Mike Lyon, Author at New Homes Solutions

Mike Lyon, the online lead generation expert from DoYouConvert.com, spoke with Kimberly Mackey at IBS 2020 to discuss what’s trending in builder sales this year.

Here’s what the duo chatted about in the energetic hallway:

The education at IBS is from the best of the best
Builders are strengthening their sales teams with coaching to stay competitive
The seamless handoff from lead to sales teams is crucial for conversion
Video emails are a must!

FULL TRANSCRIPTION (but this is much better when you put your earbuds in and watch the video):

Hi everyone, Kimberly Mackey here with New Home Solutions. I am here at the International Builders Show with the one and only Mike Lyon of DoYou Convert.com. This is the online sales guru, the Master. What else do we say to you?

Mike: I’ll take infamous. That means more than famous.

Kimberly: That means more than? Okay, I thought it meant less than. So he is famous. He literally wrote the book on online sales. Mike, while we’re here, tell me a little bit about the show. What have you learned so far?

Mike: The show is just fantastic. There are so many great speakers and presenters, and what I love is they always bring the best of the best. They get to put it in a place where you can access it all. You can see the halls are going crazy. So, the show is the most concentrated place for the best education that you can get in our industry, I love it.

Kimberly: The energy here is phenomenal, guys. And this is so cool for me that I get to interview you live and face to face. We usually just see each other online, right? So let’s talk about online salespeople. What are you seeing coming up for 2020? Are you see anything that’s going to enhance that for them?

Mike: So, 2020 is exciting. We’re seeing more and more builders not only fine-tune and perfect the role but grow the role because there are more leads coming in. They’ve got to handle those the right away, and as much technology that we have, it still requires a person to hold the hand of that customer coming through. We just don’t have the computers there, and the AI and all that stuff to replace it yet, so we’re working together. That’s what’s happening. We’re seeing more opportunities. The second thing that we’re seeing with online sales is deepening that connection with their onsite sales agents, so going beyond just working a lead and setting an appointment, but making sure that that handoff process and that customer experience and customer journey is just seamless.

Kimberly: It has to be seamless. I mean, they’re a team. They’ve got to work together. Are you seeing anything here at the show that would help enhance that or any techniques or tools?

Mike: Absolutely. There are great presentations coming up. Jen (Barkan), from our team, is putting that on with some great online sales specialists who have gone up through the ranks and through the roles, and they are now sales managers. What they bring to that as a sales manager and being in the role of online sales, is understanding that you can build a bulletproof online sales team, but if you don’t have the buy-in from the sales team that’s coming and taking those leads, you’re not going to see the conversions that you want. They are going to talk about best practices for that and how you manage the handoff process Really, you’re handing a relationship that’s been built to someone else and making sure that it’s done the right way.

Kimberly: It’s so hard to know where to kind of cut that off and start the next one. Is your team doing anything with videos to help enhance that handoff off?

Mike: Oh, yeah! Oh, we love videos! Online sales specialist that we coach know, it doesn’t matter; you’re sending the video whether you like it or not. Unlike you, many people are uncomfortable with video, but we just have to force it on them, and they get past it, and it works out. Everything works out.

Kimberly: You do eventually get overhearing your own voice on the video, or thinking, “Oh is that really a zit right there? No!”

Mike: We definitely believe in video email. That’s a huge way to cut through the clutter and make sure that you are building connections with the customers when you are not face to face.

Kimberly: Awesome. Anything else you want to see while you’re here at the show that maybe is not related?

Mike: You know, that’s interesting. One of my favorite parts about the show is really hanging out in the hallway and seeing the people. I’ve been going to this for 14 years now, and it’s those connections that just get deeper and deeper every single year. We love it. We love the influencers. We love the presenters. We love the speakers. That’s really what I look forward to the most at the show.

Kimberly: Absolutely. Thank you so much for taking the time out of this crazy, busy show. It’s always a hectic schedule.

Mike: Thank you for interviewing me. This is great, and I’m excited for everybody out there who is seeing this video Kimberly’s doing an awesome job! Send her an email back. That’s all I ask you to do. When you see this, you email her back and say, “You are awesome!”

Kimberly: And then tell me how great Mike is too, of course! Thanks a lot, guys. I hope you get something out of it, and if you get the opportunity to come to the International Builders Show, you’ve got to do it. Next year it’s in Orlando in February, so go ahead and mark your calendar. Thanks a lot, Mike.

Mike: Hey, thank you, Kimberly.

MIKE LYON
Mike has accumulated a wealth of real-world knowledge and firsthand experience in the realm of online marketing and sales for home builders. He speaks with authority about online conversion rates and best practices that can be implemented to boost sales from internet leads. He is recognized as one of the top innovators in online lead generation and conversion for the home building and real estate industries. A highly sought-after consultant and speaker, Mike has worked with many of the top 100 home builders.