The CLUB for
Design Studio Managers

How To Be An Impact Leader

Based on Betsy’s TEDx talk, this presentation and interactive workshop provide a blueprint for becoming a more effective leader in today’s marketplace. Get insights into how forward-thinking companies build an attractive culture with strong values, how to attract and retain talent, create a sense of purpose, and prepare for future leadership roles.

Featured on FOX, CBS, ABC, NBC & TEDx, Betsy Allen-Manning is an internationally known leadership speaker, best-selling author, & company culture expert. Her specialty is helping leaders build a Destination Workplace™ that attracts and retains top talent in a hyper-competitive marketplace.

Betsy is the owner of Corporate Culture Training Solutions. Through her dedicated research, expertise in human behavior, & experience managing at 5-star hotels, she is honored to have trained over 15,000 leaders & teams for small businesses, franchises & associations, to multi-billion dollar corporations, such as Toshiba, Aflac, Fidelity & the US Department of Defense.

Her mission is to help leaders put purpose, accountability & loyalty back into the workplace.

Grow Your Global IQ: Cross-Cultural Communication and Selling Strategies

Learn to maximize the potential of a diverse customer base. Michael introduces the Cultural ROI™ technique  for helping to navigate the most complex cross-cultural interactions, so you can recognize cultural cues, anticipate and identify potential cultural crashes BEFORE they happen, and transform obstacles into opportunities.

Michael Landers is the founder and President of Culture Crossing, LLC. He has helped world-leading companies like Uber, Apple, Google, SAP, and Lennar improve in areas like cross-cultural sales, marketing, and overall organizational effectiveness.

Michael’s workshops, seminars, and speaking events have drawn over 100,000 people on five continents over the past 15 years.

He is also the author of the bestselling book Culture Crossing, the essential primer to working, living, and thriving in today’s increasingly multicultural marketplace and communities, and the more recently released Present Company: Cultivating Cultures of High Performance in Teams and Organizations.

Soul/Life Balance: The Practice to Go from Stressed & Overwhelmed to Energized & Fulfilled!

Despite his successes, he felt empty within, and after going on an inward journey he discovered the missing piece. He was disconnected from his soul caught chasing Work/Life Balance.

Sam bridges the gap between business and mindful practices to increase fulfillment in everyday professional and executive lives which he calls SOUL/Life Balance.

The Art of Running Your Store

Optimize your retail success by creating memorable customer experiences and customer engagement while maximizing profits. Take your Design Studio to the next level by running it like a high end retailer, providing quality personalization choices in a way that leaves customers understanding the value of services and products you have provided to them. All the while providing personal attention to each unique customer, creating memories and experiences that will leave each customer referring you to the next.

Sherri has a B.A in Business Management and Marketing and is an alumni member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars as top 10% in her class. She has a passion for the homebuilding industry and strives for exceptional customer experiences in personalization and revenue generation.

The Truth About AI Adoption That No One Wants to Tell You

Kevin Oakley is the most trusted name in new home marketing for builders and developers across North America, boasting over 20 years of experience in the marketing and sales operations of home builders of various sizes and specializations. Having held significant roles at both billion-dollar firms (NVR & Maronda Homes) and a private family-owned company (Heartland Homes), Kevin has been a key player in the development, marketing, and sales of over $2 billion worth of new homes before his tenure at Do You Convert. Notably, during his time at NVR, he managed two home building divisions in the Pittsburgh area, and at Heartland Homes, he successfully grew sales by 15-20% annually from 2008 to 2012, despite economic downturns and reduced marketing budgets.

Kevin is well-regarded for his deep understanding of the market’s challenges, offering proven strategies in community launches, lead generation and conversion, customer experience enhancement, marketing cost reduction, and strategic planning. He is the author of “Presale Without Fail: The Secret to Launching New Communities with Maximum Results,” and hosts the Market Proof Marketing podcast, making him a valuable resource for anyone looking to excel in the home building industry.

Building A Successful Team from A to Z

Forge the ultimate team – swift and sharp! This session will discuss how to handpick talent that reflects your vision, equip them with top-notch training, and consistently evaluate their performance. Ready to make the tough calls to keep your team at its best? It’s all about fostering a culture of respect and ambition – this is team building at its most dynamic and direct. Ready, set, lead!

Amy is one of the most in-demand sales training consultants in North America today. She brings two decade’s worth of industry experience and knowledge, along with a fresh female perspective on leadership, to her impactful and enlightening seminars. Amy’s worked with 7 of the top 10 homebuilders in the US.

Most recently, Amy’s passion for supporting female leaders in homebuilding led her to launch her newest program – The Women’s Leadership Circle. An intensive, year-long program for any woman in leadership in homebuilding, The Women’s Leadership Circle is designed to elevate, evolve, and empower women leaders across the industry.

An accomplished and sought-after speaker, Amy combines her industry experience with her role as a leadership expert, as a powerful and relatable voice when addressing Redefining Leadership and Empowerment.

Creating a Stand-Out Customer Experience

Mollie Elkman is a founder, author, and business leader who is passionate about driving growth across the building and construction industry. She is the owner and president of Group Two, the full-service marketing partner that has been trusted by the country’s most successful builders for over 50 years. With a complete range of creative and technical capabilities, the Group Two team brings each unique builder’s brand to life and helps them connect with new home buyers. With a deep understanding of marketing and a forward-thinking approach, Mollie and Group Two continue to lead the industry.

