In this episode of The Pre-Con Recon Podcast, Justin Frenette sits down with Daniela Tirone, Marketing & Communications Lead at CountryWide Homes, to discuss what it takes to build a strong real estate brand in today's increasingly uncertain market.

The conversation moves beyond traditional real estate marketing and into the relationship between marketing, sales, customer experience, reputation, and trust. Daniela explains why marketing and sales need to operate as one team, why copy can be more important than visuals, and how builders can balance aspiration with the facts buyers need to make a major purchasing decision.

A major theme throughout the episode is that every customer interaction is a brand interaction. From the first website visit to a sales-office experience, design appointment, negative review, or post-purchase service issue, each touchpoint can either strengthen or damage a builder's reputation.

Daniela also discusses how buyer behaviour is changing, particularly with move-in-ready homes, signage, organic social media, and AI becoming part of the research process. Her advice for builders going into 2026 is straightforward: be transparent, educate buyers, and make it clear why you're the right choice.

Connect with Daniela Tirone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielatirone/
CountryWide Homes: https://countrywidehomes.ca/
CountryWide Homes' Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/countrywidehomesca/
Connect with Justin Frenette: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfrenette

Brought to you by Him & Her, a design agency that moves quickly and makes things matter. Learn more at https://himandher.ca/

Learn more about Pre-Con Recon at https://www.preconrecon.com/

In this episode of The Pre-Con Recon Podcast, Justin sits down with Devynn Tavares, Operational Leader at The Cora Group, to discuss how her early customer-service experience shaped the way she approaches people and operations today, and why some of her biggest career opportunities came from leaders who trusted her before she had the traditional credentials or title to justify that trust.

A major theme of the conversation is human connection. Devynn argues that whether you're managing a home or an office building, people ultimately want to feel heard and treated like humans, not products or revenue. She believes the industry's increasing reliance on remote communication has weakened some of those relationships, and that companies risk losing talent and tenant loyalty when they lose the human element.

She also explains her approach to entering a new leadership role: rather than immediately imposing changes, she spent her first two weeks meeting individually with everyone in the organization. Those conversations helped her identify where responsibilities had become unclear as the company grew. From there, she rebuilt roles around accountability, ownership and clarity.

For Devynn, great operations ultimately come down to two words: freedom and trust. When employees know what they own and have the freedom to make decisions, accountability becomes empowering rather than intimidating.

Looking ahead, Devynn believes the future of commercial real estate will require companies to rethink the balance between remote work, office culture, and human interaction. Her larger personal mission is to help people feel confident walking into rooms where they don't think they belong and to help make the workplace stronger, clearer and more human.

Connect with Devynn Tavares:
LinkedIn: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/devynntavares
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/devynntavares/
Email: devynn@coragroup.com
The Cora Group: https://coragroup.com/
The Cora Group Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecoragroup/
Connect with Justin Frenette: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfrenette

Brought to you by Him & Her, a design agency that moves quickly and makes things matter. Learn more at https://himandher.ca/

Learn more about Pre-Con Recon at https://www.preconrecon.com/

In this episode of The Pre-Con Recon Podcast, Justin Frenette sits down with Stephanie Lane, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Geranium, to discuss what it really takes to build enduring communities and enduring brands. With more than 20 years in the industry, Stephanie shares how an unexpected opportunity launched her career, why hospitality shaped her leadership style, and how collaboration across departments leads to better developments.

The conversation explores how today's challenging market is forcing developers to rethink sales, marketing, websites, AI adoption, and customer experience. Stephanie also shares lessons from leading Geranium's corporate rebrand, winning a national marketing award, mentoring future leaders, and why doing the right thing—even when no one sees it—is ultimately what builds lasting trust.

Connect with Stephanie Lane: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanielane/
Geranium: https://www.geranium.com/
Geranium's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geraniumhomes
Connect with Justin Frenette: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfrenette

Brought to you by Him & Her, a design agency that moves quickly and makes things matter. Learn more at https://himandher.ca/

Learn more about Pre-Con Recon at https://www.preconrecon.com/