Builders and Manufacturers Come Together for 2023 HomeSphere Link
July 19, 2023
It’s with gratitude to our participating manufacturer partners and builders that we can announce HomeSphere’s inaugural HomeSphere Link, held in June 2023 in Hollywood, Florida, is only the first of more to come.
For about two full days, reps and key decision makers from 21 building product manufacturers and 24 home builders gathered at the Diplomat Beach Resort to network, make deals and enjoy the tropical locale.
For manufacturers, it was an opportunity to get in front of the right contacts at private, high-margin home builders, and for builders, it was an opportunity to dive deeper with manufacturer sales reps, learn about new products and discuss product solutions.
The event rundown
The event opened with a welcome reception and dinner to give attendees a chance to get to know each other over crab cakes and cocktails before the next day’s one-on-one meetings.
To keep it moving and productive, attendees participated in 20-minute one-on-one meetings over the course of two days.
“Deals were made at the table and follow-up meetings were set up before the event was even over,” Mike Rosenbach, HomeSphere’s director of partner engagement, said.
David Miller, regional market specialist for the Florida/Gulf Coast region, also shared hearing that 20 minutes was a perfect time to connect. “It was great to see our manufacturing partners interacting with our builders. When you have subject matter experts educating the proper decision makers, it makes for good business,” he said.
Liz Polson, director of marketing, emphasized how the event was an excellent showcase for the unique set of builders that HomeSphere represents — the same builders we connect manufacturers with every day. Participating builders included Westbrooke Homes, One27 Homes, Trademark Quality Homes and Stone Martin Builders, who vary in range from building 100 homes a year to upwards of 800.
“What’s more, these builders have been on the HomeSphere program from six to 14 years,” Polson said. “This shows how valuable they find the HomeSphere network, from our team to our manufacturers. And it’s great how this event has become another benefit of participating in our program, which is simply unmatched in our industry.”
What our partners had to say
We heard back from several manufacturers and builders who attended.
Manufacturer partner feedback:
“Great event, run extremely well! It's always great when you can sit down with builders from all over to discuss opportunities. It would take us months to line up that many meetings with the proper audience...and I'm still not sure we could do it!” - Matthew Broome, Georgia-Pacific
“The HomeSphere Link was a great opportunity to strengthen my relationships with builders using Nice solutions and to educate other builders about our award-winning builder program and products. Over two days, I had 22 meetings with key decision makers and a lot of fun was had. I made new friends, found new business opportunities, and enjoyed my time at the beautiful resort in Hollywood, Florida.”- Michelle Chesnut, Nice NA
“The Homesphere Link exceeded my expectations! The builder meetings were all great opportunities, and I was meeting with the decision makers.” - Kevin Cutler, Kingspan
“I thought it was an excellent, productive, and fun show. The schedule, food, and accommodations were excellent and no complaints. Thanks again for putting on such a terrific event!” - Sam McAtee, Schlage
“Thanks to the entire HomeSphere team for hosting this event. I had great and productive conversations with many HomeSphere builders.” - Don Feliciano, Resideo
Builder feedback:
“We have been to many of these, and [the HomeSphere Link] was the best one I've ever been to in five years of attending IBS and other events. We fully plan on bringing our full purchasing team to the next event. I would say out of the 25 meetings we had, we have followed up with at least 15 of the companies and are in talks of product transition. It’s great to see us being able to move so quickly due to how informative the sessions were.” - John Perko, Stone Martin Builders (HomeSphere builder since 2009)
“It was a great experience. I’m waiting on pricing from a few of the meetings I had. It felt a little like I imagine speed dating would feel like, but it had some really good information. Thank you for the opportunity to meet with manufacturers that we don’t currently use, maybe that will change on some fronts.” - Melinda Lumpkin, Westbrooke Homes (HomeSphere builder since 2017)
"I would like to thank you all for holding this event. Not only was it educational and successful, it was very well organized and a lot of fun! I most certainly would attend again. I think the 20-25 minutes meeting is perfect. I enjoyed every meeting I had. I enjoyed meeting different builders and learning what products they use and why. Not only was each meeting successful for me, I believe it was successful for each supplier, especially the ones who are new with Homesphere. I asked each Supplier I met with how each meeting was going for them. Each supplier had nothing but good things to say.” - Alyssa Semple, One27 Homes (HomeSphere builder since 2016)
“Being able to meet with so many vendors at once and having that time to socialize with them and other builders was awesome. That also gave us a little bit of time to meet some of the other vendors that we didn't have meetings scheduled with and learn about their products. I feel like my eyes have been opened to some manufacturers that we normally would have discounted and even had some new ideas thrown my way that I never thought of before.” - Marlo Daniel, Trademark Quality Homes, Inc. (HomeSphere builder since 2010)
Participating manufacturers
Our thanks to our manufacturing partners who participated this year.
Looking forward
Thanks to the success of our 2023 event, we look forward to hosting more HomeSphere Link events going forward, and in different regions of the country.
If you’re interested in participating in a future HomeSphere Link, get in touch with your partner engagement manager or regional market specialist, or watch our website and social media for updates.
