Kevin Oakley is joined this episode by Jackie Lipinski and Beth Russell for episode 369! They start by discussing the correlation between context and relationship when analyzing data, and Beth shares the inspiration behind her recent blog post about vanity metrics -- and how to avoid the venus metric trap. Additional topics discussed include a glimmer of hope from Realtor.com, and what you shouldn't count on happening in 2025. 

Story Time (03:57): 

• Jackie shares a great reminder surrounding cost-per-lead and how to approach it this year 
• Beth shares a recent conversation with her son, and how it has inspired her to help empower more data storytellers 
• Kevin has a busy year coming up! And asks, do we do another pancake breakfast at the builder show?

In The News (15:28): 

• The Venus Fly Trap of Vanity Metrics (https://www.doyouconvert.com)
• Will Homeowners Finally Sell in 2025? Here's What the Experts Say, Amid a Glimmer of Hope (https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/housing-market-2025/)
• What won't happen in 2025 (https://digiday.com/marketing/what-wont-happen-in-2025/) 

Things We Love - Things We Hate (39:10): 

• Jackie has been getting her groceries delivered, and the team jokes that it's a slippery slope 
• Beth was influenced and was gifted a pair of the Ozlo sleepbuds. She may or may not also be an influencer now! 
• Kevin has a predictive hate -- anything we're buying now that has an AI or software feature will need to be purchased again -- his remote start on his car being the first example 

Kevin Oakley is joined this episode by Jackie Lipinski and Jessie Suggs for the first full episode of 2025! The team discusses builder wins from December, and some very important breaking news -- Kevin actually watched a movie! They break down existing home sales data, and recap Zillow's most unusual home searches from last year. 

Story Time (02:05): 

• Jackie brings up the quote "Zillow can't smell the cat" from Greg Robertson 
• Jessie was delighted by a builder's success in December, and brings up the importance of having very specific goals for Q1 
• Kevin has some breaking news -- he watched The Godfather movies over break. He also brings up some homebuilder data -- there were over 45.62M unique users tracked going to home builder websites for the year

In The News (15:28): 

• Existing-Home Sales Hit Strongest Year-Over-Year Increase Since June 2021 (https://www.builderonline.com) 
• Zillow reveals 2024's most popular -- and most unusual -- home searches (https://zillow.mediaroom.com) 
• Instagram and Facebook to Fill Platforms With AI-Generated Accounts (https://petapixel.com)

Things We Love - Things We Hate (46:05): 

• Jessie loves and hates the same thing -- making sourdough
• Jackie is leaning into showing gratitude and loves showing appreciation for others 
• Kevin is loving the Ohio State Buckeyes! 

It's a new year, but there are still a lot of old misunderstandings about how the world has changed after NAR's settlement in 2024. Kevin Oakley is joined by James Dwiggins - the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of NextHome Inc., and someone who was one of the named defendants in the case, to help set the record straight. Learn why if you continue to offer compensation to buyer's agents, you might get what amounts to a "cease and desist" from prominent brokers in your area, why offering concessions to your buyer (not the agent) is the way to go, and more. Yes, the world has changed - no, it isn't ending.

• Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered Podcast (hosted by James & Keith)
 

Kevin Oakley is joined this episode by Jackie Lipinski and Beth Russell! While it may start out sounding more like a Halloween episode... it's a festive one, we promise! The trio discusses a new creative case study from the DYC team, addresses an insightful listener question from "Susan" *wink wink*, and debates whether Macaulay Caulkin would've been better off purchasing, or not purchasing, the Home Alone house! 

Story Time (04:30):

• Kevin talks about builders finishing the year strong, and the growth planned for 2025 
• Beth wins story time with the topic of "sales vampires" and the importance of resetting boundaries among marketers and sales teams 
• Jackie reminds you to be the hall monitor of your marketing, and doing your homework on/auditing the things you're signing up for 

In The News (21:08):

• Beyond The Artboard: Hedgefield Case Study (https://www.doyouconvert.com)
• Kevin addresses a listener question at (24:50) about a recent online event (The Marketing Dream Team)
• ChatGPT search is now available to all free users ( https://searchengineland.com)
• Why Zonda's Latest Millennial Survey Matters (https://www.builderonline.com)
• Macaulay Caulkin Admits He Considered Buying $5.25 Million 'Home Alone' House 'Just For Giggles' (https://www.realtor.com)
• 2024 DYC Wrapped -- Coming Soon! 

