For the third part of my recap blog I figured I’d give a preview of the additional events that you take part of and sights that you see when attending the NAR end of year convention. The days don’t just end when the classes wrap up around 4 or 5 pm. There are all sorts of events that take place throughout the day and into the evening. There are meetings with vendors, the expo, parties, and even political events for those working their way up through the NAR ranks.
First let’s take a look at maybe my favorite thing to attend, the expo. This massive event goes on each day from usually the later morning until the early evening. It’s huge, there are hundreds of vendors there and it ranges from franchises, to software companies, to banks, to jewelry displays, to scarf dealers. About 90% of it is real-estate relevant, the other 10% (jewelry, scarves, massaging chairs) are there because they’re insanely popular and low cost. I usually buy a few scarves (cashmere for $10). What I really like to see though are the innovative tech companies and to meet up and discuss with vendors who are service providers to the Missoula Organization of Realtors. The trend that I’ve noticed with tech vendors right now is using technology to help agents with CRM and time management. There were a lot of client data-base software companies and even many of the franchises were showing off their own CRM tools. Additionally there were many vendors who are rolling out platforms to integrate various digital signature programs together with pre-existing forms software.
Additionally at the expo what you see is that the “big banks” of the real estate world usually have the largest displays. I tend to avoid those for the most part. Bank of America has this giant castle-like thing that you walk into, last year when I was in Anaheim they had velvet ropes around some of the entries in fact. Inside there’s couches, flat screen TVs, and a stage with about 20 seats for presentations. It strikes me as over the top. Wells Fargo also has a huge display but they go a different route, with carnival games and prizes. Wells’ booth is much more inviting, it’s wide open, and there’s usually a lot of excitement with people competing for prizes. True to the carnival sense as well the prizes are silly, blankets, stuffed animals, etc. But it gives Wells a chance to get in front of many Realtors on a more fun wavelength. Chase has a giant booth that I mostly ignore since they don’t have local lenders in Missoula as well but they’re usually giving a car or an iPad away… hourly… or something.
Beyond the expo which is constant insanity, NAR offers large-scale evening events for Realtors to unwind in the evenings. Every year there’s a concert, I missed this one (Glenn Frey), and there’s usually a night out event as well. This year NAR had rented out for one evening a section of the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. It was a fun evening going on a few rides (Harry Potter was the best) and getting a good chance to unwind and have a few drinks with friends.
The other interesting thing that happens most evenings are the political events. And when I say political I’m talking about NAR politics, those running for NAR president or other top-offices. There’s mixers, dinners, meetings, etc. This year by random chance I attended an event for Tom Salamone who is running for NAR president, I think for 2016 or 2017. It had great food and free drinks, so I was happy. I went there with some people much more important than me who needed to be seen and present at this event. (Our region, region 12, has endorsed Salamone). At one point someone commented to me, “I can’t believe who is coming out of the woodwork here, this is fascinating.” To which got a good smile and nod from me because I knew about 3 people in a room full of 250 people. NAR top-level politics is a big thing, there’s a lot of support money and efforts put into getting a candidate elected. It does not compare at all to what I’ve seen with local and state elections. It takes years (3 or 4 I think) to become president once elected and years before that campaign. Take Salamone for example, I first saw him in 2010 as he began his run for NAR president and his nomination just happened in Orlando, and the election for him will happen in May of 2013 I believe. He’ll then be president 3 or 4 years later… that’s just nuts.
What I missed this time around at convention was the individual vendor meetings. In many conventions before our AE and the president or Missoula delegation would meet with your current vendors (MLS, security software, lockboxes, etc). Being that I’m not the president and that MOR doesn’t have any contracts coming up soon the opportunity for the 1 on 1 meetings just wasn’t needed this time. Usually that’s a fun thing to do, the vendors usually have new bells and whistles to show off. On the other sides the AE and president usually get to negotiate with the vendors to have monthly fees cut back, one time fees waived, or other cost-saving/add-on building measures as well.
All-in-all I enjoyed my time in Orlando. I feel that I’ve taken a lot away to help me continually be a better leader at MOR and I feel that through the information I shared back through these blog posts and through my facebook updates that I helped offer an easy channel for our members to also get more educated.
Comments (2)Subscribe to CommentsComment