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Podcast: Anewgo of New Home Sales | Host: Anya Chrisanthon | Co-Host: Beth Byrd, VP of Sales, Anewgo | Guest: P. Allen Smith

In this episode of the Anewgo of New Home Sales podcast, host Anya Chrisanthon and Anewgo VP of Sales Beth Byrd sit down with P. Allen Smith — PBS television host, garden and community designer, and owner of Extreme Panel Technologies - to explore how structurally insulated panels (SIPs), sustainable materials, and intentional design are reshaping residential construction. The conversation covers Moss Mountain Farm, the Extreme Gatehouse Cottages, real-world build cost and waste comparisons, and the future of energy-efficient, net-zero home building for builders, developers, and build-to-rent communities.

Guest | P. Allen Smith - PBS host, garden & community designer, owner of Extreme Panel Technologies
Host | Anya Chrisanthon, Anewgo
Co-Host | Beth Byrd, VP of Sales, Anewgo
Key Topics | SIP panels, net-zero building, Moss Mountain Farm, sustainable construction, build-to-rent
Guest Website | pallensmith.com
Extreme Panel | extremepanel.com

About P. Allen Smith

P. Allen Smith is a nationally recognized PBS television host, garden and community designer, and sustainable living advocate. As the creator of Moss Mountain Farm - a 550-acre working farmstead in central Arkansas on the banks of the Arkansas River - and owner of Extreme Panel Technologies, one of America's leading manufacturers of structurally insulated panels (SIPs), Smith is on a mission to make net-zero, energy-efficient home building the new industry standard. He previously appeared at the International Builders' Show (IBS) alongside Anewgo VP of Sales Beth Byrd.

What We Cover in This Episode

1. What Are Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPs)?

Structurally insulated panels (SIPs) consist of a dense polystyrene foam core sandwiched between two layers of oriented strand board (OSB). Extreme Panel Technologies uses zinc-boray-infused OSB, which provides resistance to insects and mold. Key advantages for home builders:

• Superior energy efficiency with high R-values across 4.5", 6", 8", 10", and 12" panel thicknesses
• Faster build times - the Extreme Gatehouse Cottages took just 47 minutes to unload and four workers five days to fully close in
• Factory precision: panels arrive pre-numbered and pre-cut for doors and windows, with laminated construction drawings
• Dramatically less job site waste - a Birmingham, AL build-to-rent project showed all SIP waste fit in a couple of wheelbarrows vs. a full dumpster for a comparable stick-built house
• Straighter, truer walls than typically achievable with today's dimensional lumber

2. Moss Mountain Farm — A Model for Sustainable, High-Performance Building

Moss Mountain Farm, located in central Arkansas on a farmstead dating back to 1840, is the original set for P. Allen Smith's PBS series Garden Home. The main farmhouse was designed in the Greek Revival style - with proportions drawn from historic properties within a 175-mile radius - while integrating high-performance building technologies 20 years before they became industry buzzwords:

• Insulated concrete forms (ICFs) for the basement
• Soybean-oil-based spray foam insulation between wall studs
• Shredded denim recycled from a blue jean factory as batting insulation
• Passive solar design with PEX tubing under standing seam metal roof panels circulating heated glycol to a radiant brick floor
• Standing seam me

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In this episode of Anewgo of New Home Sales, host Anya Chrisanthon brings together three powerhouses for a conversation that will completely change how you think about AI in home building.

Joining her are Barrett Davis, Co-founder & CEO of Nter Now and HomesScribe.ai, Melissa Cervin, VP of Marketing at Lombardo Homes, and John Lee, CEO of Anewgo.

Here's the thing: AI isn't a future problem. It's a right-now problem. And this episode doesn't just talk about it, it shows you exactly what's happening.

