Testify

There was a church revival session atmosphere in the air during the final wrap-up session at Real Estate Connect San Francisco, as Inman News founder and publisher Bradley Inman asked for feedback from the crowd on what they'd learned and where to pick up the discussion next time.

There seemed to be a general consensus from the audience and panelists that Connect helped people grasp the Web 2.0 evolution away from simple lead generation to establishing credibility and broadcasting a personality online using social networking tools, video and blogs.

Diane Cohn of Chase International Reno Sparks Real Estate got up from the audience and said she's closed $10 million in business in the last year, and that 95 percent of it came from her blog. Cohn said being a "first mover" and starting a blog in the Reno market two years ago means she now "owns the space." Cohn had to bring on another contributor to her Reno Realty Blog, "because I had so much going on I couldn't handle it."

Panelist Sherry Chris, chief operating officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., said she was "blown away" by the energy and enthusiasm of the real estate bloggers who gathered at Connect. She said blogging gives agents the opportunity to "become part of the whole social networking scene that today's consumers are looking for."

The challenge, Chris said, it transmitting that energy and enthusiasm into action. "I've found in my experience that a lot of people come back from a conference, and don't do anything" with what they've learned, Chris said. "I just want to challenge the audience to go back and do it."

As someone accountable for 120,000 agents, Chris said, there's also a need to do a better job training. Coldwell banker uses Webex conferences and podcasts, because "the appetite for staying in training sessions for eight hours is not there, particularly with new agents who want to get out there" and sell homes. The key, she said, is not just to train agents on what to do, but to show them "the value proposition and why to use it."

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