Seminar or Infomercial ?

I had the opportunity to sit through a "Marketing seminar " earlier today that was sponsored by Realtor.com .  Having been to many of these events in the past I always expect the customary pitch toward the end and I have absolutely no problem with that as this was a free event with coffee and danish being served and I always pull a few valuable items from them . What happened was an hour and a half into it I started to get that Uh-Oh feeling, you know that uncomfortable here we go type thing.  You can notice a general squirming start to take place as I was sitting in the back and could watch the whole room.  As the infomercial continued more and more people got up and attended to things outside the room but came back in.

Having used their services for years I have had my good and bad experiences but still believe in their system albeit a little expensive. You couldn't help but get a sense of desperation on their part for the longer and heavier than normal sales pitch to buy their products. Just for the hell of it I posted a Facebook post about being at the seminar and was immediately responded to by a colleague in my market that " I should watch my wallet , the last time he left one of their seminars he was $6000 lighter" . I thought about how I might be perceived by my clients and customers, do I give them that Uh-Oh feeling and do I make them feel like they want to leave the room . I will note the speaker was very knowledgeable and was a true professional so it wasn't boring.

There were a few messages that came across during the morning and one was: in a tough economy I have to step up much of my personal interactions. and the second is that you cant expect too much for nothing. The bottom line is to keep seeking to learn and to take what you can use and leave the rest.

Look forward to the next East Coast Rain Camp.

Have a safe and happy 4th !

Dave