331 2026 Builder Marketing Summit Preview - Greg Bray and Kevin Weitzel Aug 5 2026

Greg Bray: [00:00:00] Hello, everybody, and welcome to today's episode of the Builder Marketing Podcast. I'm Greg Bray with Blue Tangerine.

Kevin Weitzel: And I'm Kevin Weitzel with OutHouse.

Greg Bray: And Kevin, we come together for a very special episode.

Kevin Weitzel: Ooh, it's a good one. It's one of my favorites, actually, because it's fun. We get to talk about the summit.

Greg Bray: That's right. For those who are not aware, the Builder Marketing Summit is coming, and it's coming soon, and you need to know about it so you don't miss [00:01:00] out.

Kevin Weitzel: It's going to be at the Hall Arts.

Greg Bray: The Hall Arts Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

Kevin Weitzel: Yeah.

Greg Bray: And we're going to start on September 22nd in the afternoon with some special things we'll talk about in just a second. And then the main event is going to a be on Wednesday, September 23rd, and Thursday, September 24th. So, it's time to make those plans. But Kevin, we need to tell them why they should come.

Kevin Weitzel: I'll tell you why they should come. Number one, it is an intimate event. Number two, it is education first. It is not about sales pitches. It's not about rah-rah sessions that you get at sales rallies. This is truly a way to reload your cannon with ideas and concepts that you can utilize for your marketing prowess.

Greg Bray: Yeah, and we've been doing this for several years now. This is going to be our fifth time since COVID. But honestly, Kevin, I think we keep getting better. I think we keep getting better content. We keep getting better speakers. We all keep learning and making the event more fun, so I'm really excited for this one.

Kevin Weitzel: Super excited. But here's something that we're doing new this year. We're [00:02:00] having a master class for the early arrivals. So, on Tuesday, September 22nd, we're going to have not one, but two master classes, one of them by Carol Morgan over at Denim Marketing, and she'll be talking about converting leads and social media that drive the community sales. Basically converting those leads and connections within those. And then my main man, my cohort on this, you're going to be doing one as well, right?

Greg Bray: Yeah. I'm pretty excited. We're going to be talking about AI prompting and just helping people use these tools better, getting away from just the basic conversations into how do we use these tools in recurring processes, get better results, be able to work them into workflows and things like that.

And so, these master classes, Kevin, these are three hours starting at 1:00 on the afternoon of the 22nd, from 1:00 to 4:00. They are an add-on to the main event, so they just cost just a smidge more. But we're going to go a lot deeper, because most of our sessions are, you know, 30-ish minutes, and you really can only go so deep in 30 minutes. But in three hours, [00:03:00] Carol and I are really going to get into some nuts and bolts of how you can do this, really practical, hands-on stuff. But there's a little bit of bad news about the master classes. You can only pick one, because they're at the same time.

Kevin Weitzel: Hmm.

Greg Bray: You can't do both. I'm sorry. There's people going, "Oh, those both sound great." You're going to have to choose, and I'm really sorry about that, but that's just the way it goes.

Kevin Weitzel: Now, my girlfriend has become a master at prompting AI, so much so that she calls her AI her boyfriend Bob. And her boyfriend Bob gives her so many fantastic answers and compliments her and tells her that that was a great idea, yada, yada, yada. I'm worried she's going to leave me for boyfriend Bob. Has that ever happened that somebody's left somebody in a relationship over a digital counterpart? I don't know about that.

Greg Bray: I'm sure anything is possible in today's world. I do not know anyone personally that that has happened to. But yeah, if you're going to be coming to town anyway, for the event, get there early enough to take advantage of these classes, because I think we're going to have some great stuff there.

Kevin Weitzel: Absolutely. [00:04:00] And then Wednesday we'll be kicking it off, you, me, and Leah, and Kimberly the welcome and getting everything moving and blood flowing for the sessions.

