Episode 99 - Inside the Big Wins: Alyssa Abbott & Mary Clark on the Power of Putting People in a Room
Episode #99 | Inside the Big Wins | Alyssa Abbott & Mary Clark on the Power of Putting People in a Room
After pulling off six events in seven days, Mark sits down with Alyssa Abbott and Mary Clark to talk about why in-person connection is still the most underrated marketing strategy in the building industry. They cover everything from swag as a love language to why empowering your community to be your advocates beats any ad spend, and Alyssa makes the very good point that sometimes the best business move is just grilling hot dogs and saying thank you to your subs. Turns out the guy who invented fire was an influencer too, and Mark has the quotes to prove it.
About The Curious Builder
The host of the Curious Builder Posdast is Mark D. Williams, the founder of Mark D. Williams Custom Homes Inc. They are an award-winning Twin Cities-based home builder, creating quality custom homes and remodels — one-of-a-kind dream homes of all styles and scopes. Whether you’re looking to reimagine your current space or start fresh with a new construction, we build homes that reflect how you live your everyday life.
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Alyssa Abbott 00:05
Well, you've always been very, very excited about swag.
Mark D. Williams 00:08
Is really a thing for me, evidently. Yes,
Alyssa Abbott 00:09
yes. I mean, even years ago, when I started working with you, I remember talking about swag, like swag for a podcast that just started, and now look at us, now look where you are, but I mean those kind of just intentional little things that stick with somebody.
Mark D. Williams 00:29
Welcome to the Gears Builder Podcast. Welcome back. We have Alyssa Abbott with Olivine Vine and Mary from Pella, Iowa. They were here last week for the podcast about losers or winners, we talked about sort of the things that failed on social media strategy, and since they're so kindly still here, and we just sort of finished a four hour in person gathering, I just thought it'd be fun to sort of talk about from your point of view, ladies, what is the power of collaborating in person, not so much about collaborating in brands, because that happens during the builds, but why are in-person events? I feel like wherever I look, like there's a huge hunger for panel events. There's a huge industry events where people get together, and I look around and I see people doing more and more. I mean, I might be sort of, you know, at the tip of the spear there, just with the Curious Builder format, like today's event. I'd love to hear it for your point of view, and I can share. You guys had asked me questions back, of like why I did and what the goal of it was, so the audience can understand it. But, and maybe just to frame it, we're sitting in the Sun Room at Misa, who is here in Cottagewood, Minnesota, in a beautiful home that we built over the last two years, and today was a the Curious Builder event. We had the Curious Builder Collective, we had the Architect Collective, the Trade Collective, the Design Collective, all the sponsors from the Curious Builder world, and we had all of our Misa Who sponsors. It was sort of a way, like once a year, we try to do a mixer event where I invite everyone in the Curious Builder collective network across the country, but here locally in Minnesota, we have obviously four different groups, so it's a lot bigger just a chance to get together to work together, things like that. That's kind of why I did it, and why we're doing it here today. But from your point of view, you both, I mean, Alyssa, you flew from Sacramento to be here for business. You asked me a couple weeks ago, what would be something that would be meaningful for your business, and you're so good in person. You've been working with me for three, four, or five years at this point, and I can't imagine running the podcast without you, and or writing all our blogs, because I'm not going to do that. I can barely tell you about all my ideas, and Mary, you know, you were here last week at her influencer event, so in a span of one week, we've had three events that we've put on, plus the whole artist at home tour. So, in the last, what is it, seven days, we've had six events, so it's a lot. Anyway, that's enough for framing of the audience. What is your perspective of what happened today, and what do you get out of it, Mary? From a brand partner's point of view, and Alyssa, as one of my partners in my endeavor. What did you see? What was the energy like? What were the people? How did you sort of observe the people, and how they interacted both with the home and also with each other?
Alyssa Abbott 03:15
Sure, I think we talked about this off camera, but just that need to come together, I think, is so everyone is interested in that for the most part, and I think bringing people together and bringing people around is something you do very well, and have just that desire to put everyone in a room together. Also, as business owners, a lot of times that can be lonely, especially when you don't work in an office, which I.. it's been a long time since I've worked in an office, and I do remember really liking that,
Mark D. Williams 03:49
just from the camaraderie standpoint. Yeah,
Alyssa Abbott 03:50
from, yeah, being around people, and I definitely used to be a little more extroverted than I am, probably now. But it's weird how you kind of change, but I love being at these events, I, it's valuable to me, and getting to network, and get to meet people, and just be in the room with people who are my people, but for other builders who are, you know, doing something like this, why not? Why not showcase your home and your work, and bring everybody together, and and show everyone about what you're about, what you're doing, and yeah, I think everyone's kind of interested in getting involved in that.
