or we'll use a lot of organic strategies and figure out which communities even need more traffic, where do we need to put more money into our digital spend? So, I would test things and also look for those more essentially free options. And, of course, LinkedIn and social media is an option that we use a lot. Plus testimonials, which generally your customers will give you for free. 

Greg Bray: When you guys are analyzing your lead data, how much is your website influencing the leads that are coming? Do you feel like the majority of your leads are coming through the website, 10 percent of your leads come, you don't have to give us exact numbers, right? I don't want to get too deep [00:21:00] into personal information here, but does the website help? 

Megan Bakel: That's a huge area for leads to come in. Most leads come in through your website. You do get some walk-in traffic that may never have been on your website. But for the most part, people are visiting your website before they come in. They're educated on what you're doing. We're in an environment where people look online. Even if you're outside the community, you may pull up the website and just see what's going on. So, I 100 percent believe that the website influences your ability to convert sales. 

Greg Bray: Well, we appreciate the time you spent with us, Megan. As we kind of wrap up, do you have any kind of last thoughts or piece of advice for those who are listening today that are just trying to get that marketing engine just running a little bit better and some things that you've seen that might help them get moving a little faster?

Megan Bakel: I think, and this is where I'll go, the opposite of what I've said before, I think having a marketing analyst is one of the most important roles that you can have on your marketing team, that if you have the budget for an analyst, that's going to be so helpful. Because if you have the ability to track the data and really understand the [00:22:00] data, that really can inform so many of your strategies, sales, and marketing-wise. So, to me, having an analyst to help with these things is crucial. That would be my advice. 

Greg Bray: Awesome. Well, again, Megan, we do appreciate your time and sharing so generously and willingly. If somebody wants to connect with you, what's the best way for them to get in touch? 

Megan Bakel: So, first would be on our website, www.landseahomes.com. Or second, I'm very active on LinkedIn, and you could reach out to me at Megan Bakel on our LinkedIn account. 

Greg Bray: All right. Thank you again. And thank you, everybody for listening today to The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast. I'm Greg Bray with Blue Tangerine. 

Kevin Weitzel: And I'm Kevin Weitzel with OutHouse. Thank you. [00:23:00]