Greg Bray: Yeah, and we're going to start at 9:00 AM sharp, but don't worry, we've got breakfast before that too. So, you've got breakfast and lunch both days as well as our reception the first night. So, lots of food at this event. We know that full tummies make happy people, and so we want to make sure that everybody's well fed. We're gonna kick it off, but then, Kevin, I am so excited about our prime keynote presentation.

We've got Don Dykstra and Angela Kesling from Bloomfield Homes who are going to be there with us, and they are going to be talking about some of the ways that they have grown Bloomfield Homes from just a small builder to now, incredibly, they're doing over 1,000 homes a year.

They have some really interesting marketing insights about how they choose where to put their money. It's going be just a fantastic conversation with them to understand how they use their decision [00:05:00] process of what's worth doing, what's not, how they move that. And Don even calls it his one house rule, but I'm not going to give it away, what that is. You're going to have to come. But really excited and grateful that they were willing to join us and participate.

Kevin Weitzel: Now, our podcast listeners, our astute podcast listeners, our regulars, if you will, you know, not just your kids and my kids, being told to listen to this, they will know that rule, that one house rule, because Don did speak of that when he was on the podcast a few years back.

Greg Bray: I guess if you're really curious, you can go look that up.

Kevin Weitzel: You could. All right, so then we break out into tracks. So, one thing that separates this summit from many other summits is that, yes, it's marketing focused, it's digital marketing focused especially. However, we also have two separate tracks. We have a leadership track that is led by Kimberly Mackey, as well as an OSC track that is led and taught by Leah Fellows over at Blue Gypsy.

Greg Bray: And then of course, the third track is the marketing track that ties all that together. But Leah and Kimberly are both coming back. They were with us last year. Great [00:06:00] feedback and reviews on their presentations and content that they shared with us, and so we're really excited to have them back with us. Those track breakouts are something that you do have to choose in advance when you sign up which track you want to be a part of. Because there are limited seats in some of those rooms, so we want to people who signed up for it, have access.

Kimberly is going to be all about leadership, helping you become a better leader. So, it doesn't matter if it's kind of from a divisional or ownership standpoint or if you're just a sales leader or an OSC leader as well. Any type of leader might want to consider that. Leah is all about helping those online sales counselors do a better job, right? Because marketing's generating leads, and the OSCs need to nurture those leads and help move them through the process.

Kevin Weitzel: All right, so on the marketing side though, Greg, the first session is a banger with Lumin.ai.

Greg Bray: We've got Lumin.ai doing a panel, and what's really interesting about them is that they are bringing some of their experience in other industries, [00:07:00] outside of home building to see what we can learn from how they have implemented some of these AI tools. And so, I was really excited when they presented that to us as an opportunity, because typically most of our presenters are already in the home building industry. But that doesn't mean that we can't learn from others, and they really felt like these other folks that they're bringing could share the journey that they feel is a little bit ahead of where we are in the building industry in implementing some of these tools. So, really excited to see what Lumin.ai and their panel's going to bring together.

And then after Lumin.ai, we've got Cory Dotson from Blue Tangerine, one of my favorite folks. And he's going to be talking about the top things that builder websites need to do differently to be more effective, those features that you don't want to miss out on because there's a lot of sites out there that just don't get it done, Kevin. This may shock you, but there's some builder websites out there that are just not very well done.

Kevin Weitzel: Oh, tell me, Greg. I see them all the time when I'm researching potential [00:08:00] customers. There's some crazy websites. But right after Cory, we got our friend Carol Morgan over here from, Denim Marketing. She's going to be talking about AI and whether it will actually recommend your community, what you need to do to make that happen or what the various factors are, but that's a pretty big one right now. It's one thing to just be recognized, but it's also another to be cited. So, it's not only being cited, but also being recommended from your AI counterparts that are out there.

