NHPN Featured Member Interview Questions

How did you get started in the industry?  

My first entry into the industry was via the HBA of Orlando where I was the director of communications for 1.5 yrs. During that time I was in the middle of finishing a Masters degree in Communication Technology as well as earning my MIRM.  I learned a ton about the industry there. From there I moved on to Move.com where I had the chance to sell Internet marketing to builders during the Dot Com boom. I learned about the inner workings of a dot com company there, how to start one from scratch and how to use them for business.  I quickly learned that our industry can't do anything without the Internet. It was during this time that I decided to start my own business because nobody was talking about the Internet. They were all still talking about traditional methods of marketing. At Move.com, I was selling Internet media to people that had no idea how to use what I was selling. I knew if they didn't get it somehow, my career would be short so I just became determined to change the status quo. At first I spent all of my time in sales answering questions about "why" they should use the Internet. Now I'm answering questions about "how" to use the Internet. Just shows how much the industry has evolved. 

So what is the business you started? 

It's called CreatingWOW.com and there are three things that I would say describe my business.

1.) I am a professional speaker & trainer of Internet Marketing. I speak at conferences, association meetings, train sales teams and teach webinars.

I asked Meredith how she landed in this type of position and she was somewhat hesitant to share the answer. She was just being modest but I loved it. Her answer gives us a peek at her personality.

Well, I'm a 3^rd generation preacher's child so public speaking is in my genes. I also put myself through college by participating in the Miss America pageant system which refined my public speaking and interview skills.  

Do we have any video of that?  Wink wink.

After attending the International Builders Show and the Super Bowl Sales Rally, I realized that I wanted to teach on a professional level from a stage. I spoke a number of times on panels at IBS, but my national debut happened when one of the speakers in the Sales Management Summit was unable to speak at the last minute. I was invited by Bill Webb and I was on the plane that day. I was so nervous but it went great. It's now my passion. I'd rather speak professionally than ride roller coasters. I've worked hard to improve every year and I am very honored to have been selected as the moderator for the 2010 Super Bowl Sales Rally at IBS. As the Moderator of the event, I get to select the theme, the speakers and the content. As usual, I plan to shake things up!

2.) We're a full service marketing firm - we develop web sites, SEO, paid search mgmt, Social Media, email marketing.

3.) We recently created the Internet Marketing hotline - which is a network of virtual assistants that are experts in Internet Marketing. The hotline is DIY (do-it-yourself) marketers who just need a little guidance or a resource to improve their skills. Beginners can use this service to get live help from a network of virtual assistants. Some people have no idea how to even begin. They don't understand Facebook, they don't know what a "tweet" is but they want to learn. This is where they learn.

How awesome is that?

So what makes CreatingWOW.com different?  

The reason we're hired is because we approach marketing with a sales focus. Because I have the professional sales training side of my business, I understand the on-site sales process. I build Websites that are active sales vehicles and not passive online brochures. It's because of this that our sites have a higher registration rate. We use active language that invites visitors to interact. We don't just build cool websites. We build effective websites.

I took the opportunity at this point to share a frustration of my own with Meredith. I shared that in my opinion, too many builders are more interested in having a cool website or at the very least a static brochure type of a website then complain that they're not seeing the desired activity on their web page. They are hesitant to use any type of Internet Marketing venue because of this perceived lack of activity. Being a true pioneer in the field of Internet Marketing, Meredith can take one look at a website and immediately identify the source of the pain. Just listening to her convinced me that she truly understands the difference between passive and effective. 

The other reason people hire us, is because we create more leads and then we teach how to convert those Internet lead to sales. Our Builder eMarketing System^TM has a series of building blocks that ensures a comprehensive online sales and marketing strategy from Website to sale.

What else can you tell us about you and CreatingWOW.com?

We try to give back by participating with the National Sales & Marketing Council (NSMC) and the Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM). I also teach IRM courses. I'm constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve in learning about what's new and challenging the status quo, especially when it comes to technology. With regards to Social Media, it's the single greatest change in marketing that we've seen in our lifetime.

You mention Social Media, what do you mean by "single greatest change"? 

I believe that when the recovery begins, the new home sales consultant role will be completely different. Because of Social Media we're getting down to the nuts and bolts of identifying the true marketing professional. The old way was "one to many" meaning Corporate to the masses. Today it's back to "one to one" via social media. As a result we'll soon need a team of people, or at the very least one person that is computer savvy, knowledgeable about Internet Marketing and is willing and motivated to drive their own traffic thru grass roots efforts. Right now people are just not accustomed to doing this.

I had to back her up and ask her to say that again! What does this mean? Give me a scenario of what this will look like.

Well, in addition to the average walk in traffic, sales professionals will need to build relationships via the Internet to create walk in traffic. This means employees using tools like Facebook and Twitter and others like it. Now, is there data available to show the conversion rates of Social Media sales? No, it's too early but what we do have is the proof that tools like this build relationships and trust and in the future it's relationships that will become our clients.

This will be a fundamental shift of what we do and how we've done it for so many years and it will be difficult for some to revert back to the old style of business. Everything has come full circle.

"Full circle"?  I'm reminded of something that Jim Adams (CEO NewHomesDirectory.com) shared with me regarding Social Media sometime ago. He said that 100 years ago, business was done face to face with a handshake and the confidence of knowing you could trust the deal because of the relationship. Corporate marketing replaced that but today, what people are looking for in social media business is a return to knowing the face behind the product. Someone to trust instead of something.

Have you needed to make changes to adapt to these market changes?   

Well, I try to stay ahead of the need to overcome. Giving the fact that my entire business is the building industry, I've taken this opportunity to rethink everything and try to present my clients with solutions that will help them overcome the market changes.

And we both agreed that in order to be a great teacher, and Meredith is, you need to always be a great student.