Ruth Kincaid and I headed off to Phoenix Arizona for meetings and to attend the 2008 Southwest Builders Show. How we managed to cram the show and 7 meetings with Builders into 2 days is still a mystery.
The show was held on Thursday October 30th 2008 at the Phoenix Convention Center. Sponsored by the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA) , the event was well organized, beneficial and entertaining.
SESSION 1: CONVERTING INTERNET BROWSERS INTO BUYERS with MIKE LYON - Sponsored by Agave Environmental Contracting
Mike began the session by sharing professional and personal background with us.
Mike’s thoughts on “Lean Marketing” and its success stems from managing the internet sales and marketing for Simmons Homes, one of the largest homebuilders in Oklahoma, and being what he called an Internet Junkie. He now is the Sales & Marketing Director at 4 Corners Custom Homes and author of “Browsers to Buyers: Proven Strategies for Selling New Homes Online”.
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 he spends 95% of his marketing budget on the Internet! Now that is someone who has got it right!
He spoke about different avenues of Online Media (Key Words, 3rd Party Sites etc.) When mentioning a few, Ruth shot her hand up and yelled NewHomesDirectory.com! Mike decided that he would tell the entire room to use us because we were the best. He then spoke about how important following up with those internet leads is. At one point he put it bluntly “Don’t be stupid. Don’t make me take you out into the street and smack you!” The room was filled with laughter.
Among the crowd was Kellie Knapp - National Internet Sales Manager , Cathy French - Standard Pacific Homes and Steve Rider - Builder Specialist for Keller Williams. Everyone asked questions and seemed eager to find the right solution to selling homes in the current market conditions. It was great to see the Builders we are meeting with taking the opportunity to learn more about effective Internet marketing.
The Exhibit Hall:
Ruth and I walked the exhibit floor and spoke to the vendors about the Industry. We filled our bags with marketing trinkets. It was interesting to see amused that the majority of them were stress balls in the shapes of houses and such.We found ourselves racing with a few other attendees to get our cards stamped at the sponsored booths. Sadly we were not the recipients of the $10,000 prize.
The Builder Luncheon was great. We were privileged to have Residential Real Estate Expert, Tim Sullivan - President, Sullivan Group Real Estate Advisors as their Speaker. He discussed the Housing Market Forecast. We can’t wait for the next one.
Thank you to HBACA for putting on a great event and to Mike Lyon for your recommendations and professional insight and enthusiasm.
Sarah Cook
Director of Corporate Accounts
New Homes Directory.com
Sarah Cook
Director of Corporate Accounts
NewHomesDirectory.com
"Because Results Matter"
Direct (951) 808-3453
Cell (619) 454-9126
scook@newhomesdirectory.com
