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October is here, which means we are officially entering the last quarter of the year. And I think this is a really important time to ask ourselves a question: What are we going to do with the next 90 days? There is a lot of uncertainty in our industry right now. Interest rates, affordability, consumer confidence, traffic and the economy are all creating questions about what the rest of this year will look like and what we can expect when we head into the spring selling season. We can’t control…
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The Builder Marketing Summit has wrapped up for another year, and after two fast and furious days in Dallas, I walked away energized, full of ideas and, as always, wishing there had been just a little more time to talk with everyone. This was my fourth year joining Greg Bray of Blue Tangerine and Kevin Weitzel of Outhouse for the Summit, where they once again gave me free rein to lead the Online Sales Counselor track. That opportunity means a lot to me because there simply aren’t many industry events…
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Why an AI Tool Isn’t the Same as an AI Strategy AI is everywhere in new home sales right now. Chatbots, automated follow-up, texting, dialers, lead nurturing, appointment setting. There are some incredible tools available, and I am certainly not anti-AI. Used correctly, AI can help us respond faster, manage more opportunities and take some of the repetitive work off our plates. But buying an AI tool is not the same thing as having an AI strategy. You don’t just buy it, unbox it, plug it into your website or…
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One of the first things I ask for when I start working with a new builder has nothing to do with conversion rates, lead response times, or appointment-setting percentages. Well okay I ask for all of that stuff. But I also ask for this… I ask to see every follow-up sequence living inside their CRM. The automated emails. The texts. The videos. The call tasks. Everything. Why? Because before I can coach an Online Sales Counselor, I want to understand what the buyer is experiencing. Every email, every text message,…
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“Everyone knows something you don’t… learn from them.” It’s a simple phrase, but one that’s resonated with me for decades. I’m not even sure where I first heard it, but it’s become part of who I am and how I approach life. Long before Blue Gypsy. Long before I was speaking at conferences or teaching classes. Before I ever became an Online Sales Counselor. It’s a mindset I’ve carried with me from experience to experience…country to country. I learned it years ago while traveling the world. Every place I visited…
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In our last blog post about One Team, One Experience I talked heavily about alignment. If the move from online to onsite is done well, it should feel natural from the buyer’s perspective. Exciting, even. The OSC should be building anticipation, not creating confusion. It should sound more like: “I’d love for you to meet my good friend; they’re going to have a much better handle on those specific house questions and help you take the next step.” That is a handoff. Not: “Here’s the appointment. Good luck.…
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Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of joining an NAHB Shop Talk with a title so good I figured it deserved a blog post of its own: One Team, One Experience: Turning Spring Traffic into Sales. When a topic is this relevant, this timely, and this painfully familiar to anyone in home building, you don’t just leave it neatly tucked inside a one-hour conversation. You bring it back out, dust it off, and say, “Alright, let’s talk about what this really means.” The discussion was moderated by Kelly Fink,…
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I feel like I make a post about this almost every year… but spring cleaning isn’t just for closets, junk drawers, and that cup holder in your car full of receipts, hair ties, mystery crumbs, and old empty coffee cups from Starbucks. It’s for your follow-up too. Let’s be honest… somewhere in that CRM is a sales process you built with the best of intentions and then never looked at again. She’s out there. Collecting dust. Sending old emails. Possibly embarrassing you. This time of year, is the perfect excuse…
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Alright, friends. We’re closing out March Debunking AI Month with one more thing I need to get off my chest: I am deeply skeptical of these micro learning AI courses that keep popping up all over my social feed. You know the ones. “Learn 47 AI tools in 28 days!” “Become an AI power user by next Tuesday!” “Master the future with our daily 10-minute lessons!” Meanwhile I’m over here thinking… who has time to collect apps like they’re Pokémon? What do I need 10…or 28 different tools? And more…
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One thing I’ve learned over the past 19 years of building and rebuilding Online Sales Counselor (OSC) programs, and 14 years of consulting with builders across the country is this: Hiring a consultant doesn’t automatically change a program. It’s what happens between consulting, training, strategy, and leadership that makes the difference. I can build structure. I can train skills. I can create systems that make your OSC team run like a machine. But if leadership isn’t plugged in, reinforcing, and managing the program after I leave, even the strongest team…
How to Train Your Dragon… I Mean, Your AI!
