RETSO 5.0 A Visual Recap

RETSO 5.0 wrapped up this past Friday in Duluth, GA and let me tell you, it was probably one of the best real estate technology conferences I’ve ever attended.  Unlike many conferences where it is littered with this new network or this shiny tool that just launched, RETSO focused the attention more on practical applications that can be put into place now by those that attended.  The theme focused more around doing than any conference I have ever been to.

I wanted to share my experiences with everyone, so here is my RETSO experience through my camera lens:

RETSO Day 1

Jeff Turner kicked off the event with a powerful keynote titled Technology Will Not Inspire Action in which he shared that while technology is great and can be very beneficial to our business, to still be successful, we must implement tools that work and not be so easily distracted by someone trying to get us to use the next shiny object.

I then caught some of Dan Stewart’s session which he called De-Douching the Sales Process in which Dan shared some pretty powerful statistics related to the importance of being human in your sales techniques and the power in which email marketing held.

After lunch I caught a session with Maura Neill and Ron Eyester in which they shared how the hospitality industry handles social media and use it to provide A+ guest experiences.  With my background of coming from working in restaurants and a degree in Business Management specializing in Hospitality, I particularly enjoyed this talk.

I then left to go do my part as a social media speaker and presented on Blogging With WordPress.  I was very happy to see the room packed full of doers ready to learn how to implement blogging into their online marketing strategy.  As I share with clients all the time, I feel that without a strong website/blog to direct traffic to, you are missing a key ingredient to online success.

Day 1 ended then with a great time of sharing among friends and getting to meet others.  Some may call it networking, but I honestly don’t think it feels that way at RETSO.  I feel the community of RETSO is just looking for ways to reconnect with each other and not necessarily look to sell something or make that next referral connection with someone.

RETSO Day 2

Matthew Shadbolt of The Corcoran Group kicked off day two with one of the most thought provoking sessions I have heard in a really long time.  It was titled Why Social Media Is Making Us Miserable.  Matthew shared on the addictions people have formed to social media as well as the constant need to have that interaction.  He talked about how the positive feedback creates oxytocin that turns to an addiction for some.

The other part I enjoyed from Matthew’s talk was related those who multitask on a regular basis.  While they think they may be getting more done, the harsh reality is that they actually are performing well below the levels they should.  Because of this presentation, I have started implementing into my business a term I like to call Uni-tasking.

Ines & Derek did a simple 10 minute session called Taking the ME out of Social MEdia but was probably another one of my top highlights from this year.  They shared practical advice with some great simple examples to support from both within the real estate industry and outside too on how to use social media more effectively.

Before the final session of the day, Jeff Turner came back on the main stage to do a RETSO Reset.  This was a quick recap of the past 2 days of things that happened during the event.  I always enjoy this quick session as there are normally so many things that happen simultaneously that I miss some of it.  This at least gives me the quick highlights of the event from Jeff’s perspective and the sessions he was able to attend.

The above is how Brian Copeland began his presentation Becoming Viral.  While I’ve known Brian for many years, I never had a chance to hear him present before this year at RETSO.  Once I heard him speak, I could tell immediately why he was kept for the grand finale.  Brian delivered a passionate and powerful presentation that had the entire audience laughing, smiling, and even in tears at moments.  His presentation on becoming viral was definitely one you did not want to miss.

Brian shared on the importance on becoming viral in who you are and the longevity of doing this instead of trying to make one single video, or a blog post, or comment thread go viral.  Those types of virality do not last.  But if you are a good person, doing the right things, your life can become viral and last forever.

Brad Nix then returned to the stage to thank everyone for coming. He also thanked Bill Lublin for being a fantastic emcee of the event this year and then announce Brian Copeland as the emcee for RETSO 6.0.  Just as we thought Brad was going to dismiss everyone, he pulled a Steve Jobs-esque move and gave the audience a “just one more thing” moment.

The one more thing was the announcement of Daniel Rothamel as the new curator for RETSO.  Daniel shared earlier in the conference on the importance of curation.  During this final moment Daniel energized the crowd and shared how RETSO plans to turn into more than just a once a year conference but something that lives year round.

My other favorite part of past RETSO events is the ability to see friends from around the world and spend time together.  While we know each other and keep in contact through social media, nothing beats the time we get to spend face to face during an event like this.  This year was no different.

Here’s several more photos of special moments of this event:

Special thanks to both Brad Nix, Mike Pennington, and Ben Carter on putting together another wonderful conference filled with great information.  Your passion for making the real estate community a better place was evident in this year’s event.