Over $100? You Better Improve My Friggin’ Bank Account!

by Jeff Brown

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

I was inspired to write this post as I read the comments on Brian Brady’s recent post on Cyber Pros… The conversation turned to the relative value of various barcamps, seminars, and conferences. As you might’ve guessed I have some thoughts on the subject. Go figure.

I’ve attended seminars etc. since the mid-70’s. Back then, and until the internet created its own mushroom cloud of ‘experts’, they existed for the sole purpose of sending you back home better off than when you arrived. In those days the seminars were taught by the giants of the industry. I spent much of my late 20’s attending seminars in awe of the speaker. Unfortunately that’s not so these days.

From 1976 through about 1999 I was able to rely on coming away with much more than fool’s gold or networking opportunities when I laid my money down on seminars, or conferences. The gold standard (pun intended) was in 1980 when I completed the intense/expensive six day long CCIM courses, all five of them then. The info I learned and applied in those five weeks was phenomenally effective, salient, and results oriented. They were there to teach — and let the chips fall where they may. The failure rate for CI 101 back then was about 50% — with an open book final. That’s real. They didn’t, and still don’t tolerate posers.

I don’t know a single soul from those courses to this day.

Of course, if I’d taken them recently, that wouldn’t be the case. I’d of been better off having networked with classmates. But given the choice of either or? Give me the information, the knowledge, the ability to successfully apply every time. Though I attended investment real estate seminars like a groupie back in the day, nothing impacted my ability to produce positive results for my clients and my business more than the CCIM classes. Nothing, not even close.

I’ve been to a couple barcamps. The cost is usually so low, from free to $100 or so, that if I take away the proverbial ‘one nugget’ plus the cool networking, I’m a happy ‘camper’. I go expecting nothing but networking, and am pleased with any worthy new knowledge passed my way.

I’ve polled at last count over 30 people I respect, for their opinions of Inman. And for the record, I don’t have an ax to grind either way with them. Without exception the first thing out of their mouths was how truly impressive the networking was. Yet not one gave the various topics taught an ‘A’ grade. Not one. Most said they blew off many of the topics, or found themselves lookin’ at their watches while attending.

Unchained on the other hand is to my way of thinking pretty analogous in concept to what I experienced with CCIM. They’re there to show you what works — to empirically lead you down the path of greater success in the real estate business.. They give details, the nuts and bolts of what gets bankable results, which is what attendees are there for, right? What I like best about Unchained is how the speakers also give up their failures, especially the ones which lead to what actually ended up putting skinned cats on the wall, or got them belly to belly with someone who could tell them to go to hell — or become a client.

One thing seminars of the 21st century have reenforced for me is that calling the guy is, for the most part, far more productive and cost effective than doing it yourself. CCIM, Unchained, and some of the barcamps are the exceptions. If I ever wanna pay several hundred bucks plus even more than that to network, do me a favor — shoot me. I already have a cell phone and know how to use it. The only time I gladly paid to ‘network’ was when I didn’t have time to meet potential new ‘bosses’ and paid to join several online dating sites. I dare ya to claim any networking you’ve ever done at a real estate conference yielded those kinda perks. 🙂

It’s when times turn tough that most folks begin in earnest to discern the wheat from the chaff when endeavoring to improve their game through seminars/conferences/barcamps or vendors’ products. Look at what’s out there now and ask yourself the bottom line question: Will attending this result in more cat skins on my wall? Theory is what makes your grass greener. Empirically proven methods leading to bigger bank accounts is what makes these things worth the time, effort, and money to attend. The rest is crap on a cracker dressed to look like fondue.

And for the record, I don’t make the same distinction some do when it comes to vendors. If they can make money ‘off of the real estate’ industry, instead of sharing their expertise from within, so what? My firm just installed a new database program called REST, and we’ll be shouting ’till we’re hoarse about how superior it is. They don’t have a single worthy competitor. You don’t have to listen to me though, and no, they won’t have paid me. And if they did, so what? Integrity says I must believe in products I’m paid to endorse. Getting paid to endorse products in which I believe is called, for lack of a better phrase, The American Way. In fact it was just last year when on these very pages I unashamedly trolled for a database vendor to pony up to the Put Up Or Shut Up Bar. REST put up.

Ironically, the newest ‘vendor’ product to interest me big time is Greg’s new single-property websites. For a relative pittance I can give him the pictures and whatever else he needs, and voilà! there’s the website, no muss, no fuss, and I take all the credit with my client to boot. Works for me. I love the fact it’s Greg, but do you seriously think I’d give a damn if it was some other web guy who couldn’t spell real estate if you spotted him the ‘real’? Don’t answer that, it’s a trick question. If that product doesn’t earn Greg a truckload I’ll be surprised.

Whether it’s paying for learning excursions or vendors’ products, the bottom line is this: It was either more than worth the time, effort, and money to buy in, or it wasn’t. And the only way to measure that is how many cats gave their skins to prove it.

The rest is, as I said earlier, crap on a cracker no matter how attractively it’s spread.