Inside this episode:

• The live AI-to-AI phone call demo: Barrett built an AI buyer's agent that called Lombardo's AI sales assistant, negotiated pet-friendly customizations, asked about floor plan options, and booked a tour. No humans involved. Five minutes. Real.
• Melissa's unfiltered lessons from deploying "Toni": Lombardo's AI shopping assistant, what went right, what surprised her, and why early adoption is messy but worth it
• Why your website is now a battleground: smart browsers like Gemini, Perplexity, and ChatGPT's Atlas are comparing you to your competition from a side panel while buyers shop your site
• The LLM shopping experience: how Anewgo's interactive floor plan tools and exterior color configurators are showing up directly inside ChatGPT conversations before buyers ever reach your website
• The AI shift parallel every builder needs to hear: Melissa compares where we are now to when web leads first appeared, and why the builders who wait will regret it
• How to introduce AI to a hesitant sales team without fear, resistance, or revolt
• What "agentic AI" means for your OSC: and why your phone might already be ringing with AI on the other end

Whether you're a builder, marketer, OSC, or sales leader, this is the episode that makes it real.

🎙️ Watch it now: anewgo.com/podcast/181 or search Anewgo of New Home Sales on your favorite podcasting app

📍 Learn more at anewgo.com

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In this episode of Anewgo of New Home Sales, host Anya Chrisanthon sits down with returning guest Ryan Taft, founder of Impact Eighty-Eight, to celebrate the launch of his brand new book, Revenue Getter. Ryan has spent 25 years in the home building industry, and this book is his answer to one of the most overlooked problems in sales leadership: nobody actually teaches managers how to develop people.

If you've ever wondered why your team isn't improving even after training, this episode is your wake-up call.

Ryan breaks down:

• The 6 manager types killing your team's performance (are you the buddy, server, savior, slave driver, or ghost?)
• The two biggest mistakes sales leaders make when they're behind on numbers
• His repeatable 4-E Coaching Method: Explain, Exhibit, Execute & Evaluate
• Why pipeline calls are NOT coaching and what real coaching actually looks like
• The micro-skill approach that moves the sales needle faster than any contest ever will

Whether you're a sales leader or anyone responsible for developing a team, Revenue Getter will completely change the way you think about management.

📖 Grab your copy of Revenue Getter Learn more at revenueGetter.com | impacteightyeight.com

🎟️ Want to go deeper in person? Ryan and the Impact 88 team are hosting CoLab Live - a two-day, hands-on leadership workshop for homebuilding leaders, and Anewgo is a proud sponsor! No stages, no sales pitches - just real frameworks, real conversations, and real results. Seats are limited to 80 leaders per event. 📅 Charlotte, NC | April 22–23, 2026 📅 San Antonio, TX | Sept. 15–16, 2026 👉 Get your tickets now: colablive.com

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In this episode of Anewgo of New Home Sales, host Anya Chrisanthon sits down with Sarah Haynes, CMO and co-owner of Shared Drive, fresh off the International Builders' Show (IBS) 2026. Sarah shares her highlights from IBS - including being named a Young Guns & Legends honoree - and dives deep into the conversations shaping the home building industry right now.

From the rise of AI assistants and what buyer transcripts are revealing about hidden fears, to the power of authentic branding and why "selling to everyone means selling to no one," this episode is packed with actionable insights for builders and marketers alike.

We cover: :

• Why OSCs still matter - and how AI can make them even more effective
• The branding mistakes most builders don't know they're making
• How to use your team's personality as a competitive differentiator
• Why putting faces on your website is non-negotiable

Whether you're a builder, marketer, or sales leader, this episode will challenge you to think differently about your brand, your buyers, and the tools you use to connect with them.

🎙️ Connect with Sarah Haynes on LinkedIn or visit shareddrive.com 📍 Learn more at anewgo.com/podcast

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AI is changing how buyers discover, evaluate, and choose new homes, and it’s happening faster than most teams realize. In this month’s AI Brief: Homebuilding Edition, Anya Chrisanthon and Anewgo CEO John Lee break down what’s shifting right now: ads inside AI chat experiences, agentic commerce (discovery → checkout), personal AI “intelligence,” and how all of it will reshape portals, CRMs, and SaaS pricing.