Mary Clark 04:29
Yeah, one thing, as you were talking, and just as she was talking, kind of thinking about today and last week, I think as humans we just love experiences too. And today, when you walked up to the home, you had the red ropes, you had the coffee cart, you had like the Swedish candy cart, like all tying in perfectly to this event and this home, and just for my marketing brain, you know, I instantly grab my phone and I say, oh my gosh, there's the Misa Whose logo on this latte, I have to take a photo of it and post it on my Instagram, I want to take a picture of the Swedish candy cart, so I think creating experiences. And fun experiences for people we're just naturally drawn to and want to share with with like-minded people in our communities. From Pella's perspective, it's been really, really cool just to meet other people at this event. I know my email inbox is, I'm probably drowning in it right now, being here the past couple weeks, but being able to talk to someone in person, you're going to get so much more out of that than you are through an email thread, kind of like the comment you made, too. You know, you don't ever forget how someone makes you feel. You can talk all day through Teams or through email, but sitting down, talking with someone, getting to know them on a personal level, you can make an even better brand fit by talking with them in person. So, I think those relationships and just getting to know people on a personal level, when you can also see a beautiful home like this. I don't know why you wouldn't want to host an event like this,
Mark D. Williams 05:43
you know. I think builders across the country are very well versed in like Parade of Homes events, right? So I think not every city has it, but at least people are aware of like, hey, I'm trying to sell a home, like Misa, who is, for instance, is, you know, for sale, you know, hopefully somebody buys it. I mean, we're telling people about that organically when they're coming through during the tour, but you know, even like the reason that I'm doing these events is like, you know, the in, like, for me, Sahu is because it was such a unique and special story-driven home. I was given some advice early on, because it's like living art, and if I showed you this home six months ago, or a year ago, like, there's no way you would be able to see it. There's really only three people that truly understood its full manifestation, and even so, it was from three different points of view: myself, the designer, and the architectural partner, Carl. And then, of course, seeing it to come together is 10 acts better than we all thought it was, because it's real. But I bring it up as the advice I was given is don't show anybody the house until it's 1,000% done, and until you're and then don't tell anyone the price of the home either, and so in about three months ago I was getting a lot of requests, could I see the house, could I, what's the price of the house, and the salesman in me, of course, wants to tell them and grant them access to that, because previously, of course, the goal is to sell the home while you're building it, or beforehand, but building up that sort of tension of interest and curiosity, there's a lot of power to that, and I didn't really - this is my first time doing it, and we'll see if it works. I mean, right now we're, we basically have had it - we've, this is seven days into allowing people into the home, but where I'm going with this, for the builders that are out there listening, or really any business owner, is engaging your community in the one thing, as you mentioned, Alyssa, as a compliment, is I love connecting people, mainly because I'm a connector, I love being around people, and so, and I think you don't have to do it alone. Someone recently told me a great line that is very famous, which is, if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together, and I really like that. And so, when we did our influencer event, Lab Minneapolis, Molly Windmiller, she's the one that helped me create the brand Misa Whose, and then Melissa Oland, and so the three of us did a joint letter to all of our respective communities, so we had 125 influencers here at the event, and I've kind of been telling people that it's doubtful any one of us knows who the buyer of this house is, but somebody we know knows the buyer, I think it's only one degree. I think it's only I think it's only one degree separation, and so the idea is like empower your community to be your best advocates, and I think influencers - no one who's an influencer really likes being called an influencer, because they just don't like that word, usually. But, like, I think influencer been around since the beginning of time, you know, when you, when the guy who invented fire, he was an influencer, because the other guy's like, "Well, you look warm. It's like, "Yeah, would you like this? Would you like to be warm too? Here's some fire. Here's a caveman fire stick. And so, but I'm going with this is that I also had all my past clients come too, because they're my influencers in real life. They influence their community, and builders have a rough go of it sometimes, because I think we have a dumb business model. We spend all this time to acquire a single client, and it's rare that you build for your same client more than once, maybe twice, certainly almost never three times, mainly because it's very expensive, and it usually things change in their lives, things like that. Where I think of, like, other businesses that have repeat clients, it's kind of nice.