Mollie is also a passionate advocate for strengthening and future-proofing the building and construction industry. She is the author of The House That She Built, the bestselling children’s book, and the founder of the She Built Foundation. Both work to inspire a new generation of builders and to ensure the industry can continue to thrive. She is a sought-after speaker who has spoken to thousands of business owners, builders, and sales and marketing professionals across the country — as well as countless children and educators.

Jane will present on a variety of Design Studio topics throughout the remote and in-person segments of The CLUB experience

Jane is the Founder of The National Design Studio Institute and President of Success Strategies, the nation’s leading Design Studio strategy, training, and creation company. She has 30+ years in new home marketing and sales, including leadership positions in homebuilder market research, design/merchandising, advertising, sales, and marketing.

As the undisputed National Design Studio Expert, Jane helps builders nationwide create top-notch customer experiences, employ operational best practices, and drive revenue-focused improvements so they can leverage the Design Studio to sell more homes. She has worked with builders in 43 states and over 120 housing markets across the country and throughout Canada.

Re-imagining the Design Studio: A Story of Transformation

The Design Studio is a key part of the Toll Brothers luxury customer experience and their advantage of unrivaled choice. Hear Lisa describe the transformation of the Design Studios at Toll Brothers. When she began her role, there was no national lens and little understanding of how each of the 27 locally managed studios operated. The now 38 (Note: by the end of 2024) Design Studios are recognized as an important revenue-driving business within a business. They now have the structure and support to operate more similarly than different in beautifully designed and consistently branded spaces. Lisa discusses the strategy, customer experience, product management, branding, and technology aspects of the design studio business and how it is continuing to evolve at Toll Brothers

Lisa McClelland is a Retail innovator, with a broad background leading Retail and Merchant teams for a diverse group of customer centric companies. Her experience leading teams with some of Retail’s foremost brands include upscale specialty luxury and home building/improvement Retailers.

While Lisa’s retail experience as a leader with a variety of lifestyle brands is expansive, her focus and common goal is raising the bar for the customer experience.  Lisa has led teams for Nordstrom, The Home Depot, and others. Currently, Lisa oversees Design Studios for Toll Brothers, which includes Studio Operations for 38 Design Studios nationwide. Previously, she headed the Retail Division for The Shade Store a New York based luxury brand of custom window treatments, opening over 30 Showrooms nationwide. An additional highlight is Lisa’s experience overseeing Design Centers and the largest merchandising import category of business at The Home Depot (Lighting and Home Décor).  She has traveled extensively throughout the world, developing Lighting and Home Décor products for The Home Depot. Lisa has also overseen billion dollar ecommerce businesses and led expansion throughout the East Coast with Nordstrom.

Lisa grew up in the Washington DC suburbs and is an alumnus of The University of Maryland. Lisa enjoys running, entertaining and is a huge fan of all dogs – especially Golden Retrievers. She has enjoyed living in Toll Brothers communities in both Virginia and Pennsylvania.  Lisa currently resides in Malvern, PA with her family.

Unleash your Design Leadership potential and the Studio impact on Builder operations

The role of the Design Studio Manager continues to evolve and is no longer limited to just product offerings, managing consultants and the homebuyer design studio journey. Learn how to grow the importance of your design studio team’s impact, how it contributes and supports other builder disciplines and internal operations from purchasing to customer service.

Gena will challenge you to expand your design leadership impact, levelling up your and your team’s responsibilities , contributions and scope of influence. Learn how to leverage your unique perspective to align design with business goals: Discover how your team’s design thinking can drive strategic business objectives. Foster collaboration by breaking down silos and build strong cross-departmental partnerships.

Gena is a recognized industry leader in interior design and design studio strategies. With over 25 years of experience, she has lead KB Home in redefining the homebuyer design selection experience, identifying design trends and timeless selections, and leveraging new technologies to aid in buyer visualization. She works closely with manufacturing partners to offer KB Home customers an ideal mix of options for their homes, considering the latest trends, varying styles, and budget levels. As a result, she has helped increased customer satisfaction and made the design selection process within KB Home more efficient.

Gena began her career at KB Home in 1997 and throughout her tenure has increased her responsibilities. Currently, in her role as Vice President, Corporate Studio, she oversees over 100 design consultants and 22 KB Home studio locations. She lives in Southern California with her family and is a graduate of the University of California, certified in Marketing for the Residential Builder.

Lollipop Moments

Chris Hartley has two decades of New Home Sales Experience in various roles across the industry. In addition to his current role as Vice President of Sales for K. Hovnanian Homes in DFW, Chris is a frequent contributor to industry leading publications, a guest on countless industry podcasts, and a highly sought out Public Speaker. Chris has worked with both public and private homebuilders across the US. Chris has won numerous awards on a local, regional, and national level including a Gold Award at The Nationals through the National Association of Homebuilders. Chris is an active member of the Zillow Builder Advisor Board as well as a Board Member for AtlasRTX. Chris is an advocate for the American Cancer Society and is an active member on their marathon team, Team Determination, which he is currently working towards completing all six world majors. Chris’s latest adventure was completing a full Ironman Triathlon on behalf of the National Angels, a Foster Care Organization Chris is enthusiastic about as well as completing his first children’s book in 2024.