I am a huge How to Train Your Dragon Fan. Not just because my husband loves animated movies and has bought me all the dragon stuffed animals that have been created from the original movies. But also, because dragons are amazing! And at the same time, they can seem scary. But when you try to get along with them, they can be your best friend! AI can feel a little dragon-like at first. There are…
Leading with Empathy to Address Fears, Objections, or Concerns in New Home Sales
In face-to-face communication, body language accounts for a significant portion of how we understand each other. According to one of the most often-cited (though frequently misunderstood) studies by Dr. Albert Mehrabian, communication is broken down like this when expressing feelings or attitudes: 7% is the actual words spoken 38% is the tone of voice 55% is body language (facial expressions, gestures, posture, etc.) Now, important context here: those numbers apply only when a person…
From Click to Contract: Why Your OSC Can’t Do It Alone
Let’s set the record straight: Your Online Sales Counselor (OSC) is not a one-person army. They’re not a magician who can wave a magic wand over lukewarm leads and produce closings. And they’re certainly not a plug-and-play solution that runs on autopilot. If your online sales program is struggling—or worse, crashing and burning—it’s not just about the OSC. It’s about the system surrounding them. Too often, home builders invest in the idea of an OSC…
Evaluate Your Online Sales Counselor’s Performance with Precision
In today’s competitive homebuilding market, your Online Sales Counselor (OSC) program can make or break your lead-to-sale conversion rate. OSCs are often the first point of contact for prospective buyers, which makes their performance a crucial part of your customer journey. That’s why Blue Gypsy Inc. offers a comprehensive 45-day Mystery Shopping Solution designed specifically to evaluate, measure, and improve the effectiveness of your OSC team. This isn’t just a performance check—it’s a strategy-shaping experience…
How Does Your Follow-Up Stack Up? The 5th Annual Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop Report Is Here
Online leads are one of the most valuable sources of opportunity for home builders—but only if they’re handled well. In today’s competitive market, buyers expect timely, personalized, and consistent communication. So, the big question is: How well are builders actually doing when it comes to online follow-up? That’s exactly what the 5th Annual Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop Report set out to uncover. Conducted by Blue Gypsy Inc., in partnership with Melinda Brody & Company and…
What DiSC Can (and Can’t) Tell You About Finding a Great OSC
Hiring an Online Sales Counselor (OSC) is like finding a unicorn that can juggle fire while smiling at strangers and analyzing a spreadsheet—all at the same time. No one person is going to nail every skill on the wishlist: people skills, task management, analytical thinking, adaptability, emotional stability, and the drive to perform. That’s why tools like the DiSC assessment can be incredibly helpful—not as a crystal ball, but as a flashlight to illuminate learning…
Spring Selling Season Means Spring Hiring Season
Ahhh spring. That magical time of year when the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, and home builders suddenly realize… they needed an OSC yesterday. Let’s be real—when the spring selling season ramps up, it’s like someone flipped a switch. The leads are pouring in, the phones are ringing, and suddenly, builders everywhere have a lightbulb moment: “We need an Online Sales Counselor!” …To which I say, “No kidding. And let me guess—you wanted…
IBS 2025: What Happened in Vegas Is Too Good Not to Share
IBS 2025, you did not disappoint. I’m still riding the high from three jam-packed days of innovation, connection, and let’s be honest… sensory overload in the best way possible. Vegas was buzzing (and not just from the slot machines). Builders, marketers, sales pros, tech wizards—you name it—came together to share the latest and greatest in the home building industry. You know how they say, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”? Yeah, no. Not this…
Unlocking CRM Potential: What to Look for and Why
Let’s get this out of the way right now: I am not a CRM implementation expert. My job is to train and strategize with Online Sales Counselors (OSCs) and companies to help them thrive in their roles and their adoption of the CRM across all departments. It’s important for the marketing, sales, and online salespeople to all be rowing in the same direction when it comes to big tools like the CRM. I’ll give you…
Blue Gypsy Inc. Turns 15: Reflections, Realizations, and a Look Ahead
Time flies when you’re building dreams—and helping others do the same! As I sit down to reflect on Blue Gypsy Inc.’s 15th anniversary, I can’t help but chuckle at how this milestone snuck up on me, much like that epiphany I had years ago in South Africa. I was a dive instructor in Sodwana Bay, gearing up to celebrate my 33rd birthday with friends, when it hit me: I wasn’t beginning my 33rd year on…