Greg Bray: And then, of course, we're going to come back together after that first morning breakout. We'll have a great lunch, chance to meet people. Kevin, I think that sometimes these events talk so much about the education that we lose sight of the fact that one of the powerful reasons to come is to meet other people. There are so many builder marketers and OSCs that are in very small teams, one, two, maybe three people. I think they get kind of lost in their companies that nobody else really understands what they're trying to do, and they're wondering, "Am I missing something? Is there something I could be doing different or better?"

And when you come to this event, [00:09:00] you meet the other people that are fighting the good fight just like you every day, and you create connections with them. You learn from each other at the event, but you also get to now reconnect later and check in and share. This is just, I think, one of the huge benefits that's missed sometimes. Here's a chance to come meet people that are doing what you're doing day in and day out and create some great relationships there that can be really valuable.

Kevin Weitzel: And not only that, but it's not just the relationship side, but when you're saying that they can feel lost, I think you can even be lost when you go to some of these summits out there. Because if you're a small one-man band and you show up to a summit and you're hearing all these whole teams that are there, or presenters that, you know, manage 15, 20 people in a group, that can be very intimidating. So, sitting at the roundtable events, it allows people to have those interpersonal communication and really drill down to some of their own issues and ask their peers how they're tackling things.

Greg Bray: Yeah. And great segue, Kevin, because the roundtables will be right after lunch. Those are our most [00:10:00] popular event. We keep bringing it back. We keep getting the feedback that people really love sitting and learning from each other. These are focused discussions of six to eight people around a topic for about 30 minutes, and you get to rotate and do multiple topics. We'll do two topics on the first day, and you can do two other topics on the second day. You'll have an expert at that table on that topic that will help facilitate, but they're not there to just present. They're there to kind of guide a conversation so that everybody gets a chance to learn from each other and not just from someone in the front of the room.

Kevin Weitzel: Yeah. Well, then after the breakouts, we'll have Emily Seils from New Home Source, is going to be talking about turning search into the sales based off of finding your buyers where they are actually searching, not trying to figure out where they are.

Greg Bray: And also on the marketing side, we're going to have Justin Croxton from Propellant Media, and he's going to get into the fun thing we call programmatic advertising and geofencing. And I think this is an opportunity that a lot of builders have not really [00:11:00] tapped into yet. He's going to help us really understand how it works, what the realistic expectations are, what kind of results you can get, and that's going to be another exciting one.

And of course, while that's going on, Leah and Kimberly will be in their breakout rooms for the OSC, continuing with that group, and with the leadership, continuing with that group. What's interesting is we've got presentations about using AI, and then we've got presentations about keeping the human touch. There's this great balance that everybody's trying to find, and we're going to be talking about that and taking it, you know, head on.

Kevin Weitzel: Love it.

Greg Bray: Now, Kevin, in the afternoon after the break, we've got your special opportunity to share. Tell us what you're going to be talking about.

Kevin Weitzel: I'm going to have three different builders. One very large national, one is a large regional, and then one's a very small isolated builder right there just in that Texas market. And they're going to be talking about the various ways that they have to align their teams, their roles, and what their expectation for results are, what litmus they use to test those results. Just do a comparative, so everything [00:12:00] from the smallest to the biggest type builder, and really, really dig deep into that.

Greg Bray: Well, Kevin, you always do a great job facilitating these panels because it takes some guidance to make sure that we stay on topic and get to the heart of the matter. And I am confident that you will drive these folks to give away all their good tips and secrets.

Kevin Weitzel: I'm hoping so. It's actually funny because as good-looking as I am, I'm like a solid 9.9, at least I think. That's what most ladies tell me. I'm going to be on the stage with three ridiculously good-looking people. I got Jordan Brown from Graham Hart, I've got Mel McLaughlin from Pacesetter Homes, and then I've got Meredith Chapman from K. Hovnanian. It is going to be one good-looking stage for that period of time. Four ridiculously good-looking people. Ah, just kidding. We're all going to be experts up there. It'll be fantastic.

Greg Bray: Kevin will sign autographed pictures while you're there if you need one.

