Where Real Estate Gets Its Dirt

A (full) day in the life of Gregg Larson

From Inman News: “Behind the scenes at Real Estate Connect”-
How ideas spread and deals get done at legendary real estate conference.

“11 p.m. After hanging in the lobby for a few minutes, Larson says good night to Geddes, who goes off to her room. Larson heads up to the hotel bar to see who’s there and meets some Connect people. I leave him as he orders a nightcap.

Early the next morning. I learn that Larson’s day had not ended at the hotel bar. I find an email message Larson sent at 2:33 a.m., with the subject line, “What a fine day,” recapping the events of the night before.

“It was a long day for an old dude like me,” Larson signs off.”

2:33am? Nice par Gregg. : )

Inman Connect New York – Vendor Alley Recap

GRReporting Live From Brooklyn:

Inman Connect NYC ended yesterday. I’m staying until next week due to a few Cloud CMA presos I’m doing with MLSLI on Tuesday and Wednesday. I decided to stay in Brooklyn to change it up a bit. So far, I love this place. A great mix of people, sights and sounds.

RECAP

Reviews were mixed on the new venue. While there was a lot to like about the new hotel I think people missed being in Times Square. And a tweet about the elevators being too slow got a lot of comments.

I was only to able to see the first day of sessions, including Brad Inman’s keynote. Brad looked pumped up and energetic when he held up what looked like a 7 inch thick stack of real estate forms, contracts and transaction documents bound by paper and binder clips, and rubber bands. “This is what we are going to war with for the next few days” and then dropped the bundle of paper with a big thump on the stage. Great stagecraft. Even better was the naming, regardless of whether you agree with the premise I must of heard the phrase “latte vision” about a hundred times during the conference.

There were a lot of presenters that first day I enjoyed but If I had to pick one/two it would be the father and son team Jon Steinberg (President & COO, BuzzFeed) and his dad Richard Steinberg, (Executive Managing Director, Wurburg Realty Partnership & “Selling New York” HGTV star.) Richard talked a bit about being a salesperson, and how that it is a necessary and a profession he was proud of, my favorite quote, “It’s possible to be an ethical salesperson and still be successful”. True dat.

The other presenter I thought was very strong was Reshama Saujani, founder & chair of “Girls Who Code“. She was inspiring and a bit controversial, once stating “If you teach one girl to code, she will teach four, If you teach one boy, he will teach zero.”

I also met a lot of new people while moderating the Technology Panel on Thursday. One thing I am super impressed with is how smart these new batch of entrepreneurs really are. Especially the ones coming from incubator programs. Tony Cappaert from Contactually and Caren Maio from Nestio come to mind. They are so fresh and filled with optimism, I felt like a jaded old man. I wish all of them good luck, success and a strong liver.

Another trend from my panels was a new sense of transparency. Many of the vendors shared (with a little prodding) their sales practices, churn rates and other best practices. This is something that I a big believer in and was great to see live.

Unfortunately I missed a lot of parties due to conflicts with other parties, or plans. I did make the party we sponsored with John Heithaus and his “Superstar Factory All-Stars”. I love a live band and these guys brought it. Great fun.

I did hear a lot of rumors and a bit of gossip but I’ve run out of time, I’ve got tickets to go see Glengarry Glenn Ross on Broadway tonight (Al Pacino is playing Jack Lemmon’s role in the film), so I gotta go. And remember…

“COFFEE IS FOR CLOSERS!”

Speaking of NYC….

I also wanted to invite anyone who is attending Inman’s Real Estate Connect to join us at The Culture Club on Thursday night. The event will be hosted by our industry’s very own, John Heithaus and his Superstar Factory All-Stars. My company, W&R Studios, is co-sponsoring this event (along with RED-Real Estate Digital, Instanet Solutions, BuyerMLS and MRIS.) this year and would love you guys to come. Live music and dancing, what more could you want. So consider this your VIP invitation.

More details can be found here: Thursday Night Live feature the Superstar Factory ALL-STARS

See you in New York City!

Well, after a brief hiatus I’m back to keeping the world safe! On that note I Just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be attending the Inman Real Estate Connect conference in New York City next week. I’ve also been asked to moderate the “Technology Track” on Thursday. I’ve got a superstar list of panelists and I hope you guys will come and check us out!

strong>Thursday January 17, 20031:15PM to 2:00PM

Technology case study
How to design software agents will buy — and use.
Susan Daimler, Co-Founder, Buyfolio
Matt Daimler, Co-Founder, Buyfolio
Moderator: Greg Robertson, Co-Founder, W&R Studios

