As I'm sure you can already tell, the Charleston Association of Realtors hosted their annual trade show. This year it was themed, Plugged-in Tech Fair & Trade Show. First Impressions Home Staging & Interior ReDesign sponsored the Realtor of Distinction luncheon, a 40 minute breakout session and of course we also had a booth in the show.
I'm not one who loves speaking in public - particularly with a microphone. While I am used to giving presentations in offices, the trade show today for some reason had me a little nervous. (I really do think it was the microphone.... it feels so different than just speaking to people.) I do feel that educating agents is an important part of the job & since CTAR asked me to speak last summer I definately felt it was a necessity. My nervousness increased when the chairman of the event came up to me (about 30 minutes prior) and advised me that he had been told by several agents that they actually came to the event to hear us speak! That said, it was a great event!
Bevin & I had hoped for about 20 people, but had closer to 40. There were 33 chairs and during parts of it had at least 10 people standing in the back. (We even had other area stagers in attendance taking notes during our presentation!) We covered the basics of what staging is/is not, creating neutrality without removing style, owner occupied staging, vacant staging, cost, stats, etc. We ran a little long - unfortunately running into the registration and check-in for the Realtor of Distinction luncheon - but still the majority of the listeners stayed. (Most of those that left actually came by and talked to us at length after the luncheon.)
We stayed, missing the initial speakers and agent recognitions, to speak with at least 6 listeners. We have several appointments booked directly from the break-out (not to mention others from the booth). Education really is the key. Education and presence!
As Bevin has already said in her blog, REALTOR Trade Shows - You have to do them! Whether you are new to the industry or a seasoned pro, you need to invest in your business and have a presence with your target market!
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