The 2023 International Builders' Show (IBS) was a compelling experience for the entire Do You Convert team. With the excitement of winning both Gold and Silver at the National awards and the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and meet new people, it was a memorable event filled with highlights. See the team's biggest takeaways from the 2023 International Builders' Show! 

Kevin Oakley:

When I interacted with most builders at the show over the past three or four years, they were looking for a way to perform one small task of their organization better. It was all about incremental improvement without impacting the rest of the business if possible. This year after each session, builders I have never worked with were lining up to talk about entire overhauls of their sales & marketing approach. “We really have never had a modern approach to this…” “We know we can’t ignore this anymore…” “I’m not sure we’ve ever been as good as we thought we were…” Bigger thinking is making a comeback spurred on by the difficulty of the new market. I’m not celebrating tough times, but I am celebrating the opportunity to keep pushing the industry forward.

I also had a chance to meet with several new people who are (currently) outside the industry but are looking to get more involved. I think you’ll get a chance to know many of them soon. Finally, I couldn’t be more proud of the entire Market Proof Marketing podcast team for being recognized for the years of consistent work putting out each episode. I guess we’ll have to do 250 more episodes before we hang it up. 😉

Mike Lyon:

It's pretty wild to realize that this was my 17th year at the show. As I reflected on this past week, something hit me. So much of the value at IBS is in the margins--those side hallway conversations, meetings in Sales Central, impromptu lunches with industry superstars, fun table partners at the Nationals, and the list goes on. I learn and grow so much from those conversations. IBS is my yearly reminder of how expansive the home builder world is and how much I respect the people in it doing the hard work. It was a blast cheering on our Builders and the Online Sales pros at the Nationals too. Shout out to Elena at Ideal Homes for taking home Gold.  Good vibes all around this year. 

Jen Barkan:

Buzzwords I heard: Electric, Content, Customer Centric, Personalization

Loved seeing such great education in Sales Central. The room was packed every session and the variety of presentations was great. And I was so excited for Elena who won Gold for OSC of the Year! The Tilson team was back this year, and they took home the gold for OSC Team of the Year! After last year’s defeat, it was a sweet victory!

Another favorite moment was cheering on Julie Jarnagin as she accepted the SAM for winning Gold for the Market Proof Marketing Podcast and then rocked her presentation the next morning. I had a great time at the Rally with Jason, Mary, and Quint as well, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to represent online sales from the big stage.

Julie Jarnagin:

What an amazing show! The tone felt upbeat as most builders had a strong start to the year. A.I. tools like ChatGPT were getting some buzz, and builders seemed to embrace the fact that to succeed in 2023, they need to adapt to new strategies for everything from content to messaging to calls to action. My favorite moments of the show were cheering for Elena Mora’s win as Online Sales Counselor of the Year at The Nationals and watching as our very own Jen Barkan killed it at the Sales Rally! 

Karla Tuten:

Another great show in the books! It was refreshing and inspiring to see our builder partners and meet new faces in and outside of the show. The cross-pollination of ideas is unmatched and has an irreplaceable value. I thoroughly enjoyed Reyna’s session on “Connecting with Your Buyer’s Cultural, Generational, and Lifestyle Needs”, Will Duderstadt’s “Everything is a Remix”, and Beth Russell’s “It’s Sales and Marketing, Not Sales vs. Marketing.” Another shout-out to Carly Sickle’s session in Sales Central about User Generated Content and how easily accessible (and actionable) it is for builders. Congratulations to Elena Mora’s well-deserved win at The Nationals, shoutout to Jen Barkan’s Sales Rally, Julie’s session went amazingly well, and a HUGE win for my fellow team members’ podcast Gold!