Mark D. Williams 09:03
Like, I am a repeat client to both of you on a regular basis. Like, you guys have a great business model, because, like, you know, I keep, I keep using your services or buying your products, because I need them, right? So, how, as builders, can we think differently about marketing? I think that's where my brain always goes, and so, for me, these events are a way to get our brand out, because even if I don't sell the home, I've just made an impression on those 125 people that we build an incredible story-driven home, and they remember how they felt while they're here.
Alyssa Abbott 09:33
I think another thing that just you just reminded me of with the branding, you guys, and I know you have you, and I know Leah also does a lot of the cool just things that you have out, you know, you've got shirts and hats and all. You've always been very excited. Swag
Mark D. Williams 09:48
is really a thing for me, evidently. Yes,
Alyssa Abbott 09:50
yes. I mean, even years ago, when I started working with you, I remember talking about swag, and I was like, swag for a podcast that just started, and now look at us, now look where you are.
Speaker 1 10:00
Yeah,
Alyssa Abbott 10:00
but I mean those kind of just intentional little things that stick with somebody, whether that's someone walking into the house for the artisan tour or the little gifts or the Swedish candy. I mean, you just go above and beyond and make it an environment that feels so fun and memorable, and they'll take those things home and remember you and your brand, and I know that's intentional. I know that you've always, always done that across the board, but yeah, I think that is something that makes what you're doing here unique, along with many other things.
Mark D. Williams 10:39
This episode is brought to you by Pella Windows and Doors. I've used Pella for 21 years as the exclusive window company on every one of my builds. When people ask me who I trust for windows and doors, it's Pella every time. Their craftsmanship, their innovation, the top tier service make them a no-brainer for any custom home builder or designer who demand the best. Whether you're designing something bold or building something with timeless elegance, Pella has you covered. They're also the only window company that has a lifetime warranty on all of their windows. I've gotten to know all their people at Pella corporate, as well as locally here at Pella Northland. I'm proud to call them our partners and our friends. Visit pella.com to learn more and connect with your local reps today. For more information, you can also listen to episode one, where I interview the Pella Northland founders, as well as episode 109 where we talk all about their latest innovation with the steady set window. And someone else mentioned today that my love language is gift giving. I'm like, I never thought about that way, but yeah, I think you're probably right. But I do love branding. I didn't really, other people along my career path have helped me unlock that sort of creativity, and now the joke is like, I can't have anything that doesn't have a brand on it, because I love it's like your children, like you're very proud of them. So, like, I'm very proud of the brands we have created, like Misa, who says our newest daughter, Misa, she's four years old, she is very wealthy, evidently she has very bougie taste, but, like, you know, the Cures Builder, like they have these different distinct personalities, and I think my litmus test has always actually been very simple, you know. We talked in our previous podcast, Mary, about being authentic, and for me, I never want to give somebody something that I won't use, and unfortunately that means it's very expensive, because I have, you know, very.. I like things that are comfortable. I like things that are high quality. I like things that doesn't have to be expensive, but I have to really like the styling of it. So, you mentioned that, you know, the coffee cart. Well, who doesn't want some coffee? I didn't even know that's where allowing other people in your team to help. So, like Lee on my team's amazing, she.. I think empowering people on your team to like have their voice in it too. I'm like, I want the coffee cart, great. Then she sources it, figures it out. I didn't know it's gonna have a banner that said Misus, but she knows me very well. I didn't know that you could actually brand a latte where the top says me, Sue's in the latte. I'm like, okay, that's cool. And so now once you're kind of known for that, your team sort of like dials up the lever, and like that whole Swedish Fish thing. First of all, her name is amazing, because it said something sweet Tish, which I just thought was clever. I love the play of words, but, like, Swedish fish are not actually Swedish, they actually make fish that are Swedish, they're just not the name brand. And so she had all these Swedish candies, and she saw Leah at, like, a baseball or softball game, because Leah was wearing our Misa Who shirt, which is only like two weeks old, like, something is brand new, so the power of the brand led her to reach out to her, so she's at this event, but how cool is that? And she was willing to do it, because she's like, I want to be in front of your audience, I can clearly see, so I guess to the audience, like, what are they listening to right now? It's like, what are you taking from this is that one door opens another door opens another door opens another door, but just keep walking through doors
Mary Clark 13:47
that actually with you, you kind of did a perfect segue there for builders that maybe haven't done events like this. It can probably seem a little intimidating now that you've done, would you say, six in the last seven days?
