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2007 REALTOR Convention in Las Vegas was Fantastic!
by Matthew Ferrara

Without a doubt, this year's NAR convention in Las Vegas was the absolute best convention in the last decade. The energy and enthusiasm of the brokers, agents, trainers and association leadership everywhere was refreshing. I am confident that with more than 30,000 in attendance - now returning to all corners of the globe - the real estate market is about to be energized for a fantastic 2008.

For starters, every education and networking program was packed with people listening to trainers, learning from each other and sharing ideas about how to deal with tough markets. Nowhere was there any sense that the "doldrums" were keeping people down. Sure, there were stories of down-markets, but each one was immediately followed by someone offering a great idea they have implemented to help move beyond the media-mania-misery.

One of the very best ideas I heard came from Alex Perriello, Chairman of Realogy, at the RISMedia PowerBroker Dinner. He encouraged everyone to set aside 20% of their marketing - online and offline - to promoting their "SOLD" listings. So one out of every five homes placed in the newspaper should have a SOLD rider on it; Push some SOLD properties onto the front page of your website; and be sure to talk about all of the listings that are SELLING in your area when talking to prospective sellers and buyers. The idea is that - together, all across the nation - we can use some of the media marketing we're doing to change the converation about the market: by focusing on the fact that many homes are selling just fine; and many buyers are buying readily. And that things aren't so bad if properties are priced right and buyers are qualified properly. PS: A big THANK YOU to Saul, Mike and John from Internet Crusade for inviting us to attend the dinner with them.

Another fantastic idea came from someone at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World sessions. One of the brokers told about how they were actually OPENING new offices - seven of them - in a "down market area." The crowd gasped and shook its head - until the broker explained that they were only 700-square foot "invitation only" offices where their agents could meet with clients by appointment. The offices were outfitted with state-of-the-art LCD screens, conference room and computer technology, so the agent and customers could use the power of technology to explore their real estate options. Yet there was no reception desk, staff or other expensive operational costs - the office was mostly closed except for appointments. Customers could still call, email or walk into their main regional office - where all support and transactional functions were centralized to create efficiencies - but that the "duplication" of such functions in offices only 10 miles apart was too "old fashioned" to be cost effective any more. Wonderful!

Likewise, at the Women's Council of REALTORS seminars I taught, launching their fantsatic new website www.wcr.org to the group, one student came up to me after the session and suggested a simple way to network with other REALTORS in the Women's Council. She said she would search the new website for subjects she might have in common with others that weren't just "real estate" and then send them an invitation to become a "guest author" on her blog. They would swap short postings on each other's blogs and it became a good way to create new content for all of the blogs in the group. Plus many of their readers wrote saying they enjoyed seeing other contributing authors from other places in the country. It seems like a good way to build your blog fast!

One very interesting observation about the convention was that the "younger" generation of REALTORS seems to be VERY sophisticated. Not only were there plenty of Gen X'ers in new Association Leadership positions, but almost every 30-something REALTOR who walked through the trade show was very well dressed. Now, the cover may not make the book, but it was quite impressive to see how serious the new generation of future REALTORS is taking their business - considering how they felt the need to be dressed up just to walk the trade show floor.

Speaking of the trade show, it was INCREDIBLE. It's the first year we've ever given away EVERY ITEM WE HAD - and a few vendors even gave away a few parts of their booths, too! We featured our new TECH HOTLINE REALTOR service for individuals, who can call 866-95-FIXPC and get tech support any time, fast (and of course, it's fixed or free!) and just about everyone who walked by stopped to listen and learn about the service. And it wasn't just our booth - almost everywhere I went, REALTORS were stopping, listening and engaging trainers, product vendors, e-commerce solutions and marketing booths. For the first time in a decade, the busiest booth in the convention wasn't the JEWELRY vendor!

All together the energy, excitement and ideas from the NAR Annual Convention in Las Vegas was amazing. REALTORS are definitely putting every effort into turning around their markets, changing their strategies and implementing new tools to succeed. From the education sessions to the lounges later, the talk was positive and hopeful, which makes me think that "what happens in Vegas" definitely shouldn't stay in Vegas this time!