179.5 Bonus Episode: 2023 Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit Preview - Greg Bray and Kevin Weitzel Aug 25 2023

Greg Bray: [00:00:00] Hello everybody and welcome to a very special episode of The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast. I'm Greg Bray with Blue Tangerine.

Kevin Weitzel: And I'm Kevin Weitzel with Zonda Livable.

Greg Bray: We are excited today, everybody. Kevin and I are just going to spend a few minutes because we are pumped. And why are we pumped, Kevin? We are pumped because of the Home Builder Digital Marketing Summit that is coming up October 18th and 19th in Denver.

Kevin Weitzel: Hey-oo. But it's even better than that though, Greg, because this year, not only do we have all the sales and marketing subjects, but we [00:01:00] also have a whole series of tracks about OSCs, online sales counselors.

Greg Bray: Yeah, and last year, OutHouse supported Blue Tangerine in putting this together. They've come back to help us again. We're really excited about that. And because of that OSC track, we've also added Leah Fellows from Blue Gypsy Inc., who's going to be leading that piece of it all as well.

So, the three companies working together to pull this off. I am so excited about the content that we have been able to put together. So, if it's okay with you, Kevin, I think we just need to dive right into it and tell people what they're going to get if they come to this thing. What do you think?

Kevin Weitzel: I think we should. I think we definitely should. In my opinion, and it's still to this day, my absolute favorite podcast episode was Terry Slavik-Tsuyuki. So, I am ecstatic that she is going to be our keynote speaker, if you will, with her Let Your Human Show track, which should be freakishly fantastic in my opinion.

Greg Bray: Yeah, I told her that when we were trying to think of who we should invite, her name just jumped right out top of the list.

Kevin Weitzel: [00:02:00] But just as good as that, Greg, if not better, depending on who's looking at themselves in the mirror that day, the next session is by yours truly Greg Bray of Blue Tangerine.

Greg Bray: I'm going to be talking about five lead killing mistakes that builders make with their websites. We're going to help improve those websites so you get the leads that you're supposed to have.

Kevin Weitzel: And then while you're getting those leads, after that, Jimmy Diffee from the Bocca Group is going to be talking about digital interactions that will improve customer experience, basically covering a lot of that buyer journey.

Greg Bray: Jimmy is another keynote caliber speaker, and that's why we're gonna have everybody together listening to these kickoff presentations on the first day. A big thank you to one of our platinum sponsors, AtlasRTX, who is going to be sponsoring lunch that day because foods included folks. We got breakfast and lunch each day for you. You don't even need to worry about what are you going to do? What are you going to eat? Cause it's all there. And so thank you to them for providing lunch.

But Kevin, here's the one that I love the most right after [00:03:00] lunch, we're going to do our first round table breakout session. And now if you remember last year, we experimented with these. We did them for the first time and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. So what it is, the breakouts with the round tables, we've got a selection of topics and you get to pick the topic you want to talk about and want to participate in.

And you sign up with a small group of about eight to ten people. You get together at a table and you've got a facilitator who's an expert in that topic at the table with you. You get to spend about 30 minutes learning from each other sharing. It's not a sales pitch. It's not a presentation by the facilitator. It's an opportunity for you to learn and share with the group, build some networking opportunities, get to know each other. And then when the bell rings, you switch and you go to your next one.

So, we're going to do two of those on the first day and we'll do two more on the second day. So, that's going to be right after lunch each day, those round tables. And honestly, as great as these speakers are, Kevin, I think people really loved learning from each other, from their fellow attendees at these roundtables.

Kevin Weitzel: They [00:04:00] did. The questionnaires after event were freakishly fantastic when it came to what all this stuff was. Now, I am a little disappointed though, Greg, because my topic didn't make the cut. I was bringing to the table how to properly wear sideburns and it got voted out. I don't know why, but apparently there's some other stuff that's more important. Like Carol Morgan's bringing one to the table. I know that Melissa Galland over at DO&Be Agency bringing one of the table. What are other overall subjects that beat out sideburn growth?

Greg Bray: I mean, Kevin, the reason we couldn't do sideburn growth is because it deserves a summit of its own. We just couldn't fit it all in right. Just couldn't fit all in. But yeah, after those round tables on the afternoon of the first day, we're going to split up. Right? Our tracks are going to split. So, we're going to keep the marketing folks in one room and have our online sales counselors go to a separate room, so we get even deeper into the hands on.

So, we're going to have Carol Morgan with Denim Marketing. She's going to be talking about some blogging and tips to really take advantage of some of Google's new updates to [00:05:00] really make your blog work harder. We're going to have the team from Blue Tangerine with Cabe Vincent, Cory Dotson, and Mila Sorenson are going to do what we call Learning Lab.