Things We Love - Things We Hate (44:17): 

• Jackie loves the holidays, but the constant text messages and marketing efforts are becoming a LOT. 
• Beth asked a marketer if she were an Instapot, what would press the button to get her steam out? 
• Kevin shares a story about his son, and a great moment they shared recently. 
 

Like the number of days in a year (we think?), Kevin Oakley, Julie Jarnagin and Beth Russell host episode 365. A big topic this episode is self reflection, and approaching review season with humility, as well as how hiring can look different for homebuilders and isn't one size fits all. They also cover a handful of stories including an exciting training coming up, homebuilding advice from 2024 and updates in the tech world! 

Story Time (01:15):

• Julie was talking to the owner of a building company about what to look for when hiring, and how what means success for an employee depends so heavily on the needs of the organization and the culture of the organization. 
• Kevin recently heard from a marketer who commented on his recent article, and how their team is structured in a way that marketing manages sales. 
• Beth brings up review season, and an internal exercise she did with the DYC team that can be very powerful. She also shares a story about a special purchase, and how the company turned around a stressful experience.

In The News (24:20):

• DYC's Online Sales Academy: Leadership Edition (https://onlinesales.doyouconvert.com)
• Google Ads Testing Video Assets For Search Campaigns? (https://www.seroundtable.com)
• Buffet's 2024 Wisdom For Homebuilding Leaders' Next Moves (https://www.thebuildersdaily.com)
• TikTok failed to save itself with the First Amendment (https://www.theverge.com)
• OpenAI's Sora is officially here (https://mashable.com)

Things We Love - Things We Hate (41:45): 

• Do You Convert recently published its gift guide, and Beth shared her favorite bubble water, and has influenced a handful of people! 
• Julie's boys (10 and 16) wear a Christmas sweater to school everyday, and she loves it. Very festive at the Jarnagins! 
• Kevin loves the book The Dip by Seth Godin, and shares a really proud moment of his son Hayden. 

Join Kevin Oakley, Jackie Lipinski and Julie Jarnagin for an exciting pre-holiday episode! They kick off episode 364 talking about expectations, and a common excitement for what's to come in the new year. Jackie brings up the wonder of Spotify Wrapped, and the team discusses the Do You Convert holiday gift guide, as well as Zillow predictions for 2025 and some interesting news out of Google regarding the recent antitrust case. 

Story Time (03:27):

• Jackie's Spotify Wrapped notified her that she was a top listener of the "Everything is Awesome" song from the Lego movie -- listening to it 98 times this year! 
• Julie covers the topic of "starter homes" and a shift in how it looks now vs. how it used to be, as well as a change in people purchasing fixer-uppers 
• Kevin hosted a session on marketing team dynamics, and found a hand-written org chart from Ryan Homes from 1966 

In The News (18:23):

• 2024 DYC Holiday Gift Guide (https://www.doyouconvert.com)
• Remote work levels drop in 39 of the 40 largest markets - what it meant for housing (https://www.resiclubanalytics.com)
• Zillow predicts more buyers will come out ahead in a bumpy 2025 (https://zillow.mediaroom.com)
• DOJ pushes for Google to break off Chrome browser after antitrust case (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/20/doj-pushes-for-google-to-break-off-chrome-browser-after-antitrust-case.html)

Things We Love - Things We Hate (34:20): 

• Jackie did her first Turkey Trot 5K, and did a preparatory 5K the day before. She loved seeing the difference between running alone, and running with others, and the excitement of seeing the finish line
• Julie talks Black Friday and the participatory element around it 
• Kevin loves Amy's Gourmet Apples, and covers a trend he's seen with syndication platforms and the quality of leads builders have reported seeing 

In this episode, Kevin Oakley is joined by Allison Babin, Director of Marketing with Manuel Builders in Louisiana. Sharing a common passion for personal growth and development, they highlight the importance of celebrating the little wins, doing the right thing for homeowners, and a marketer's role in personalizing and humanizing the building process. 