2:05PM to 2:50PM

Technology best practice forum
Mission Impossible? How to market and sell real estate software
Steve Allen from UtahRealEstate.com
Mike Sparr, CEO and Founder, Goomzee
Dan Stewart, Founder, Happy Grasshopper
Moderator: Greg Robertson, Co-Founder, W&R Studios

2:55PM to 3:40PM

Technology case study
Innovating on a new platform for old use cases
Tony Cappaert, Co-Founder and CEO, Contactually
Caren Maio, Co-Founder and CEO, Nestio
Moderator: Greg Robertson, Co-Founder, W&R Studios

3:45 pm – 4:30 pm

Technology best practice forum
Overcoming the MLS hurdle: how to get the data and get to market
Mike Wurzer, President, FBS/Spark Platform
Seth Price, Director of Sales and Real Estate Marketing, Placester
Andy Woolley, Vice President, Homes.com
Moderator: Greg Robertson, Co-Founder, W&R Studios

Homes.com attracts a crowd at NARlando

Click To Enlarge

Walking the floor last week at NAR I was super impressed by Homes.com. They always had the largest crowd from any of the major exhibitors. The impressive part of this was Homes.com also covered one of the largest booth spaces.

This isn’t by accident. With the bright orange signage and shirts the booth was hard to miss. Plus it seemed like every hour a new speaker was on, or a big prize was being given away. That sense of excitement really paid off. Planning all of this is not easy, but implementation is also key, so it was also good to see a bit of hustle from the sales reps working the booth.

Well done!

MLSLI’s 11th Annual MLS Tech Fair – Love on Long Island.

I’m not sure about you but my list of “go to” trade shows is shrinking. But I was pleasantly surprised last week when I attended MLSLI’s 11th Annual Tech Fair. Jenny Natale and the rest of the MLSLI staff did a fantastic job putting a great show together. Here’s a few take-aways of why I think this show has been around for 11 years.

1. Membership. MLSLI has over 20,000 members. That’s a big pool of agents to draw upon for attendance.
2. Lots of vendors. They even had a guy with helicopter drones for that aerial shot of your mansion in The Hamptons
3. Speed dating for Vendors (not what you think!); It’s a breakfast where agents could sit with vendors and ask questions.
4. Boxed lunch kept agents in the venue.
5. Great speakers for breakout sessions. (BTW: If your MLS or association is looking for someone to help you with a great strategy for Facebook and other social media sites you should really hire Stacey Harmon, she gets it.)
6. An “Appy Hour” at the end of the show where you could demo your latest CMA software over a Tanqueray and tonic. No wonder I loved this show!

Pro Tip: La Parma for Italian food, east on the Jericho Turnpike. Amazing food!

My thanks to MLSLI for all their wonderful hospitality.

See you next year!

CMLS 2012 Agenda Released

CMLS is announcing the agenda for their annual conference, being held in Boston this year and hosted by Kathy Condon of MLSPIN. It looks jam packed full of goodness!

I’m also very excited to be the moderator a the “Publish Syndicate or What?” panel. My panelists will include:

Matt Dollinger,Trulia.com
Luke Glass, ListHub
Andy Woolley, Homes.com
Tom Hurdelbrink, Northwest MLS

UPDATE: [Bob Bemis from Zillow with join our esteemed panel!]

Be sure to mark your calendars.

See full press release below:
——————————————————————-

CMLS2012 – Agenda Released for September’s CMLS2012 Boston Conference
S
hrewsbury, MA (September 6, 2012) – In less than three weeks, the annual gathering of multiple listing services known as CMLS will take place in the Hub of the Universe, otherwise known as Boston, MA. In keeping with the positive news regarding national homes sales, the conference theme, “Today’s challenges, tomorrow’s triumphs,” is fitting. This year’s keynote speaker, Jon Gordon, bestselling author, speaker, and guru to Fortune 500 companies and sports franchises, promises to echo that theme, getting the conference off to a positive, energetic start. Nationally acclaimed economist and public speaker, Elliot Eisenberg, PhD., will also be on hand for day two to provide an informed and entertaining economic update. If real estate is truly the engine that drives the economy, he will certainly let us know how that engine is running.

This year, CMLS and MLS PIN are pulling out all the stops, booking industry superstars like Brad Inman of Inman News and John Tucillo of the Florida Association of REALTORS® to tackle the home price index question. “We have placed a good deal of thought into this year’s agenda,” says MLS PIN CEO Kathy Condon. “Everyone who attends will come away with something worthwhile and relevant to what is occurring in our industry today. We have chosen dynamic, expert presenters to discuss everything from home financing trends to today’s tech powered real estate.” You will also get a bird’s eye view of the industry with Ann Bailey’s Industry Update, and learn, via legal expert Marc Manos, if MLS organizations can still protect against data piracy, or if the “cows are out of the barn.” And don’t miss out on an informative legal update hosted by attorneys John Rees, Chris Osborn, and legal expert, Brian Larson.

