RETSO Refocus Recap
Last week, I joined AR members Bob Stewart, Lane Bailey, Jordan Wheeler, Jim Crawford, Bonnie Lelak and Charlie Ragonesi at RETSO Refocus in Duluth, GA. As promised, the 2013 event by Real Estate Technology South was anything but the usual pitch-fest-slash-expo that many real estate events seem to be these days. RETSO Refocus brought the person-to-person conversations and idea-sharing out of the hallway and into the conference room, where nationally and locally known speakers used “The Business Model Canvas” to guide participants through a series of in-conference work sessions designed to help us each transform our business in 2013.
The problem for some attendees was that they could not make a connection between the past technological focus of the event, and this year’s more cerebral focus. This year’s conference was about thought leadership, strategic development, and innovation of models and practices within our industry.
So, why the switch in focus anyway? Organizers put it this way:
“Understanding how you relate to customers–and for what purpose–is the difference between collecting an ad hoc grab bag of technology and putting together a system that allows you to consistently advance and dominate your market “
This type of innovation-oriented training is familiar to many of us who had corporate or bureaucratic careers prior to launching our real estate businesses. I used to love attending these things. Of course, back then, “the company” usually paid our way and benefitted from what we brought back. As owners of our own businesses, we now have to foot our own bill for training and development opportunities like this one. For full disclosure’s sake, I confess that I did not have to pay this time, as a guest and representative of this community of professionals. But if I had bought a ticket, I would not be mad.
Admittedly, there were others in attendance who did not share my view. I noticed many eyes glazing over shortly after lunch on Thursday. More than once I heard attendees lament, “I’m still trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be getting from all this,” and by Friday morning, the ranks of survivors had shrunk somewhat.
But I had the advantage of “newbieness” working for me, and did not expect anything beyond what was promised by our sponsoring Georgia MLS:
“Clarify your strategy, increase innovation, reduce risk, and discover what your customers really want by attending the RETSO conference on April 4th and 5th at the Gwinnett Center.”
That’s what I expected, and what I got. Some technology is as simple as a pencil and a canvas to draw on. At RETSO Refocus, I was handed these two tools at the registration table and assured they were all I would need to get the most out of the next two days. They were right.
I got a working knowledge of a pretty amazing tool to help me and my team strategize the moves and systems that will take us higher in the coming shifted market. That, and an opportunity to spend some quality time and exchange ideas with other members of our community, (and of course, the overnight hotel stay with a nice HOT jacuzzi at the end of the day), all made for time well-spent. I’d do it again.
I promised this community that I would share what I learned, and I will. It was a lot to digest, but I took good notes just for you. The model consists of nine actionable blocks in which to visualize and strategize every part of your business. So, look for a series of posts over the next few days that will break down “The Business Model Canvas” block-by-block from this agent’s point of view.
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