Real Estate Views from St Pete

Most attendees of NAR conventions talk about all of the inside benefits: the trade show, with the opportunity to see new products and services, and to talk with existing suppliers; the international networking; the wide variety of educational opportunities from classes to renowned speakers to panels of experts in the field. For us, there is as much, if not more, value outside the convention. Many groups we belong to have functions outside the planned program - a luxury agents' cocktail party, a dinner with Allen Hainge's CyberStars, a meeting of ActiveRainers. It's coffee with a colleague from thousands of miles away; it's the conversation over after dinner drinks in the lounge; it's the relationships deepened and started. It's getting new ideas for your market, getting stimulation, getting out of the box. One year we never even made it to the trade shows or a single educational session, but came home with lots of valuable ideas and content. 

Sharon Simms, Real Estate Agent serving St. Petersburg, Florida, the Gulf Beaches and the Tampa Bay area.