Mike Lyon of DoYouConvert.com - I have been following Mike’s blog and his Tweets now for several months and have found that everything he has to say is beneficial to our ever-changing industry. Our company first came into contact with Mike via the 2008 SW Builders Show in Phoenix AZ. Our Director of Corp. Accounts Sarah Cook and Creative Director Ruth Kincaid sat in on one of his classes and had this to say about the encounter.

Mike began the session by sharing his professional and personal background with us. Mike’s thoughts on “Lean Marketing” and its success stem from managing the internet sales and marketing for Simmons Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Oklahoma, and his time as the Sales & Marketing Director at 4 Corners Custom Homes. He is a self professed Internet Junkie and author of “Browsers to Buyers: Proven Strategies for Selling New Homes Online,” and now provides consulting and training for builders looking to implement or improve their online sales program.

Mike is passionate about his Industry. It was refreshing to hear his opinions on the effectiveness of Online Marketing and the conversion rates from Internet leads. Mike said that at his last position, he spent 95% of his marketing budget on the Internet – with the average of $500 spent per home sale! Now that is someone who has got it right!

Mike got his start in the industry as a self taught web designer. After spending time on Ebay in the early 2000’s, he noticed that the listings that had better displays (HTML) sold faster. He taught himself how to code HTML then utilized programs like FrontPage and Dreamweaver to create websites. Soon after, he began a freelance business in building websites and email campaigns for small businesses. He eventually took a position as the Internet Marketing & Sales Director for Simmons Homes in Oklahoma where he implemented the first Online Sales Counselor position in his market. With the encouragement of Myers Barnes, he created his now widely read manual entitled “Browsers to Buyers: Proven Strategies for Selling New Homes Online,” as a tool for builders to help guide them through the implementation of an online sales program.

When asked how he would describe his business, Mike said that he offers what he calls an “Outsourced Internet Marketing service.” He spends his time consulting new home builders on how to maximize their “online” sales & marketing endeavors which in my opinion, is one of the greatest needs in our industry. Mike is a champion for this cause, a voice of one calling in the desert to convince the building industry of the importance of harnessing the power of the Internet to sell their homes and connect with their consumers.

Mike’s simple strategy is to teach the secrets of cutting through all of the clutter and generate ideas to sell homes. “Clutter” you may ask? Clutter, simply put, is the numerous stale, outdated and ineffective methods that so many are still using. Mike is someone that I truly respect because he’s been there; he’s done that and he’s personally experienced the failures and successes of our industry. He has walked a mile in the shoes of those he teaches, has a deeper understanding of the issues and has now converted those experiences into proven strategies in knowing how to do much more for much less.

By Mike’s own admission, there are not many doing what he does. “Everyone who understands this information is either working for a marketing agency or selling a product to a builder,” he says. His goal and one of the things that make him different is the fact that he offers his knowledge instead of a product. His goal is helping the builders achieve their goals. This is no easy task. It requires that Mike have a deep understanding of technology trends and how those trends affect the new home building industry as well as a commanding grip on consumer behavior.

I asked Mike how he saw the industry changing and he stated that, “People are beginning to realize that interruption marketing doesn’t work anymore and that there is a demand from the consumer for more information. Almost all consumers are searching online for what they want. With all of this new online activity, I see a disproportionate amount of budgeting dollars being spent on marketing. Not enough of the budget is going toward the internet. The pain of the market and their own financial pains are becoming too great, so finally they are starting to recognize the importance of online advertising. There is no doubt that we still need traditional sources — it’s all about having a balanced approach.”

Mike states, “When I was working for a builder in 08’ I noticed the market changing and knew that we had to do more with less — less traffic and less money. We needed to revert back to gorilla marketing and used our selling skills again. We HAD to make it work by managing the traffic that we did have. Customer service was paramount. We had to look better than our competition to maintain a piece of the market share.”

This is the kind of knowledge and market wisdom that Mike brings to the table. I would encourage you to buy his book, follow his blog and glean everything you can.

To follow Mike more closely you need to:
Follow his blog
Follow him on Twitter
Connect to him on LinkedIn.

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