One of my favourite things that I do in my role with the company is spend time on the vision for its direction and growth. An important part of this role is to attend industry events, learn what is happening in the real estate space, and make sure that our company is moving in that direction so we can service the needs of our clients.

I recently spent time at the RealTrends Innovation conference in Dallas and wanted to share some of my notes and thoughts. First off, what an excellent conference! The format of panel discussion and round tables really facilitated the discussion that I heard and I am constantly impressed by the willingness of people in our industry to share their thoughts and experiences. This was one takeaway in that I think a number of you should look at using as a format in your own office meetings. While a portion of your meeting obviously has to be dedicated to passing along information on how you want your company to be run, what a great idea it would be to share the knowledge of your agents in a positive way.

One of the secrets, it was clear from listening, was that top agents are really committed to the growth and quality of their industry and are surprisingly a lot more willing to share the secrets of their success than most people would think.

Another great take away was how much technology has ripped apart the social fabric of real estate offices. This was masked by the real estate boom that was rolling along. So while things were going great in the business, internet, email and other technology was breaking the bond that the agents had with the office. The point that I got from all of this was that the real estate brokerage needs to embrace technology and put the programs in place that put the office back in the centre of the real estate world.

We need to be re-creating what used to happen in our bricks and mortar offices in cyberspace. Putting yourselves back in a relevant position to the agent needs is critical to running a successful brokerage.

Thank you for your continued partnership with us and good luck.

Lorne C. Wallace C.A.
President