I recently spent a few days in Banff for a real estate networking event, surrounded by agents from different markets and a backdrop that made it very easy to forget we were there for work. Banff is spectacular. There is really no cleverer way to say it.
Somewhere between the mountains and conversations with agents from far beyond Marin, I kept coming back to something I think about often in this business: real estate is local, but people are not.
Sooner or later, almost every agent gets the call: “We are moving. Do you know anyone there?”
There are plenty of ways to find a real estate agent almost anywhere. You can look at sales numbers, reviews, websites and social media.
But if I am introducing one of my clients to another agent, I want to know more than what shows up online. I want to know how they talk about their clients. Do they listen? Are they thoughtful? Do they really know their market? Would I feel comfortable putting someone I care about in their hands?
That is what I appreciated about Banff. Because it was a smaller, more intimate event, I had the chance to spend real time with some very accomplished agents from other markets. We talked real estate, compared markets and shared ideas, but we also simply got to know one another.
And knowing the person makes a difference.
I have never been particularly interested in building a huge network simply for the sake of having one. What matters to me is knowing good people whose judgment I respect and whom I would feel confident introducing to a client.
Those relationships grow through conversations, shared experiences and staying in touch. Banff created the kind of setting where that could happen naturally.
That matters because one of my favorite things about real estate is that the relationship rarely ends when the transaction does. Life moves people. A client may eventually call and say they are headed somewhere I do not know well.
When that happens, I would much rather say, “I know someone there. Let me introduce you,” and actually mean I know them, rather than “I found their profile five minutes ago.”
To me, that is still part of taking care of a client.
Of course, I did not spend the entire trip thinking deeply about referral relationships. There were also mountains. Very distracting mountains.
But getting away from your usual routine creates room for conversations you might not otherwise have. You learn how people work, what their communities are like and what matters to their clients.
Some of those connections may become friendships. Others may matter years from now when a client needs help somewhere new.
My network is not valuable because it is big. It is valuable because it includes good people.
Banff gave me the opportunity to get to know a few more of them.
The mountains were not bad either.
Author: Jennifer Glassman and Marcia Skall, MBA. Award-winning real estate agents serving Marin County and beyond.
Jennifer Glassman 415.309.5331
Marcia Skall, MBA 415.533.5721
[email protected]
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