As I stood before 50 motivated agents in Birmingham, Alabama last week, one thing was clear. Technology means different things to different people. While many are more than adequate utilizing the latest and greatest tools, just as many struggle to know where to begin. My two day topic, CRS 206, Technologies to Advance Your Business, is an awesome course designed to bring those two groups, Technos and Tech No’s into one location with one goal: using the world of technology to advance their REAL ESTATE business.
The course has gone through a major revision in 2013. Obviously, as technologies advance, a course like this becomes obsolete very quickly. The revision was, not only sorely needed, but also a big success. Many outdated items were discarded while other, more relevant content was updated and/or expanded.
A chapter was added on Social Media. With the onset of and the general populace’s addiction to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others, this move was/is a huge success. Every agent seems to struggle with methods to utilize social media to create and enhance their business. And because it is Chapter One of the course, everything gets off to a rousing, focused start!
Nice additions have been made to the sections on email marketing and customer relationship management. The chapter on “wireless technologies” has been replaced by one on mobility. All in all, the update is fabulous.
Many instructors focus on the tool, the gadget, the technology. “Here’s what it is, here’s how it works…” My focus is on WHY! Why do I want this? Why is this good for me and my business? Why is it worth my hard-earned money? I want agents to discover the way in which any technology will make them and their business more efficient and more effective.
Technology is change. Einstein said e=mc2: energy = mass times the speed of light squared. A nice little theory that has caught on out there in the world. For us, in our own world of fast moving technology, mc=e2: Mastering change = energy/efficiency.
Real estate agents, other sales people, and regular folks in all walks of life, don’t have the time or the energy to become full time techies. The best technology education doesn’t expect them to be. Welcome to CRS 206: Technologies to Advance Your Business.