Stories of First Time Speakers at the International Builders Show 2025 Part 2

Part 2: Brittany, Cassie, and Naomi’s Story

His Palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy …

His nervous boy, on the surface he looks calm and ready, to drop but he keeps on

forgetting what he wrote down, the whole crowd goes loud,

he opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out!

Lose Yourself – Eminem

Research shows that fear of public speaking, also known as “Glossophobia” is one of our top three fears in life.  Fear of heights and snakes are the other two, in case you were wondering… You're welcome.  Eminem summed it up perfectly in his classic 2002 song, Lose Yourself. I missed the part about Mom’s spaghetti, but I believe you get the point.

With that in mind, I thought it would be cool if you, my loyal readers could live vicariously through three managers who happen to be part of our Management  Mastermind Group (MMG) and spoke at the biggest stage in the New Home sales and marketing world, the International Builders Show, this year, in Las Vegas.  I have put together a multitude of programs at IBS, with either owners or managers who we work with.  Attendees always love hearing directly from their peers who are actively involved in the current market, their message is always insightful, fresh, and relevant. As a coach, I take such pride in their success and genuine pleasure in watching my colleagues and friends develop their talents and spread their wings.

This year I was thrilled to moderate a program with three excellent managers, Cassie Smith, Director of Sales and Design for Chesapeake Homes, Director of Marketing and Online Sales Brittany Horner of Mitchell Homes, and Naomi Wright Marketing Manager for Stevens Fine Homes. Our theme was collaboration within our companies to improve customer experience. Here are their stories in their own words.

Preparing our program in the Speaker Ready Room at IBS 2025. Great Coffee!

Roland: How did you enjoy speaking for the first time at IBS? Were you nervous? 

Cassie inspiring the audience with her passion and ideas.

Cassie: I loved every minute of it and so thankful that this opportunity presented itself! Leading up to it was feeling some nerves, were people going to show up? Were they going to be engaged while I was speaking? Were they going to find value in my topics? Was my outfit going to be ok? But as soon as I arrived at IBS on Tuesday, saw some of my faves in the Industry and a quick pep talk from a few trusted mentors... the nerves began to melt away! When it came to the day of speaking the excitement was overwhelming and I just couldn't wait to take the stage! So when it came time for the presentation nerves were gone! We had an amazing audience which I got to chat with as they were entering the room, before our presentation, which really helped to start creating those relationships and upping the audience engagement! 

Brittany: I enjoyed it! Our group was well-versed, and the crowd was engaged.

Naomi: I loved it!  Nervous about speaking in front of an audience- NO.  Nervous about speaking on a topic I didn’t feel I had enough preparation for- YES.  BUT through the process, I learned that it isn’t so much about having a perfect delivery but delivering a meaningful message with sincerity.  Trusting the process and having a strong team goes a long way!

Roland: What were your top 2-3 talking points?

Brittany sharing her wisdom with the audience.

Brittany:

• Marketing: Create content that celebrates buyer milestones, educates, and inspires.
• Online Sales: Define your strategy for a high-performing online sales program.
• Weekly collaboration meetings to turn objections into opportunities. Plus: Tech stack: Speed, Messaging, Process, and Persistence.

Cassie:

• How the words we choose when communicating with prospects and buyers can significantly impact their customer experience. 
• Collaboration is key. Marketing and Sales go together like Chips and Salsa! 
• SALT activities. Fun ideas that the sales team can use in producing sales activities that lead to transformation. Content & CRM prospecting

 Naomi:

• How cross-training is beneficial for all departments.
• How badly things can crash and burn without it.
• Ways to make, and keep, cross training an ongoing priority

Roland: What else did you like or learn the most at IBS 2025?

Naomi lights up the stage with her ideas.

Naomi:

• The industry connections I made at IBS are invaluable.
• The exhibits were incredible, shout out to GE and their custom Lexus GX with a pizza oven… my mind was blown!

Cassie:   

• Remember the Small Details.
• Build transformational over transactional relationships
• Be coachable!
• Industry relationships that were created and strengthened.

Brittany

• I loved how our entire panel emphasized to the audience the importance of cross-training your team, all together.
• When your entire team speaks the same language because of active collaboration, the customer experience is exceptional.
• The pathway to homeownership is clear for your customers and there are few to no miscommunication gaps, making it easier for customers to trust you and buy from you.
• People never remember exactly what you say but they’ll always remember how you made them feel.
• Kohler and House of Rohl booths at KIBS were my favorite.

I am so proud of these wonderful sales and marketing leaders who not only gave up their time but also pushed themselves way out of their comfort zones, to share their strategies and wisdom with the audience.   I remember how I felt the first time I spoke at the Builders show, and how nervous I was, way back in 2004.  Now I have been blessed to speak numerous times alongside a veritable who’s who of industry experts and legends.

If you are reading this and want to take the leap and submit for a program, I would strongly encourage you and also be happy to help in any way. Here are my top three tips for public speaking:

1. Know your topic and be fully prepared.
2. Be yourself, don’t try to mimic others, and let your true personality shine through.
3. Focus on your content and being a true teacher, and don’t worry about a slick presentation. If possible ensure that your audience has actionable takeaways that will help them to succeed.

As the great Marshall Mathers so eloquently stated:

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment,

You own it, you better never let it go.

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow,

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime…

Roland Nairnsey

Founder New Home Sales Plus

Roland@newhomesaleplus.com | Mobile: 561-236-2400