Mark D. Williams 13:58
Yeah, we've done a lot, a
Mary Clark 13:59
lot. What advice would you give to a builder who's maybe interested in doing something like this?
Mark D. Williams 14:03
Don't do six and seven days, no, that's fine. Oh boy, I think it doesn't have to be a grand jester, honestly. I mean, I do that because that's me, but like, I mean, when I first.. I didn't realize I've actually been doing this for since I first started, and it really started with my dad. At now I haven't thought about this memory before, but once a year in the summer we would get a couple of grills. We'd go to a baseball field, and we would grill hamburgers and hot dogs as a subcontractor appreciation day. Never thought about this before. That was the first event I ever threw, was actually a thank you to all of the people that, because I can't do the work that you see in this house, I can't paint, I can't do the plaster work, the lighting, the design, that's not my skill set, never has been, never will be. I also have zero interest in doing it, so that's a pretty powerful reason not to do it, but I'm very thankful and very appreciative of other people's talent. Yes, and so just saying thank you, so a lot of like today. While it's nice to meet for me to show off Misa, who's to all of them, that wasn't the point of today. Today's point was to reward all of the people that believed in the Cures collectives, and to thank them for their continual vulnerability in meeting. We meet four times a year, you know. You can go on curiousbuilder.com and look under collectives. We're in, I think, nine cities in seven states, something like that. And we add probably two cities per year. And so, for me, it was really just, I want to get those people to connect. So it's a really a pleasure, because a lot of this stuff, honestly, has been accidental. Like, I never set out to start a design collective, an architect collective, a trade collective. It started with the Curious Builder Collective, and that was an accident too. So, like, every one of these things was even the podcast I went on, Brad Levitt's podcast, and then 30 days later I started a podcast. Like, none of this is like some master plan. I'm just like a squirrel, you know, looking for nuts in a tree.
Alyssa Abbott 16:00
Oh, those are the doors that you walk through. You just walk through each door, and for someone who is a builder that's wanting to do something, maybe it is just saying thank you to the people around you, your community around you, the subs that you've worked with, and the builders and the designers and the people alongside you as you're building a project. Like, I think that's a great reason to do it. You don't have to do an influencer event, like if you're a smaller builder, though. You certainly can. It's just, yeah, I think bringing people together.. I don't.. we.. that's what we want. And thanks for
Mark D. Williams 16:29
bringing me back to the question. I got lost there for a little bit, but you're right. But you're.. but I mean, you're right. I went after the nut in the tree, but no, you're right, Mary. It could just be most of us have done this, but just do a thank you for all of your past clients, that it could be a barbecue, it could be honestly, it could just be touring your home, it could be whatever it might be, it might be meeting up at a park. I think anytime for me personally, like I want the podcast, the people that listen, I want to educate, I want to entertain, and I'm sure there's something else, but I can't remember what it is at the top now, but like if I feel like, if I inspire, great, yeah, if you, if you educate and inspire and make it humorous, that's worthwhile time. Like, I don't want someone to listen to this and not get something out of it, because if that happens, then I'm not doing what I wanted to set out to do. But I think that's true of the events, give people a reason to come and to gain something. So today's event, I hope that people leave here and do business together. I hope the builders met an architect that they hadn't met before. I hope the designers meet a builder or an architect that they want to work with too. Or we had, and we probably had what, 30 or 40 trade partners here too, and business, and our partners here, like they want to work with everyone. Everyone wants to work with everyone, and so it's really just bringing good people together and letting them kind of do their thing on their own, like I don't need to be involved with it, and if I am, great, but I'm just as happy as all of them, just for them to be successful. So I mean, it's just another way of saying thank you, essentially, you know. Here, as we kind of wind down, what, how often, Mary, are you going to events like, you know, doesn't have to be exactly like this, but how often are you going to, I know now the new corporate speak is activations, you know. We love the word activate, as I've noticed that is that. How long has that word been like the word? I feel like social media moment for
Mary Clark 18:10
a while. Yeah.
Mark D. Williams 18:11
Anyway, what? How many activations do you typically go to in a given year?