This is new this year, too, where they're going to have some quick 15/20 minute tips. Going to get into SEO tips, website management tips, Google Analytics tips, again, really hands on things you can take back and start using tomorrow. The hands on nitty gritty stuff that Kevin, you just don't love as much as some of the others.

Kevin Weitzel: It's not that I don't love it, it just makes my brain want to explode.

Greg Bray: And then Melissa Galland from DO&Be Agency is going to be talking about your digital marketing strategy and how to use some key and proven tools there to really drive those strategies forward. So, again, a lot of hands on stuff in the afternoon, really practical things that you can go back to the office and use right away. Of course, the OSC track is going to be led by a couple of your favorite people, Kevin.

Kevin Weitzel: Hey-oo, Leah Fellows of Blue Gypsy and Heidi Schroeder of ECI over with Lasso.

Greg Bray: [00:06:00] And they are going to be really, again, getting hands on for our online sales counselors. They're going to be talking about the kinds of goals you need. They're going to be talking about best practices. They're going to be talking about how you get it all done, that day-to-day OSC, how do I get it done type of activity and things there. So, again, afternoon, both tracks, very hands on, very applicable things that you will be able to take right back to the office. But of course, at the end of a long day, Kevin, people are tired. They're hungry and they're thirsty.

Kevin Weitzel: You know, they're not just thirsty. They want their ice teas. They want their sodas and they want their mixers. Of course, their mixer is applied to their drink of choice, and that's going to be over at the Thirsty Lion. And that is sponsored by our diamond sponsor, Livabl.

Greg Bray: And basically, folks, this is intended to be so much food that you won't need to go to dinner. Okay, that's the idea. It's going to be a great reception, really a chance to build that network of people. We want folks to create a community of other marketing [00:07:00] and OSC folks that they can tap into and be able to reach out to after this event and say, Hey, how do you do this, how do you do that? And this is one of those opportunities. So, please plan to join us at the evening reception, so you can get to meet people and be able to build that network.

All right. Now, Kevin, that gets us to the beginning of day two. Day two starts really early though, before breakfast because our friends over at Audience Town came to us and said, Hey, would you mind if we organized a 5k fun run before the day got started? And I said to him, Kevin, you know what I said? I said, does the word fun and run belong in the same sentence? Because for me, running is not fun.

Kevin Weitzel: That is a hard no. I would call it a 5k torture event. But yes, I totally agree with you, Greg.

Greg Bray: So, we labeled it optional. Okay. We labeled it optional. So, for those of you who do not find running fun, that's okay. You can sleep an extra few minutes and then join us for breakfast in the morning. But if you do enjoy that kind of a thing, then there will be a chance to go get your exercise [00:08:00] in, get a few steps around the block before we get started.

Kevin Weitzel: Day two, you and Stuart over at OutHouse will be, uh, leading off the day again before we go into more breakout sessions.

Greg Bray: And we're going to start the marketing folks again, Stuart Platt from OutHouse, Cory Dotson from Blue Tangerine are going to be getting into how to use some of that interactive content to really increase that website engagement and drive more leads. Kevin, another one of your favorite people, Karyn Bonder from Livabl is going to be telling us more about some of the features and benefits of that platform. We really appreciate Livabl being so supportive of the event this year.

Kevin Weitzel: I just appreciate that she speaks with a much more professional tone than I do and doesn't drop a whole bunch of BAMS and POWS into her presentation.

Greg Bray: Kevin, then, you know, you get your turn on stage.

Kevin Weitzel: I'm a moderator and I'll be joined with Carol Morgan of Denim Marketing, Erik Martinez of Blue Tangerine, and of course, Tim Curtis of CohereOne. We're going to be going over the four types of new home buyers and how to better engage and convert those types of buyers.

Greg Bray: [00:09:00] I think there's going to be a lot of great insights from that one for sure. Now, of course, the OSCs, not to be left out. They're going to be in their room, and they're going to be diving into topics about being a trusted advisor. They're going to be doing some work with objections, and I think it's going to get pretty interactive when they do that. You know, they're going to have to deal with how do you convert, how you help people overcome those objections that come up during the conversations, talking about setting appointments, improving that communication, all about just things that you can do every day to help move things forward. And Kevin, that's just in the morning.

Kevin Weitzel: But then I get to eat again.

Greg Bray: Yeah, you get to eat again. Going to be a great lunch. A big thank you to our other platinum sponsor, Bocca Group, for lunch again. Appreciate them participating with us. After lunch, we're going to have the other half of our breakout sessions. Talked about those already. So, the other two of those you'll get to go to. And then bring everybody back together after those breakouts, and we're going to have another awesome panel discussion.[00:10:00]

Kevin Weitzel: Oh, yeah, fantastic builders from Colorado and surrounding areas. It's going to be a good one.

