Several DSIR agents joined 1500 of the top-producing agents and owners from around the world for a three-day gathering on September 8th, 2014 at the Fountainebleau on Miami Beach to confer about the global real estate marketplace, current trends within their respective cities and to explore referrals and joint marketing initiatives.
Almost immediately following the Global Networking Event, DSIR agents shared their stories and endorsements. Below is a collection of statements:
“I heard about the GNE prior to coming to Sotheby’s International Realty. I have a lot of friends all over the country who are part of Sotheby’s International Realty, and they kept saying to me, “When are you joining Sotheby’s?” I go to Luxury Real Estate, CRS and everything out there. And this is by far the best conference I have ever been to in real estate. The connections were amazing. I’m starting network within a network with two other Northern California people, the #2 in Carmel and an agent in San Francisco. I told a high end client about the fall art auction in Hong Kong. They’re very excited about it, and want to go with me to Hong Kong next year. This is the most first class brand in the world.” – Dawn Thomas
“It was my goal to learn from many top producing agents around the world as well as to connect with them. I attended a seminar about reaching and working with ultra high net worth individuals and another seminar about doing business with Asian clients. The panelists were highly productive agents. The common traits I found in them is they are all very open minded, work very hard, know the market and inventory extremely well, and when the opportunity comes, they are able to grab them.”
“This was my third GNE, so I knew the landscape and had an idea of what I needed to do. I started preparing for it almost two months beforehand. I visited offices in New York. I did a tour of the auction house. I went to the Hamptons, and attended a horse show sponsored by the office there. My daughter just got a job at Sotheby’s in Seattle, so I was able to make that contact. I put all this in motion in Miami. I had people I wanted to see, and shake hands with again. It was real one-on-one connections, not the speed dating of my first GNE.” – Lisa Keith
“I was fortunate to go to GNE last year as part of the scouting team, and stayed in touch with the folks I met there. So this was an opportunity to take what had been speed dating and turn it into a more in depth conversation. I’ve already gotten a couple of referrals through Sotheby’s International Realty. On Friday, I closed a listing just because I was from Sotheby’s. I also get a lot out of best practices nationwide, seeing what people are doing in their markets. I met an agent from Miami in a coffee shop whose average sales price is $3.2M. We talked about her buyers, and how she’s marketing and targeting them. I had a cool conversation with a guy from Cincinnati who does 100 deals a year about how he automates his marketing and mechanizes his processes so he can have a dozen listings at the same time. It’s really good to learn those best practices from people who are really doing it.” – Chris Iverson
“For me, it was an introduction to the company, and the brand, and the approach. I was impressed by the breakout session on Sotheby’s. It has an unrivaled pedigree that we can really leverage. I have a personal interest in art. It’s one of my favorite things. So I was particularly interested in learning a little bit about the auction house and its rich history.” – Colleen Foraker
“One agent in New York offered to skype into my listing presentation for a big house. Your client says, “How are you going to market this? Who’s going to be my buyer?” You say, “I think your buyer’s going to come from Beijing, New York, our major feeder markets.” Then he skypes in, “Yes, David’s going to send all the marketing material, and I’m going to market your property to all my clients in NYC.” To make relationships with agents like that is pretty powerful.” – David Weil
“I always underestimate how global this network is. One of the seminars was your network within a network. Michael Valdes, who’s the head of all the Caribbean and South American offices talked about how they tie in people from around the world. He’ll get someone from London to reach out to an agent in Turks and Caicos. There’s this connectivity going on behind the scenes, and you have a global firm to tap into that. It was a very ah-ha moment for me.” – Jennifer Liske
“I really do think the best part of Sotheby’s International Realty Global Networking Event is talking to people that do what you do. You pick up all these little things. It’s inspiring in a practical way. You walk away with some ideas that you’re going to bring to your practice.” – Michael Dreyfus
