In the world of real estate or any other entrepreneurial vocation, it can be challenging to keep the motivation, passion, and momentum at full capacity. At the same time, the idea of entrepreneurship is exciting and enticing: be your own boss! There’s no ceiling to what you can make! It’s all up to you!
As one of my mentors, Brian Buffini, notes, you might be a terrible boss who is too lax or too strict. There may not be a ceiling to what you can make as an entrepreneur, but there is also no floor … and it really is all up to you. Moreover, being in business for yourself and by yourself can be incredibly lonely.
Real estate: One of the only industries offering a tangible fee for your relationship
The challenge of keeping a high level of motivation and continuously propelling yourself toward success is one of the reasons real estate sales conferences are so popular. Hundreds (or thousands) of real estate professionals come together in a far-off location like Vegas, Halifax, Toronto, Dallas, or San Diego for a few days, and the world stands still.
The material is engaging (hopefully), and you take notes, you might get a new book or two to read and you network with fellow agents, hoping that a great conversation will lead to a connection and, perhaps, even a referral. Oh, how we love referrals!
P.S. If you still need to get on the referral train, I recommend hopping aboard immediately. Real estate is one of the only industries offering YOU a tangible fee for your relationships. And make no mistake: the relationships we build in real estate can take years to build and a small fortune to create. You completely deserve a referral fee when you connect a client to a colleague for help in another market. Stay tuned for my next article on referrals. But really, do it. Do it NOW.
Back to the conferences
I have personally attended conferences by Buffini & Company with Mastermind, Turning Point, Success Tour, Masterclass, and Peak, Kathleen Black Coaching Company, Richard Robbins International, Tony Robbins with Unleash the Power Within, Tom Ferry and Royal Lepage with the National Sales Conference. I’ve also attended a few large-scale conferences like TRREB’s Realtor Quest and The Power of Success in Toronto.
Yes, I know there are a lot of conferences. Too many, perhaps.
Just attending a conference — a GREAT conference — can make you feel like a brand-new person. It’s a bit cult-y, but it’s okay — we’re drinking the Kool-Aid, and it’s actually good for us. When we return, our friends and families are a little weary of our top-shelf energy, but it’s all good. Until that motivation and “whoop whoop” wears off.
Zig Ziglar notes that motivation is like bathing. It doesn’t last, so it has to be done daily. But you can’t go to a conference every day … Can you?
Ensure your time, money & energy investment translates into a more successful business and more joyful version of yourself
We can get so addicted to the hype of a conference, with the music, the energy, the immersion and that feeling of being unstoppable, that we forget conferences are meant to help us on our journey. They are not the journey. They’re like a booster pack for entrepreneurs: let’s GO!!!! You should not need to go to several conferences every year. Are they fun? Yes. Are they expensive? Yes. Can you confuse a conference for a vacation? You bet your boots you can.
So, how do we ensure that our investment of time and money (and energy … so much energy!) translates into a more successful business and a more joyful version of ourselves?
WORK. We have to put in the work. Nothing worth having comes easy.
With that said, here are the four steps to a successful conference experience.
1. Connection
Attending a conference can feel like you’re back at the first day of high school. You might know some people and even think your best bet is to find them and spend time with them. Maybe it is. But it’s also important to make room for new relationships — especially because you’re in a room of like-minded professionals. Chances are, you’ll have a few things in common.
When you have a conversation, trade information — either business cards, emails, cell numbers, or social media. Send a little note afterward (and get them all in your business referral database ASAP). Try not to be the person with a pile of cards on or near your desk from the last few years of networking.
Pro-tip
: Make a note of their name and your conversation with them, whatever they mentioned in the conversation. You will literally make their day if you send a note by email, text, or snail mail, thanking them for sharing about (insert conversation here) and saying how nice it was to meet them.
Try to meet/connect or deepen a connection with at least three people every time you attend a conference. Small talk is for small people. There are so many exciting things to talk about — take a page from Vanessa Van Edwards and ask fun…
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