We cover:

• What “AI ads” will look like inside chat-based interfaces
• Why agentic commerce is the next “smart grid” for buying
• Personal AI: convenience vs. privacy (and what it means for builders)
• The difference between AI assistants vs. AI agents
• What happens when AI buyers negotiate and shop at scale
• Why CRM can’t stay at the end of the journey anymore, and what changes next

Subscribe for monthly AI updates built specifically for homebuilders, sales leaders, and marketing teams.

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Neo (New Estate Only) is now an award-winning platform - recently recognized with a GIA Gold Award at The Nationals. In this episode, Anya Chrisanthon sits down with Paulo Bethencourt Neto (President of Neo) to break down how Neo helps builders and developers keep new-construction information accurate, consistent, and instantly shareable across agents, buyers, and international investors.

If you’re a builder trying to sell more homes (especially in a tight market), this conversation is a masterclass in international demand, agent-enabled growth, and AI-ready infrastructure.

We cover:

• Why international buyers “buy assets” (and what they need to feel confident purchasing)
• The biggest disconnect builders have with the agent experience (and what to fix first)
• Why “3% isn’t a commission - it’s marketing” (and when that mindset matters)
• A smarter approach to commissions: tiered/loyalty models that reward true producers
• What “AI-ready” actually means in 2026: multilingual, connected systems + adaptive platforms
• The case for using international demand to diversify risk and stabilize sales cycles

Learn more about Neo:

• Website: newestateonly.com
• Connect with Paulo on LinkedIn

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Builders are spending to generate leads, then failing to respond fast enough (or at all). In this episode, Anya Chrisanthon sits down with Leah Fellows (Blue Gypsy Inc.) and Carol Morgan (Denim Marketing) to break down the 2025 Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop and what it reveals about speed-to-lead, follow-up quality, and the widening gap between builders with and without Online Sales Counselors (OSCs).

Download the Full Report HERE

We cover what the mystery shop tested (50 builders, real form submissions, 30-day tracking), why “no personalized email within 5 minutes” is still a thing in 2025, and what builders can do immediately without over-automating their prospects into oblivion (yes, we’re talking 74 marketing emails in 30 days 😬).

In this episode:

• What the Online Homebuyer Mystery Shop measures (speed, frequency, channels, responsiveness)
• The OSC vs non-OSC performance gap—and why it keeps happening
• Phone, text, and video email: what’s working and what’s being ignored
• Autoresponders that actually help (and the mistakes that hurt)
• “Minimum viable OSC program” for smaller builders
• The non-negotiable KPIs builders should track weekly

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IBS 2026 is coming fast so we’re doing a quick, high-energy game plan episode with Laura Hanson (Director of Strategy, Builder Designs) and returning guest Rick Baldonado (National Sales Director, New Construction, Homes.com).

We kick off with a real-time temperature check on what builders are dealing with right now: buyer confidence, flat rates, “do more with less” pressure, and what needs to change in sales + marketing going into 2026.

Then we get tactical:

• Website trust + brand cohesiveness: how builders can tighten their online experience to build confidence (and stop sending mixed signals).
• What builders should stop doing in 2026: gatekeeping pricing and treating homes like a commodity.
• What will dominate the show floor: AI moving from “toy” to real infrastructure, plus the shift toward voice + multimodal experiences.

Where to find everyone at IBS

• Homes.com booth: South Hall #4082
• Anewgo: stop by Sales Central (we’ll be there all three days). Schedule a time to meet with us HERE.
• Builder Designs: connect with Laura and catch her IBS speaking sessions (tech + marketing strategy).

The party 🎉🤠

Yes we’re doing the IBS Builder Party: Homes.com x Builder Designs x Anewgo, Wednesday night 7–10 PM at PBR Orlando. Space is limited, so RSVP HERE. “Giddy up… Yeehaw.”

Quick links / contact

• Laura Hanson: l.hanson@builderdesigns.com
• Rick Baldonado: rbaldonado@homes.com
• Anya Chrisanthon: anya@anewgo.com
• Don’t forget: download the IBS app, wear comfortable shoes, and don’t leave your badge at the hotel. 😅