Are you heading to Keller Williams Family Reunion 2013? This can be a scary few days with so much going on. I thought I could take a moment and help save you the confusion.

My name is Chad Hyams, and I have attended Keller Williams Family Reunion in many roles…

• Agent
• Team Leader
• Vendor with IMSD 
• MAPS Coach

Let me start by congratulating you on making the wise business choice to attend Family Reunion 2013.

Family Reunion Survival Guide!

Family Reunion 2013 has sold out! If you are reading this and you have not yet booked a hotel rooms, find someone to bunk up with. No flights? Start driving now! No money? Put it on the credit card, as it will pay dividends forever!

If you are still choosing not to go, make sure you still check out what you are missing so you can start planning for next year. Start putting a small amount aside each month so you are ready for 2014 and of course follow the hashtag #KWFR.

Before you get near the airplane for your trip to Dallas (or in your car if you live close enough) visit FamilyReunion.KW.com and check out the breakout schedule. Take the time now to figure out the 2 sessions you want to attend in each block. This will save you hours of panic at the last moment and save you from running from room to room not sure what it is that you are hoping to learn.

Now that we have that part covered let’s jump into what to expect from a Keller Williams Family Reunion event.

Make The Most Of Your Time at Family Reunion

Plan on some organized chaos. There will be in the area of 10,000 real estate agents running around the Dallas Convention Center.

In the morning, you'll make your way through the maze of exhibitors (more on them later) and head for the early breakout sessions. Don't miss the 7:30am sessions. These sessions are filled with the same fanatastic information as the sessions later in the day, they just don't have as many people at them because they are early. This will give you a chance to network even more and get a chance to possible engage more with the presenter.

To get the most out of the sessions at Keller Williams Family Reunion you must have an open mind. The agents that walk away with their notes and saying things like “I can’t wait to give this a shot” are the ones that will grow their business. The agents that walk out with their notes saying, “this will never work in my city” are the ones that should have just stayed home. Open your mind and be ready to learn from those that are making it happen.

The biggest challenge that many attendees have is that they get so many notes and ideas that they just don’t know where to start. Between sessions and at the end of the day, quickly look over your notes and circle The ONE Thing (like the tie in?) that jumps out at you. Only implement a small batch of new ideas when you get back and you will have much better focus.

Agents who attempt to put everything they learn into practice can end up worse off then where they started!

Family Reunion Exhibit Hall

As soon as you get to the exhibit hall, do the quick trick or treat walk. What is the trick or treat walk? That is when you zip up and down the aisles to each booth and grab whatever they are giving away (anything from pens to magnets to candy) and make sure you grab their information handouts. Just like on Halloween you always remember the house with the big candy bar.

Decide what your budget is for new services, software, marketing, and other items at the show and have a plan as to what you are looking to take home with you.  (Warning shameless plug coming up)o tell the other kids to visit! Make notes on which vendors you want to visit later.

The best times to meet with vendors are early in the morning (the booths open at 8am), over the lunch break since everyone else will run to eat (more on that below), or where there isn't a breakout session that you click with. Don’t forget to say hello to the companies you’re already using!

• Are you needing KW branded clothing? Leave room in your suitcase
• Are you wanting some great reading? Hit the KW bookstore
• Are you looking for some outside training opportunities? Come visit the IMSD team (I warned you this was coming)

Realtors are all looking for the new magic bullet. Listen to the experts speaking on panels and in breakout sessions and you will recognize that there are no magic bullets. The principle is work, work, work and you should keep that in mind as you shop, shop, shop. Find things that work and generate more business for you... those are the things to invest in on the exhibit floor.

Group Sessions

You do not want to miss the large sessions offered at Family Reunion. You will notice that nothing competes with these on the adgenda. We are talking about:

• Cultural Summit - Saturday 10:00am-11:30am
• Gary Keller's Special Session - Saturday 12:15pm-5:15pm (you must have registered early enough for the special ticket to this event)
• Special Speaker - JR Martinez - Sunday 8:00am-9:45am
• State of the Company - Sunday 3:30pm-5:30pm
• Vision Speech - Monday 9:00am-11:30am
• Keynote Speaker - Dave Ramsey - Tuesday 9:00am-11:00am

During these large sessions, plan in advance where your group is going to meet. This is the time to catch up with the people you came to the event with.

 

When Sessions Are Out

Lunch break is a madhouse! The best thing to do is bring a power bar and take advantage of the quieter time on the exhibit floor. If you plan to take advantage of the lunch provided on Monday and Tuesday make sure you are sitting at a table with agents you do not know. Network and share aha's with new faces and make some new friends, and referral connections.

The event never ends as Keller Williams Family Reunion just turns into an all night party. Remember that while you are out, you still have more to learn at the 7:30am session the next morning and anything that happens at KWFR probably ends up on Facebook before the night is over! Be smart and be safe. When in doubt, check out the hotel lobby and see which one become "the" place to be.

Inspirational Brunch

This part of Family Reunion deserves its own section. Always held for brunch on the last day, Mo Anderson shares with everyone some amazing stories. Before you head back home to your family, to your business, and to impliment all of the things that you learned, come share. This event should be sponsored by Kleenex as you will hear tales of hardship, loss, and disaster and all of it will end with overcoming a challenge. Learn how KW Cares is able to help so many of our "family" across the world.

Get there early as seats fill. Take this last chance to share a special moment with someone you don't know as you will be able to relive the stories with your traveling partners when you get back home. 

A Few More Tips

One of the things that Keller Williams promotes is sharing and Family Reunion is no different. Use the power of Twitter and remember the hashtag #KWFR. Share with each other, find each other and share with those that were unable to join the event in person.

Make the most of this event by setting goals for Keller Williams Family Reunion

• What do you want to learn about?
• Who are you hoping to meet and get a moment to talk with?
• What do you need to find out about in the exhibit hall and what should you avoid spending money on?

Bring business cards, hand out business cards and remember the lessons that Gary Keller has been teaching us since Keller Williams began…it is all about collecting business cards to add to your database! You'll also want cards to enter all of the iPad drawings on the exhibit floor. 

 

Please Share This Blog and Add Your Comments

If you found this blog helpful, please share it with your Market Center, share it on Facebook and Twitter, or email it on to other Keller Williams agents.  

We know that you've got some veteran conference tips, too, so please be sure to add your advice in the comments in below for Keller Williams agents who have never attended Family Reunion

I can’t wait to see you all at Keller Williams Family Reunion 2013 and hope you will come find me to say hello! If not, I will see you online!
 

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The IMSD Team
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