Online or Classroom Learning: The Debate Continues

A commentary by Susan Harrison, Sr VP Web Development, EXIT Realty Corp. International

The article in RISMedia The State of Sales Training in America reminded me of conversation I had with Jeff Lobb at the Inman Conference last week.  Jeff is EXIT Realty's Technology Specialist and he has the rare skill of being fluent in both English and Tech, making sense of today's fast-paced technology for EXIT Realty agents across North America.

As we mulled over the day's sessions, Jeff spontaneously launched into a role play of how our EXIT e-Listings technology can be used in a listing appointment.  It was inspired!  Jeff, who is a real estate sales representative and a franchisee as well as a tekkie, demonstrated in that moment why internet-based learning can never replace the face-to-face experience.  Real estate is a people business, not a technology business.  The value of what Jeff demonstrated is how to take the technology knowledge and actually apply it in a one-on-one situation.   

Having said that, there is obviously value in the online learning experience too.  Jeff regularly participates in our monthly hour-long webinars with topics such is "5 Things You Should Be Doing with Technology."  Useful information - but that's all it is, information.  What good is all that information if you lack the skills to use it in your interactions with people?  Apparently the Unix Programmer's Manual states, "Now that we have all this useful information, it would be nice to do something with it. (Actually, it can be emotionally fulfilling just to get the information.  This is usually only true, however, if you have the social life of a kumquat)."   

Knowing how to tweet or update your facebook page doesn't mean you have an effective listing presentation!  Taking the information and acquiring the skills to apply it to your dealings with the public happens in the classroom setting like Jeff's popular course, not online.  As the RISMedia article quoted Dr. Lambert, "knowledge transfer on the web [is] effective, skills transfer [is] not."