Mary Clark 18:15
Yeah, I was talking about this earlier outside with somebody, and I know when I, when I got hired, my job description has obviously changed a lot, but I think it said 10% travel. I'm like, I think I did 10% my first couple of months I worked here, but you know, between like trade shows, events like this for influencers, or just like networking conferences, like we do quite a bit of travel, and I can confidently say after I've done any sort of event or conference or networking thing like this, you always leave with connections that lead to more opportunities, whether it's business, whether it's an influencer tie, and whether it's another brand you can collaborate with, and I think kind of going back to what you said, just that human connection is so important, even in, you know, the world of social media and AI, we still crave that as humans, and yeah, I can think back on every event I've been to since I've started with Pella, and I leave with some sort of opportunity, so I, what was your question? Well, I think you can, no,
Mark D. Williams 19:05
no, no, I think you answered it. I think where I'm really going with this, and you've already answered it beautifully, is for those that don't feel the need to go, what are they missing out on?
Mary Clark 19:15
Yeah, and I don't think even know, you won't know till you get there, and you meet the person that was a complete stranger when you walked in the door, and you know you don't know the conversations you're going to have, so I think the element of surprise is in your favor there. But I guarantee if you go and you're open and you, you know, you smile at someone like you and I did today, and you just kind of spark conversation, you can learn something or gain an opportunity. So, so I, I wouldn't be afraid of that. I know anxiety can sometimes be high when you go to do an event alone or a new thing, but I can almost guarantee you'll leave with something worthwhile.
Mark D. Williams 19:43
I like that, Melissa. Well, maybe last question, and we'll close it down for this episode. Last year we went to the Curious Architect, or, sorry, the Curious Builder Collective in Phoenix, and you were there the night before as well. We did like an adaptive party with Reese and their team, the attitude of the people that. Here I guess, what are some common commonalities, or any differences that you've observed? You've kind of been to two, and I don't know. Do you go to other events that aren't Curious Builder related that you are able to sort of like basically encourage people to get out and participate in their local community, because the Cures Collective is not in every state, and so what should people do if they're in another state? What are some things that you've seen that you're like, oh, travel might be worth it, whether it's a contract or coalition summit or something else. I guess, in your own words, what are.. what is the power of travel? Because it takes, it takes time, commitment. I mean, you travel a lot for these types of events, it's a lot bigger thing for a small company like you, especially with young family, and it was your birthday yesterday. Happy birthday.
Alyssa Abbott 20:45
Thank you. No, I mean, honestly, it's been really fun to be a part of this with you, because there really isn't anything. I mean, I think where I am at in California, I don't see the community and the relationships in the builder community where I'm at, and so it's so refreshing here, and the what I see just online, and when I'm actually in the room, what you've kind of created is very unique, I think, in that way. So, whether it was the one in Arizona or here, I think just you'd ask, like the differences. The dinner was cool because it was a little more intimate. There was a couple tables, we were a little bit closer together, and it was a little bit more, not in a bad way, but forced, because we were sitting next to each other, we were sharing appetizers with someone we had never met, or just barely met, and here, you know, it did take a little bit more to go up to somebody, but everyone's here for that, and so I think to what you said, like someone might feel anxious to come to these alone or to host something, because they're nervous, you know, that maybe no one will come, or it might feel weird, but everyone wants to network, ever. That's why I'm here. I wanted to meet people, I wanted to see people again that I had connected with. I was excited to see people I had met at the collective group that we did the Chicago trip last year, and so, yeah, I think that's just what we crave as business owners. We want to work together, we want to be better ourselves, and that's what these are for. So, if you don't have one, start a start, a curious collective in your area today.
Mark D. Williams 22:15
Perfect. Reach out to Leah to Pella and Emser. Well, thanks for coming on the podcast. Double duty, you guys got in for one, in for two. So, thanks for coming into town. And tonight, you get that dinner after all, because we are doing a little dinner, so you got it both worlds. Thanks for tuning into the Curious Builder Podcast. Mondays are our episodes with builders, architects, and designers around the country, and Thursdays are a random variety show, sometimes losers are winners, and sometimes just chatting with some great people. Thanks for tuning in. Thanks for tuning in to Curious Builder Podcast. If you like this episode, do us a favor, share it with three other business owners. The best way that we can spread what we're doing is by word of mouth, and with your help, we can continue to help other curious builders expand their business, please share it with your friends, like and review online, and thanks again for tuning in.
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