Women's Council of Realtors Marketing to Women Summit
Marriott Chicago Downtown, March 20 - 22, 2009
Bobbi Blades, ABR, CRS, GRI, PMN, RRS, E-Pro
What a whirlwind of information and networking! This Summit was truly designed to bring it all together in one spot. Beginning with the Networking and PMN class, moving on to a welcome reception and moving to a huge Agent Open House at one of the new high rise properties in Chicago, One Museum Park Place, hosted by the Illinois State WCR Chapter. What an excellent way to gain feedback on what you are selling.
Saturday began early with the Summit Welcome and Breakfast series which gave us the numbers and information regarding Women and their buying habits and styles. Did you know that women are the single largest growing segment of home buyers? We always knew that women made the major decisions on home purchasing. Why aren't we marketing to a woman's needs? Trust and current up to date information and education are paramount to building a relationship with women.
The morning speakers were Vickie Austin of Choices Worldwide, www.choicesworldwide.com, who encouraged us to develop our own Posse (that would be trusted business partners and friends) with emphasis on "Women Who Mean Business;" Marilyn Moats Kennedy, www.MoatsKennedy.com, shared information regarding "Cross Generational Marketing to Women" and how our thought and approach to purchasing large ticket item change. Our Luncheon Speaker, Marti Barletta, www.TrendSight.com, spoke on "GendertrendsTM The Perfect Answer for Building Sales and Profit."
The afternoon was full of Learning Labs to choose from. Your fearless Krewe attended several so that we could bring all of the information back to you to use. Vickie Austin led "The Brand Called You"; Barbara Safran led "Seven Mistakes to Avoid in Personal Marketing" where she explained how to begin to differentiate you from other Realtors and addressed the seven constraints which interfere with women marketing themselves and their products. Nancy Farkas led "Marketing for Referrals." All packed full of valuable information to assist us in achieving the maximum results in our marketing efforts. Saturday evening we were on our own. Networking brings the reward of having the time to develop your own relationship with others from around the country. I and 12 other venturous Realtors chose to attend the Broadway Production of "The Jersey Boys", the story of Frankie Vallie. We sang through the production and keep on singing all the way back to the Hotel. What fun.
Sunday brought 3 more labs to attend. Yes, we had to split up again. Jo Kenney spoke about "Single and Buying: Today's Growing Demographic "- yes, it is women. Her facts, figures and information were/are invaluable; Amy Chorew, www.AmyChorew.com, spoke on "Reaching the Online Female Consumer" and gave us incredible information and tips on social marketing and how to reach out to women who are in the process of researching potential real estate purchases. Candy Kelly spoke on "A Competitive Advantage: Positioning Yourself in Today's Marketplace." Jim DeLizia summed it all up for us and gave us tools to use to implement what we learned and how to put it in place.
Throughout the whole process we had time to discuss the labs with one another and with the presenters. We had great discussion and brainstorming sessions. Everyone was open to giving examples of how their marketing efforts worked within the framework of the information given, and/or how their marketing could be modified and refined to work more efficiently with higher, measurable results.
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