Last week, I was in Denver at the annual SIOR World Conference. In advance of the meeting, I wrote the following article about why I look forward to attending these meetings year after year and sent it to my fellow SIOR members. I heard from a number of colleagues who shared that they enjoyed the piece, and upon re-reading it, I thought it included some good tips that could apply to any gathering of colleagues.
I’ve been attending the SIOR World Conference for a decade, and I look forward to it each year. It’s a very open and friendly group, so it’s easy to strike up conversations with like-minded people. I was able to create relationships with people early on in my attending these conferences, and it’s inspiring to see these colleagues every year.
I attend a lot of conferences – SIOR conferences are ones where you will find more people in the hallways catching up and talking about deals than you will find attending sessions. It’s not that these aren’t dedicated professionals. Rather, there’s a strong feeling of camaraderie among this social group.
With this year’s conference upon us, I thought I’d share my top five reasons for why I always attend the SIOR World Conference.
Networking
There’s a lot of referral business that results from networking at these conferences. Social events are a big part of these meetings, and I always come away with valuable referrals. In 2016, I lead a panel on best practices in referring business within SIOR. Click here if you want referral tips and click here if you want to see a fast and effective broker to broker referral program.
Education: Learn about coaching
Everyone can learn. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in the industry, it’s always valuable to hear different points of view from others in real estate, particularly as it relates to coaching. I learned a lot from the IBG group and from fellow industrial practitioners. A couple of years ago, I led a panel on coaching inside the commercial real estate industry. Let me know if you want to know more about Strategic Coach
Vendors:
Often people shy away from the exhibit hall, but I love meeting the vendors there and striking up conversations about what they’re passionate about. Brennan Investment Groups will be sponsoring a booth and we’d love for you to come by and visit. Booth #207
Position as an expert:
I have a rule that I will not attend a conference unless I am participating in some way. And there’s always an opportunity to position oneself as an expert, depending on one’s strengths. I have lead panels on coaching, referral best practices, marketing promotion, and content marketing. If you want to learn my tips for marketing inside commercial real estate, check out my article in SIOR Professional Report. Or come by our booth and get a free copy of my book – Go For Broker!
Fun:
Finally, the best reason to go to a conference like this is to have fun in a great destination. This is a fun group. I look forward to having dinner with friends at Brennan and others. This year’s conference is in Denver, and I’m looking forward to getting outside with my spouse after the conference to hike some of Colorado’s “14ers” and to visit my brothers’ peach orchard on the western slope.
It’s true people can connect digitally more than ever. But it’s so important to make time for face-to-face meetings. Conferences like the SIOR World Conference offer a great opportunity to do that and have a great time doing so.
Hopefully I’ll see you there!