Greg Bray: Yeah, this is where we get to actually ask the people who do it every day how they do it. I think these panel conversations with builders really makes it real for the people who are there because they can connect and understand what these folks are talking about in a different way than you can sometimes for some of the other presenters.

Kevin Weitzel: And don't just do it, but do it well. These are definitely people that have not just done, but proven the activity.

Greg Bray: After that panel, Kevin, I am really pumped that we get to talk a little bit about artificial intelligence or AI. AI is all over the place right now. People have so many questions. And so I was saying, Hey, who is the real intelligence that we can get to come talk about the artificial intelligence?

Kevin Weitzel: The humans on that one is going to be yourself with Blue Tangerine, and of course, Bassam Salem over at AtlasRTX.

Greg Bray: Yeah. And I'm just there to help facilitate because Bassam is the guy who understands this stuff. He is just a whiz at these [00:11:00] things. This is going to be where our participants and audience can ask questions too. This is going to be pretty open. So, if you've got questions about AI, where does it fit, are the computers going to take over the world, all of these kinds of important questions that we need to know, come prepared to ask them and pick Bassam's brain.

Kevin Weitzel: All right. When you and Stuart wrap up the day, I just want to make sure that I thank you for basically spearheading, getting this whole thing, you know, set up and organized and working with the fine company like OutHouse, you've got Blue Tangerine and OutHouse, and then adding Blue Gypsy to the equation really did round it out. That's the organizational side. Then you also have the sponsorship side that helps keep it affordable. Who's our top sponsor there? Who's our diamond sponsor?

Greg Bray: Kevin, we couldn't do it without the support of these sponsors. Again, a big thank you to Livabl that is willing to be our diamond sponsor. When I put this out to the world, say, Hey, we're doing this again, I think I got the reply back from them in like five minutes. Said we want in, we want to do this. It was just practically instant. [00:12:00] And it's so rewarding to know that people want this to happen. They want to be supportive and make sure that this kind of content and this kind of information gets out there to the world.

Kevin Weitzel: And then our lunches, one of my favorite topics, are brought to us by our platinum sponsors, which include Bocca Group and AtlasRTX.

Greg Bray: Yeah, again, great folks. Appreciate their support. And of course, those are not our only sponsors, Kevin. We also have a handful of gold sponsors that we want to acknowledge and thank, 149Photos, Audience Town, ECI Software Solutions, specifically the Lasso team over there, NterNow, and then Aireal, have all agreed to be there, provide support. And they're bringing content to all of these sponsors are going to be helping with these roundtables. And so, they are contributing not just to the financial side, but also to making sure this turns into a great event. But Kevin, we forgot something. We forgot to tell people how much fun they're going to have.

Kevin Weitzel: They're going to have a lot of fun. And there's a way they can get it for less too, right? [00:13:00]

Greg Bray: There is a way to get for less. So, right now there's still some spots available. If you haven't registered yet, you're not too late. Again, October 18th and 19th. So, don't wait because it's going to go fast here. Seven-ninety-five. We tried really hard to make it affordable, Kevin. There's some shows out there that cost double and triple that amount. It takes a lot of work to put this together, but we wanted to make sure that this was within reach of all of our folks in the marketing and OSC world.

But on top of that, you can save 50 bucks right now by listening to this podcast, because you're going to get a code that's not being published anywhere else. Podcast50, podcast 5, 0. Go to buildermarketingsummit.com and register, stick that in, you're going to save $50 off the 795 registration fee, and you can use that for anybody else on your team that you want to bring, as well. So, there's not a restriction to the number of folks who can use that code.

Kevin Weitzel: All one word, all compressed, no spaces, [00:14:00] podcast50.

Greg Bray: That's right. Podcast50. But Kevin, remember some people are probably gonna make money by coming to this thing cause they're going to win some amazing prizes. Do you remember the prizes last year? They were just crazy fun.

Kevin Weitzel: Just over the top.

Greg Bray: Crazy stuff.

Kevin Weitzel: We had a Yeti cooler. We had an iPad.

Greg Bray: I was so impressed that our sponsors ponied up these prizes for everybody. And I expect that we will have an even greater opportunity this year because those sponsors that are coming back we're like, Oh man. There's a little competition going on here between sponsors about who can put up the best prize. You're going to want to stay for the whole time. Don't miss the end. if you need to stay a little bit later that day, don't miss the end.

It's going to be at the Thompson in Denver, a really nice place, great hotel. Again, October 18th and 19th. And you can register today at buildermarketingsummit.com. Kevin, I can't wait to see you there, to see all of our listeners there, and just to have a great time sharing all these [00:15:00] amazing people and speakers and sponsors and learning together. It's going to be great.

Kevin Weitzel: Looking forward to it, Greg.

Greg Bray: And we want to 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 Zonda Livabl.