Sound, lights, action! The show is on and you’re out to get the best bang for your buck. After all, you’ve dedicated considerable resources for travel, lodging and other expenses to attend one of the most important industry conferences of the year. You should be able to draw as much value from your investment as possible.
For many, overwhelming “noise” at conferences can easily turn the “action” part of the equation into a “freeze” scenario. A deer-in-headlights-type situation.
It can happen to the best of us. We’re bombarded with advertising messages, flyers, expert speakers, marketing gimmicks and promotions. At best, we’re faced with information overload in an adrenaline- and event-driven environment.
In reality, we might: 1. Ignore all the noise and go about business as planned; 2. Overreact and commit to more than we can chew on; or 3. Freeze and do nothing. We’d all agree that options two and three are not ideal. They could cost us a lot in unnecessary expenditure, opportunity or both.
We were taught that when under fire, it’s necessary to stop, drop and roll. Following a conference, you should stop, drop and think. You want to belong to the category of those who ignore the noise, so be sure to stop and take the time to:
-Analyze the information you have come across.
-Match up the learning and new information against your business goals for the next six months, one year or longer.
-Decide on the best product options and changes that would deliver the biggest value and return for your business.
Do you plan to double the number of leads you receive next year? Reduce your technology and operational costs? Improve conversion rates?
In the real estate arena, these are very important objectives. But at what cost?
A top-notch website that profiles you as a true professional should initially take less than five minutes to set up at a low cost. Your website should be there to help you grow your top line without draining your bottom line.
Creating individual property sites should be an equally rewarding experience for a lot less money, too.
And if conversion is on your radar, solid online traffic analytics and lead management tools should make your final cut. Your investment on such critical solutions should be relatively small as well.
The best people to listen to are those who are generating the results you are looking for and can show for it. Pop into an online forum, such as the Point2 message board or a similar online community, and pick the brain of some of the winners there.
Of course, that’s after the show is over, the lights are out and cool heads can again prevail.
Walt Baczkowski is vice president, Point2 Sales and Marketing.
For more information, please visit www.point2.com.