Kevin Weitzel: Yes. Yes. I haven't had any takers yet, but I will do it.

Greg Bray: Well, and Kevin, of course, that just brings us to the end of day one. Believe it or not, [00:13:00] this is only day one, everything we've been talking about.

Kevin Weitzel: Yeah.

Greg Bray: But we're going to have a great reception happy hour party in the evening. Again, more food, couple drinks per person. Great opportunity to hang out together, get to know each other a little bit better, and be able to spend some time.

Kevin Weitzel: Yeah. Thanks to Homes.com for knocking that out for us. It'll be great.

Greg Bray: All right, and then coming back on Thursday, September 24th, day two, just when you thought your brain was full, there's more.

Kevin Weitzel: There is more, and you know, you said the roundtables are one of our favorite things. I'd have to argue that maybe the 5K fun run. I'm just kidding. I'm not doing any running. But Audience Town hosts every year, a 5K run that they do, and it's pretty well-received. Should I give away the secret that they give away a little door prize?

Greg Bray: No, don't tell anybody that they give away door prizes.

Kevin Weitzel: I'm not, I'm not gonna tell anybody that.

Greg Bray: Okay, don't tell anybody that.

Kevin Weitzel: But if you want to bring some running shoes and go out for a little jog with the Audience Town team, then bring it on. Bring it on. It's early.

Greg Bray: But don't worry, we'll feed you again in the morning after you run. We'll get things kicked off, again, 9:00 on [00:14:00] day two.

Kevin Weitzel: All right, so let's go ahead and start off with a fantastic session. Who could I think of to lead off and kick off day two other than you, sir, Greg Bray?

Greg Bray: Well, I'm excited to be talking about AI visibility and how do we help our company show up in those conversations with the chat. some recent stats, thirty-seven percent of searches are now starting in one of the AI chat tools, and it's just growing. So, it's timely. It's something that is really important that we start working on immediately so that we don't miss out because those tools, if they can't find you, or if they don't understand your offerings, or if there's nuance there that leaves you off, you don't even get a shot. You don't even get a shot.

After that presentation, we're going to go back to a breakout, you know, where we'll have our OSCs and our leadership step away. More about some AI and how the OSCs can work on that. Both tracks talking about how to measure progress and which numbers [00:15:00] matter in your reporting. And then in our marketing track, we're going to have a panel led by Audience Town that's going to be talking about how to use those numbers to make better marketing decisions. So again, marketers are all about data, right? All about numbers, all about trying to understand it, and we want to make sure that we're using the right numbers.

Kevin Weitzel: Well, speaking of using the right numbers, you have to pay for social ads. And as part of that journey, there are some lumps that you can either take or you can learn from Josh Ranum over from Blue Tangerine, where he'll be discussing that.

Greg Bray: Excited to learn from Josh. He is an expert in this area for sure, and we're excited that he's part of our team. Another one I'm pretty excited about a presentation from Barrett Davis at NterNow, and he's gonna get into some everyday tasks that can be done using Claude Cowork. For those who are not familiar with the difference between Claude, ChatGPT, and actually Claude Cowork, Cowork is something worth [00:16:00] understanding if you haven't had a chance to dive into that because it opens up an opportunity to use AI in a whole new way.

So, looking forward, really, really excited to learn from Barrett, because he's been one that's been kind of leading and done some other presentations I saw in this area. He's gonna bring it. So, you're going to walk away with some, I need to go home and learn how to use Cowork if you haven't yet.

Kevin Weitzel: All right, then we get to feed the beast and then break out into our round tables again.

Greg Bray: Again, the round tables with two on the first day, two on the second day, so this is our second day there. We'll have a couple presentations after that, one from Leah Fellows of Blue Gypsy, going to help us understand how we can pay attention to that buyer experience and really help that buyer move through it by earning their trust so that they want to buy from us

And then after Leah, we've got Kimberly Mackey, and she'll be sharing more about that leadership with the whole group so that we can really become the leaders that we need to be and want to be [00:17:00] without totally getting swamped and overwhelmed by it all. But Kevin, I gotta tell you, we're doing something really exciting to finish this thing off this year. This is the summit that you do not want to leave early. That's what I'm telling you right now.

