From the desk of 2019 RRC President Richard Waystack, CRS
Sell-a-bration® 2020 may be over, but everyone who attended will enjoy the benefits of stronger relationships for a long time to come.
Building relationships is an RRC cornerstone, and it’s what the annual Sell-a-bration conference is all about. The best and brightest, regardless of years as a REALTOR®, come together to share insightful education, unique networking opportunities and boundless possibilities for professional growth.
I met one attendee who was only seven days into our industry. One week! He got to know some of our top-producing agents and industry leaders, and he returned home with a support network that usually takes years to build. A day later, I spotted a longtime friend who’s been in our business for four decades. She sat in a session’s front row, taking copious notes. I saw a teacher/student relationship evolving, and if desired, that veteran REALTOR® now has a connection that promotes picking up the phone, contacting this instructor and continuing the discussion. These kinds of career-changing opportunities abound at Sell-a-bration.
The common thread here is that there’s always something new and inspiring to learn as a REALTOR®. And we need to take advantage of every opportunity for growth—from actively seeking longer-term, committed, mentor-mentee relationships to mingling with peers at a premier RRC event to enrolling in an RRC educational course.
It’s a philosophy that tied right into one of Sell-a-bration’s keynote speakers, Scott Stratten, author of five best-selling business books and an international speaker dedicated to helping audiences intelligently bridge the business gap between the virtual and real-worlds. His session, Unmarketing: Stop Marketing, Start Engaging, took education to a personal level. With his comfortable speaking style, Stratten drove home the continued importance of establishing relationships person-to-person instead of text-to-text. It’s the theme you’ll hear me emphasizing throughout 2020 as RRC President: We are all about relationships, communication and trust!
I think the session was a wakeup call for many of us in the audience. It was a reminder that developing a brand is an essential business strategy, but at the end of the day, our clients and co-workers expect to engage with us as people. We can’t lose sight of who we are and what we have to offer, as a team leader in the office or an expert resource for our clients.
There’s another—and maybe less discussed—reason to build relationships with educators, leaders, peers and mentors in our industry. As you keep learning, you hear about new business strategies, but you also hear welcome validation for what you’re already doing. You don’t have to doubt yourself, wondering if you’re following best practices. You know you are. That’s a nice place to be. And when you share what you know about best practices with others on your team back home, everyone is in a better place.
