Get an A+ in Networking at Conferences
Whether you are new to real estate or a seasoned veteran, you know that one of the keys to a successful business is networking with your peers. This means more than meeting other agents in your office around the water cooler or attending the annual meeting of your local board. This means really getting out there and making contacts — both in your local area and around the country.
As you finalize your business plan and budget each year, you should include money in your budget for education and designations, as well as for travel to at least one conference. Not only does this make you accountable to yourself for achieving designations you desire, but it also makes you step outside of your local area and comfort zone and meet other agents around the country — agents who may become valuable sources of referral income for you and who could also become great friends and accountability partners!
Making contacts outside of your local area can give you a great opportunity to share ideas, successes, and hardships in a non-competitive environment.
Here are a few tips on making the most of your travels:
1. Plan to attend conferences and classes away from home. Pick a CRS class in another state, or choose to attend your company’s annual conference when it’s across the country. It will cost you a little more, but there will be a higher concentration of people you don’t know who may be looking for a contact in your area to send referrals to.
If a conference you really want to attend happens to be in your city — in 2007 the RE/MAX International Convention was in my home city of Atlanta — then choose to stay in the hotel for the duration of the conference, so you can maximize your time at the conference events, instead of spending your time commuting.
2. Bring plenty of business cards. How will you network without your business cards? How will your new contacts know how to reach you when they have a referral for you?
Bring more cards than you think you will need and try to give them all away. Or take it even a step further and have special business cards printed for conferences and events that really
focus on agent-to-agent networking — feature phrases like “I’ll pay you a 30 percent referral fee!” or “Your North Atlanta-area relocation expert!”
Perhaps even personalize it further and put something about the specific event you are attending, for example: “It was great to meet you at the 2008 NAR Convention!”
3. Spend your time with strangers. If you travel to a convention with another agent from your office or area, don’t spend all your time with that person. Don’t sit together during general assemblies and try not to attend the same breakout sessions. And definitely don’t sit together at lunch.
In short, don’t be joined at the hip just because it’s comfortable. Instead, make a date to see each other for dinner and a wrap-up session each night — here you can share your ideas and what you’ve learned throughout the day, while still spending the majority of the day meeting new people and handing out your business card.
So now that you’re pumped to earn that next designation and energized to sign up for a conference and make new contacts, take the next step. Do your research and pick your next designation goal, if you haven’t already.
Get online and look up your company’s national conference. If it’s overwhelming for you, start small — pick your state’s annual conference or your company’s regional one. Whatever you do, make a plan now, while you’re thinking about it.
To help you jump-start the process, here is just a sampling of upcoming conferences that I’ll be picking from for 2008:
- RE/MAX International Convention March 3 – 6, Las Vegas, Nevada
- CRS ProACT – Council of Residential Specialists Professional Accelerated Career Track June 9 – 14, Las Vegas, Nevada
- Howard Brinton’s Star Power Annual Conference July 23 – 26, Orlando, Florida
- Georgia Association of REALTORS® Annual Conference September 3 – 6, Destin, Florida
- National Association of REALTORS® Annual Conference November 7 – 10, Orlando, Florida
Maura Gebhardt, ABR®, MA, is the marketing and advertising director for The Gebhardt Group, RE/MAX Greater Atlanta, as well as a buyer specialist.
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Comments
Keller Williams Realty has an
excellent convention every February. Next year, it will be in Orlando, FL.
Also, Masterminds and Mega Camps are held through-out the
year in Austin, TX and are great opportunities for sharpening your skills and expanding your network
Posted by: Jolyn Crawford | March 2, 2008 11:01 AM