Kevin Weitzel: Now, I think I know where you're going with this, but are you talking about the Kahoot! where we're going to give away a smattering of prizes that the sponsors have given to us, or is there something even more exciting than that?

Greg Bray: The prizes are pretty amazing. Don't miss out on the prizes. But even better than that. One of my superheroes is going to be there.

Kevin Weitzel: Oh, you gave it away with superheroes. Cory Charles will be there from SuperHero Mindset, and he's gonna be doing our closing ceremony.

Greg Bray: Cory is going to fire us up, make sure that we don't just fill out our notebooks and go home and go back to doing it the same old way. He's going to help us understand what it really takes to take the things you've learned and to start [00:18:00] applying them and really motivate to make a difference.

Again, if you come, you just get a couple of days, you eat good, you hang out with Kevin. All right, that's great. Right? But the reality is you're here for a reason because you need to make something better in your business, in your company, and that's what Cory's going to help us do, is take it from notes in the book to action back at the office.

And Kevin, you already mentioned that we've got some great prizes. Every year our sponsors step up and provide great prizes, and so that is a real reason to just say, "You know what? We couldn't do this without our sponsors."

Kevin Weitzel: That is a fact. We have some whoppers this year, too. We'll start with the big boys. We got Homes.com, NewHomesdirectory.com, AtlasRTX, which is now Verse.ai, Audience Town.

Greg Bray: And we're also goi be joined by NewHome Source. We've got Lumin.ai, ECI and Lasso, and HomeBuilderOps will all be joining us again.

Kevin Weitzel: And then, no deed is [00:19:00] done without having the following sponsors. We've got DIG, the Davies Imaging Group, BuilderChat AI, Denim Marketing, Foundation, Realtor.com, NterNow, Novi Home, and our benefactor each year, Homes For Hope.

Greg Bray: Yeah, always love having the folks from Homes For Hope join us. Love their mission, and love giving them an opportunity to share that with everybody. A huge thank you to all these folks that put up some financing and support and effort to make this happen. Now, I'm going to give away one little secret, Kevin. Our sponsors do have attendee scholarships to give away.

So, if you happen to know one of these sponsors, you should reach out and see if they have already given away their scholarship, because maybe, maybe you could get yourself a free ticket from one of our sponsors. But they only get one each, so they may have already given it away. So, don't say that Greg promised it. Might be worth reaching out and seeing if you really want to come to see [00:20:00] if you can get a free ticket from one of them.

Kevin Weitzel: Well, I'm excited, Greg. This is not just a summit. This is my favorite summit, and it's not because we're a co-host. I mean, I've been to several different summits and different activities that are out there, and this truly is one of my favorites. If not my favorite. It might actually be my favorite.

Greg Bray: Well, Kevin, I really appreciate the support that OutHouse has given us over these last few years to make this happen as well. It's always fun to be up on stage hosting with you, keeping everything moving and exciting and fun. It's going to be fun, folks. Don't miss out. Again, Dallas, Texas, September 23rd and 24th are the main event. We've got the pre-summit master classes on the 22nd in the afternoon. All the information is where, Kevin?

Kevin Weitzel: It is on buildermarketingsummit.com.

Greg Bray: Get all the schedule. You can register, get signed up. Again, this is not a huge event. There are limited seats available, and so you don't want to wait. You don't want to be a last-minute person, because we will fill up, [00:21:00] and you will miss out. We can't wait to see everybody there, and thank you for listening to us today. I'm Greg Bray with Blue Tangerine.

Kevin Weitzel: And I'm Kevin Weitzel with OutHouse. Thank you.