Since all work and no play makes us, well, dull conference attendees, we’re planning a fabulous welcome reception with an amazing view from the Top of the Hub at the Prudential Center Skywalk, as well as Upper Deck Trolley Tours, exciting door prizes and surprises to make this conference a memorable one.

This is the largest event of its kind for the MLS industry, providing invaluable information and unparalleled networking. Although registration has surpassed our expectations, CMLS2012 in Boston still has plenty of room for more attendees. For a full preview of the conference agenda, go to http://www.councilofmls.com/cmls2012-agenda/. If you’d like to join us, head to www.cmls2012.com to register today. If you’d like more information on the conference itself, contact Sarah Carlton at 919-459-2070, or for information on sponsoring contact Melissa Lindberg at 508-845-1011.

Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) is the premier forum and resource for Multiple Listing Services.

MLS Property Information Network (MLS PIN) is a privately REALTOR® owned multiple listing service with approximately 29,000 participants and subscribers throughout New England, which manages a comprehensive database of nearly 50,000 listings for sale. It is the largest MLS in New England, and one of the largest in the nation.
SOURCE: MLS Property Information Network, Inc. (MLS PIN)

For additional information, please contact:
Melissa Lindberg
MLS PIN Director of Marketing, Communication & Outreach 508-845-1011 ext. 7121
mlindberg at mlspin dot com

MLS Track agenda is posted for Inman Real Estate Connect Conference.

Looks like program for Inman’s Real Estate Connect Conference has been posted. Here’s the MLS Track, moderated by the talented Merri Jo Cowen!:

Sessions

MLS Solutions – Sponsored by WolfNet
Thursday, August 2nd.

1:30 pm – 1:40 pm
Welcome Remarks
Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, My Florida Regional MLS, @mjcowen

1:40 pm – 1:55 pm
MLS Data Standardization Services: Opportunities and Barriers
Joel MacIntosh, Founder and CEO, WolfNet, @joelmacintosh

2:00 pm – 2:40 pm
Standardized Data: RETS, APIs and 3rd Party Services
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach? Is the industry ready for an app store ecosystem? What will the impact be on vendors who service your members? What does it all mean for agents on the street?

Moderator: Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, My Florida Regional MLS, @mjcowen
Chip McAvoy, VP, Technology Services, CoreLogic
Michael Wurzer, President and CEO, FBS, @mwurzer
Rebecca Jensen, President and CEO, UtahRealEstate.com MLS

2:45 pm – 3:25 pm
Data Access Revenue Models
When it comes to non-dues revenue from IDX, VOW and other 3rd party agreements, what’s your formula and how does it impact all parties? Who pays and what should the services include?

Moderator: Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, My Florida Regional MLS, @mjcowen
Jon Bednarsh, Co-founder, President and COO, Onboard Informatics, @jbednarsh

3:30 pm – 4:10 pm
Social, Mobile and the MLS
Explore how social media and mobile technology are impacting MLS’s, as well as how MLS’s around the country are adopting these technologies. Hear best practices and get advice from industry leaders.

Moderator: Merri Jo Cowen, CEO, My Florida Regional MLS, @mjcowen
John Heithaus, CMO, MRIS, @MRIS_CMO

4:15 pm – 5:00 pm
Updating the MLS
What’s it going to take to create the MLS of tomorrow? We’ll take a candid look at the technological, legal and business issues that need to be addressed to update outdated practices and remove some of the limitations facing MLS users and vendors today.

Road warrior…

Rex Marr just attended his 44th NAR Midyear Conference & Expo. Shouldn’t NAR give him a medal or something? Or maybe a new liver?

Best wishes Rex, we are all thinking about you.

Agent Reboot hits the OC

I’m in Washington DC for NAR Midyear meetings and “raising professional standards” is a topic that keeps coming up. One of the ways that can help is education. Inman News has been putting their “Agent Reboot” roadshow for the past few years and it keeps getting better and better. The event is always highly rated by agents. I was speaking to Katie Lance, Social Media Director and Contributing Editor at Inman News, she says this year’s event is focusing on strategy, more live demos and less slide decks.

Next week the Agent Reboot roadshow stops in my home town of Orange County. Click on the link below for more details:

Agent Reboot – Orange County
Wed. May 23rd
8am to 3:30 pm (continental breakfast included)
$49 when they register online, $99 day of the event

The Orange County Association of REALTORS is the exclusive sponsor of the Orange County event.

If you’re an MLS or Associaiton and you are looking for ways to help your agents step up their game through education, check out the city list below and find out when Agent Reboot will be stopping by your home town.

Agent Reboot City List

Sponsored By MLS Reset