“Agent ReBoot” and “Inman News Real Estate Connect”
Agent Reboot can be described as, an action packed day full of panels and speakers introducing you to the “best marketing and technology available.” (quote from: agentreboot.com/page/Agent-Reboot-2012-San-Francisco)

Inman News Real Estate Connect description, “… a must-attend [real estate] conference that brings together the biggest names in the real estate and technology industries twice yearly in New York and San Francisco.” (quote from: realestateconnect.com/sf11/)

Heather O here, aka the Marketing Bossy Pants of our real estate team … I thought I might share my recent adventure to Agent Reboot and Inman News Real Estate Connect (it was the first time I had attended either event). I know blog posts are supposed to be brief, but I’m disregarding this rule as there’s too much to cover. I’ll try to put extra “jazz hands” to keep you entertained for the entire post. 🙂

Originally, I was only going to attend Agent Reboot, an awesome one-day event, but I did opt last minute to also attend Inman News Real Estate Connect (which would last through that Friday – three more days). Many are not familiar with what Inman is, nor are they familiar with the events of Inman News Real Estate Connect and Agent Reboot … click the event names to learn more about these this real estate conference. 

So during my debate of deciding, “should I go one day or do the entire conference” – my awesome husband and team member Steve O, was encouraging me to go to both events …

Steve: “Heather, you need to go, I can cover for you and the kids. I know you’ll enjoy it. Plus not sure if you heard, but you’re having a baby in December and it might put you out of commission for a bit. Have some fun and go.”

Me: * thinking * What type of work load will I return to and I will most certainly return to the inevitable “husband-in-charge household” consisting of kids living on fast-food and a destroyed household

Well I’m happy to write, I thought both events were fantastic and I’m glad I attended both events. I’m not saying I’ll do it every year, but this year, with expanding and managing our team, an office move (oy), full work load, two kids and pregnancy – I needed a shot in the arm. So a special thank you to Ambassador Laura Monroe for all of your help and guidance

What drove me to go?
I needed inspiration, motivation, and also to be around some new bodies that craving inspiration to improve themselves (and team) and looking to continue their on-going real estate education. Plus I find talking with other professionals, you will always take away something from just discussing the ups and downs of our full-time business.

My week was full of some great real estate “nerd nuggets” and some “so-so sessions” (some could stand for a female agent perspective IMO and/or actual producing agent feedback along with the vendors) … but always amazing general sessions. But my favorite parts were the after-hours and lunch-time dialogue that inevitably arose either about or on the topic of the speaker(s) or just folks we had encountered through out the day. Flashback to session (me): “Seriously buddy, in my session, the moderator asked for your QUESTION, not your life story or your wienietasmic success story, ya horn-tooter!” <– sorry vent done. 😉

So how does this translate to a positive for our clients?
For myself, it’s a matter of keeping my mind sharp, learning new tools, and perhaps learning more effective ways of running my business more effectively. From all the brainstorming within sessions and from listening to different speakers, I was inspired to try new items that are promising for both my real estate team and also for our clients. Steve and I (as are our entire team), are dedicated to continuing our education on all levels … whether involvement on real estate boards, attending classes, or going to conferences.

A HUGE Highlight at Agent Reboot —
I was Interviewed by an Amazing Panel for “Anatomy of an Agent”
So a few days before the big conference, I receive an email from Katie Lance (Director of Social Media, Inman News) asking me to be on the “Anatomy of an Agent” panel at Agent Reboot. ~ This was my very first Inman conference … was I ready for this? So I ask Katie what the interrogation would be covering and she stated (paraphrasing) that there would be an analysis of my website and online presence (including a few social media sites). ~ I could not pass up an opportunity to be critiqued from four different pros on how we were approaching our business online.

So to Katie, I quickly say … “Sure I’ll be your agent interview ‘guinea pig!'”

I think it went really well and you can see the ‘play-by-play’ here (3:06). Luckily the “pros” did not slice and dice me like agent sushi and I survived and came away with invaluable feedback. Katie, thank you sincerely for the opportunity and a huge thank you to all the panelists – not only helpful, but funny and sweet!

Thank you Linda Aaron for the beautiful picture!

Meet the Panelists for “Anatomy of an Agent”
Moderator: Katie Lance, Social Media Director & Contributing Editor, InmanNext, Inman News, @katielance and @InmanNext
Panelists (L to R): Brad Andersohn, Zillow, @BradAndersohn • Stephen Pacinelli, Move, Inc., @stevepacinelli ( Tech Savvy Agent ) • Wendy Forsythe, Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate (CA), Inc., @BrandWendy • Glenn Sanford, eXp Realty LLC, @ceoglenn

So Fast-Forward to Post-Conference – What’s My Take Away?
I feel more motivated, I have learned new tools (both personally and technical), I have learned the art of the vendor ditch (not the cool / awesome booth ones, the predatory tech vampires that troll as “average conference-go’ers” at the event), I have made some new incredible friends, and I have listened to some of the best in the real estate industry (and some outside of our industry, that bring great “mind fruit” to the table). I look forward to my next real estate conference and hopefully another Inman Real Estate Connect.

Finally, one of my favorite take-aways was getting connected with a powerful group of ladies – opinionated, kind, funny, and hard-working – MY TYPE of ladies. I just want to say thank you to these ladies because they have put a fire back in me. For people questioning these conferences, if this was the only thing I took away from the event, it made it worth it. We exchanged ideas, expressed work concerns, and developed suggestions / resolution to items burning in our brains to help our industry work more smoothly. Thank you Linda, Anne, Chavi and Kim! I love you ladies.

Cheers till the next time we see each other again (post-hatch) and a big thank you for the memories, knowledge, laughs, and inspiration this week to all that I met and spoke with this week! And another thank you to the Inman staff for a wonderful event ~ Heather O

I’m a biased Coldwell Banker Girl (sorry for this nerdtasmic shout) – I love my Coldwell Banker crew
Top Row (the tallies): David Marine, Matt Case (W.+No. Michigan), Chavi M. Hohm (Seattle); Bottom Row: Linda Aaron (Seattle), Kim V. Colaprete (Seattle), Anne Jones (Tacoma)

RosevilleAndRocklin.com • Heather Ostrom, Marketing Bossy Pants • Coldwell Banker Sun Ridge