I’m Grateful for my CRS Family

I’m Grateful for my CRS Family

As one of my entries in Debbie Reynolds’ Thanksgiving Challenge I wanted to share my thanks for my CRS family.

I’ve been a CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) since late 2005 – a lot less time than many but certainly more than others. The training for obtaining the CRS was top notch, and I have continued to take classes, listen to webinars, and attend the annual Sellabration Convention in February of each year (there were about 1000 attendees at this event in 2018 in at the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center in Dallas…continuing education at its best!)

I’m thankful for all I have learned, and continue to learn, as a result of being a CRS and being active at the state and national level for a number of years on committees, attending regional, local and national meetings, and serving on the state Board of Directors.

I’m especially grateful for the CRSs I’ve met in person around the country, for so many reasons.

Certainly there have been the inbound and outbound referrals each year, with hopefully many more to come. Each event I attend allows me to meet more CRSs and add them to my database; hopefully my name gets added to theirs!

I know CRSs in probably every major metro area and other communities (a number of them are also ActiveRain members…a double bonus!) so I can help my clients as well as others they know around the country who need help with buying and selling.

The CRS family has been a wonderful source of education - I’ve learned a lot about the business, especially marketing and lead generation, from talking with other CRSs over the years (sounds like AR, doesn’t it?). I’ve found them very willing to not only share what they are doing in their businesses that is working, but to pass along checklists, postcards, flyers, and other items that are part of their marketing. No sense in recreating the wheel if you don’t have to, and it’s great to have something to personalize and make it fit your style and local market!

I’m in a CRS Mastermind group and have been since 2014! Currently there are 6 of us (2 in CA, including 1 in the north; NC; TX; and 2 in Florida). Our monthly sessions are always inspiring, with shared ideas for our respective markets, help on solving problems, and just plain friendship and emotional support. Some of our sessions are more structured than others, but the learning is always tremendously helpful, and a lot of fun, too! We also try to get together as a group when we are at national meetings.

I just came back from the Annual November CRS meetings in Boston, and it was such fun to catch up with my CRS friends (and a number of AR friends, too, at our meet-up!!), make some new acquaintances (nationally and internationally), and learn a few things. It was obvious, once again, how much I appreciate my CRS family and how grateful I am to have these wonderful relationships, and some pretty close friendships, too.