Kevin and Allison discuss: 

• Allison's background, and her passion for personal development and self growth 
• The misconception of personal growth in the business world
• The advantages of working in the homebuilding industry 
• Embracing mistakes that happen along the way with the customer at the forefront 
• Investing the time and energy to be the voice of the customer through personal touchpoints 
• Knowing your data, and being able to communicate that to executives 
• Managing healthy conflict among team members 
• ... and more! 

Happy Thanksgiving! Kevin Oakley and Beth Russell kick off episode 363 with the things they are thankful for -- sharing a common gratitude for the sense of community built among homebuilder marketers across the nation, and the friendships that have formed as a result. Today's topic surrounds Kevin's recent article on evolving dynamics among home builders, buyers and agents -- and some of the feedback he received they'd like to dive into. 

Story Time (00:24):

• Beth is thankful for her wonderful husband and amazing kiddos. She is also so grateful to be a part of the Marketing Leadership Collective, and what's to come with the group.
• Kevin is thankful for the overall community of homebuilder marketers, and the friendships that are cultivated within the DYC: All Access community. 

Today's Topic: Evolving Dynamics (06:50)

• Kevin and Beth briefly recap his recent article --  The Evolving Dynamics Between Home Builders & Realtors: A Post-Settlement Analysis 
• They read a few of the "mean tweets" (comments and emails he received), and dive into discussion surrounding the questions and scenarios posed in them 
• Kevin gives a special shout-out to a broker, who provided a fantastic response surrounding representing her buyers

Kevin Oakley, is joined by Julie Jarnagin and Jackie Lipinski, and begin with a candid discussion on why Jackie is considering taking a bat to her Samsung refrigerator, highlighting the importance of accurate reviews. The importance of fostering a healthy space for debates and disagreements comes up, as well as Zillow's new home trends for 2025, and the average age of first-time home buyers. 

Story Time (4:00): 

• Jackie's story time is her struggle with Samsung appliances -- particularly her refrigerator that is now freezing and giving her issues. Moral of the story: reviews matter. 
• Julie is beginning to embrace conflict and disagreements, and thinks fostering those healthy conversations is a good opportunity 
• Kevin reminds us that there's reality, but within reality, there's always things you can control. 

In The News (19:31)

• New technology, old-world style: Zillow reveals 2025's home trends (https://zillow.mediaroom.com)
• LinkedIn Video Posts Generate 3x More Reach, Study Finds (https://www.searchenginejournal.com) 
• Average Age of First-Time Homebuyer Hits All-Time High (https://www.newsweek.com)

Things We Love - Things We Hate (44:04): 

• Jackie is having Friendsgiving and has a love-hate relationship with "panic cleaning," which Julie's family also called "rage cleaning". 
• Julie is going camping this weekend, and bought magical flames to make bonfires colorful and glowsticks to entertain her kids. 
• Kevin shares a notepad he's loving, and a Gilmore Girls advent calendar he got for his daughter this year. 

 Kevin Oakley is joined by Beth Russell and Jackie Lipinski for episode 361 to discuss investing in your team for 2025, and how sometimes unplugging for a short time can lead to the generation of new ideas. They also share new reporting and content on the Do You Convert website, and dive into an interesting report out of University of Pennsylvania. 

Story Time (6:50): 

• Jackie talks end of the year strategy, drawing a past example of tactfully understanding where focus and energy need to be without being too granular 
• Beth poses a question that came up on a builder call -- how are you investing in your team? And gives examples of things to consider for 2025. 
• Kevin was in Guatemala, and while unplugging can be difficult for him, his time off allowed him to come up key ideas that he feels may not have been sparked without the quiet, calm space 

In The News (27:19)

• The 2024 Homebuilder Online Follow-Up Survey (https://www.doyouconvert.com/blog/the-2024-homebuilder-online-followup-survey/) 
• Before and After: Caviness & Cates (Beyond The Artboard) (https://www.doyouconvert.com/blog/before-and-after-caviness-and-cates/)
• Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI's Early Years - AI Adoption Report ( https://ai.wharton.upenn.edu/focus-areas/human-technology-interaction/2024-ai-adoption-report/) 

Things We Love - Things We Hate (42:48): 

• Jackie recently went to the dermatologist, and thank goodness received news that a concerning spot was benign. She also reminds you to go get your skin checked! 
• Beth is excited to announce the application for the Marketing Leadership Collective, which inspires future generations of marketers 
• Kevin hates running, and is suspicious of people who do this too much.