It seems that real estate conferences and in-person networking events, in general, are coming back stronger than ever post-covid. If you’ve been a traditional realtor for years, you already know how inspiring and career-boosting a real estate conference can be. Regardless of your tenure in the industry, it’s wise to prepare long before the event date arrives to get the most out of your experience and your investment. Here, we’ll share strategies for maximizing the impact of your conference so you can reap its benefits months (and even years) after it’s over.

Set Clear Goals

What’s the focus or theme of your upcoming real estate conference, and how do your goals fit into that picture? Here are some examples of goals you might consider. Narrow them down to just one or two so you can stay focused when the event arrives:

• To learn more about a specific topic or skill. Is it house-flipping, home staging, commercial real estate, or high-end real estate? Is there a business skill you’d like to have or hone? Conferences are a great source of insider knowledge for a range of niche topics.
• To earn a certification or complete a formal course.
• To fill your marketing and sales pipeline with potential buyers. Similarly, you may have a specific marketing goal, like spreading your own brand awareness as you make your debut in the industry or speaking to people in a new market to get a feel for what they need and want.
• To connect with a specific person — is there a keynote speaker, instructor, or other colleague that you want to know better?

Once you’ve chosen a goal, narrow it down to a “SMART” goal: make it specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive.

Research Key Attendees

You don’t need to be an expert on everyone at the conference. However, take some time to read about the keynote speaker, presenters, hosting organization, and other influential people who will attend. With your goal in mind, identify which attendees you’d like to know better and make a plan to interact with them.

Hone Communication Skills

Communication is, arguably, the central purpose of any professional conference. With real estate (an industry composed of confident, ambitious, and often extroverted individuals), communication is everything. Brush up on your communication skills before the conference by practicing the following tips with your current clients, colleagues, and others:

• Initiate a conversation in a genuine way. Nobody likes a pitch from someone they just met. Introduce yourself, and try using a “FORD” question (family, occupation, recreation, dreams) to make the other person comfortable. A simple “what do you do?” is often a good opening line at professional conferences.
• Dialogue, don’t monologue. When you’re an expert in something, it’s easy to fall into a monologue on the subject you know about — but resist the urge. Above all, you’re here to learn about and from others.
• Solve, don’t persuade. While this is common advice for salespeople of all sorts, it bears repeating here. When you meet a prospect at a conference, take the time to learn about their lives and problems so you can offer solutions.

Leverage Technology 

You’ve already seen how text communication, drone photography, real estate websites, and other technological trends have shaped the industry over the last couple of decades. Why not leverage technology to get the most out of your real estate conference, too? For example, many professionals are utilizing digital business cards to stay organized and make follow-ups easier. 

If you’re not already active on major social media apps, now is the best time to get started. 57% of Realtors use social media apps daily, and it’s no wonder — it’s a great way to stay in touch with your contacts on the platforms they prefer. 

Take Notes

Whether you’re a pen-and-paper purist or a digital notetaker, log key moments in the day as they arise. Give context to your scribbles. You might think it’s impossible to forget broker Dave with the red suit and your eye-opening conversation about sushi after the keynote, but most real estate events involve an incredible amount of stimuli. It only takes a couple of seconds to jot down notes, and those couple of seconds could result in a major win later.

If you’re attending the conference with a team, decide in advance how and where you’ll take collaborative notes and who, if anyone, will be in charge of consolidating or organizing them. Determine an action plan, as well, for what you’ll do with your notes when the conference is over. If the answer is “chuck them in a drawer,” you need a strategy!

Don’t Leave the Conference at the Conference

It’s common for conference attendees — in real estate and otherwise — to leave a conference with high energy and excitement, only to let that energy fizzle out as everyone returns to regular life. And while you will certainly retain a lot of the information you take in, it’s impossible to process all of it at the actual conference. Here’s your post-conference to-do list:

• Prioritize. Return to your initial goal for the conference. What did you come here to do, and did you achieve it? What are your next steps?

• • Follow up with urgent contacts. Not all connections will require an immediate follow-up, so this is where your stellar note-taking pays off. Call, text, or email connections that are high-priority to you, then make a plan for your other contacts. Will some be added to a specific marketing mailing list? Will more general contacts receive a blanket follow-up email that it was a pleasure to meet them at the conference?
• Stay in touch. Follow new contacts on social media and keep conversations going beyond the conference.

Novices and seasoned real estate pros alike can always benefit from a little extra preparation and intentionality at professional conferences, so take these strategies to heart and hone them to fit your professional goals. We know you’ll leave a lasting impression while unlocking new opportunities — and hopefully, you’ll have fun, too!