Bill Sands is a REALTOR® member of R - BAR and has been attending the NAR Annual Conference for years. We asked him if he could share with us some of the benefits of attending this national conference. As a REALTOR® in a small town, you simply do not realize the true meaning of NAR nor do you grasp the magnitude and power of the organization as a whole until you feel the energy of 25,000 fellow REALTOR® members converging on a city for a convention. It’s truly empowering!
Many fellow REALTORS® tell me when I ask if they are attending- - “well, I attend my office’s national event, so I simply don’t need to attend another event.” It’s my opinion that they are missing out on a GREAT OPPORTUNITY! I am sure the franchise conventions are terrific, but when you meld REALTORS® from every corner of the nation together, sharing and collaborating together, you understand the importance of the NAR Conference. You have the opportunity to mingle and share ideas with some of the true Top Producing agents in the country. These are agents selling over 100 million dollars individually in annual sales! The cutting-edge forums and ideas unveiled at the national level sometimes often takes a few years before they trickle to Berks County. By attending, you’re getting this information first! Then there is the marketing and networking of yourself; an opportunity to “up your game” and referral network. Here are some of my personal success stories from attending the NAR Conference & Expo:
When I attended the Orlando NAR Convention in 2008, I met and spoke with a reporter for Newsweek. He was intrigued that in 20072008 I was using Facebook as a way to market real estate after the market balloon burst. I was featured by Newsweek in article printed in January 2009 entitled “ A Brokers Best Friend ” – Can Facebook Revive the Real Estate Market. The year prior at the NAR Convention in New Orleans I met Daniel McGinn, Chief Editor from the Harvard Business Review. We struck up a conversation which led to me being asked if I wanted to be part of a book he was writing on Real Estate for Doubleday Press entitled “House Lust America’s Obsession with our Homes.” The book being a major national release was showcased from the NY Times to CBS National Telecast. The press agent assigned to me through the publisher was Ms. Dunlop who helped brand me as an expert in the business and opened many doors of opportunity. My involvement with this lead to a feature of my chapter in the book in Forbes! It was a whirlwind of publicity on a large scale all from the NAR conference!
Many years prior, at a conference in San Francisco, the conference led me to meeting Barbara Corcoran, who at that time had recently sold her brokerage in New York. Barbara invited me to participate in the newly organized “Corcoran’s Inner Circle” which was an honor to be part of her network of agents. Barbara at that time was writing and was an NBC special correspondent on the NBC Today Show segment “What Does Your Money Buy” series. I had the privilege of having a listing showcased on National TV. The Inner circle was dissolved after the first year of Shark Tank since Barbara’s time grew scarce and her celebrity grew.
Then there just the sheer fun of the attending the NAR celebrity concerts, mixers, dinners that are available to you. Two years ago, at Orlando, Ann Lusk- Sotheby’s Lancaster, Sean Devine from my office and I shared a cocktail with REALTOR® Madison Hildebrand, star of Million Dollar Listing LA.
Last year my firm leased a decked out black suburban limo to drive us to Boston. It was truly amazing to see members of my team embrace the knowledge from the conference the way they did! At the Boston conference, we received invitations to the exclusive Wells Fargo VIP party held at the Kennedy Library. This swanky event is by exclusive invitation to only 100 REALTORS®. Last year’s party was hosted by Erin and Ben Napier from HGTV’s series Hometown!
Unfortunately, in 2019 we will not be attending due to other travel plans but we will see you in 2020!