Alyssa Hellman

By Alyssa Hellman

As I write this blog post, I am sitting on a plane returning from Inman Connect, a week-long conference in San Francisco. The bi-annual event has been a non-negotiable block on my calendar since I first attended back in 2012. While the content and attendees change from year-to-year, there are a few staples that keep me coming back every time: the people and the conversations.

Even though the event is a real estate technology conference, I find we really dig into some major issues happening in our industry. Sure, there is a lot of noise, but there is also a lot of really great stuff that comes out of the event.

Truthfully, this isn’t something that is exclusive to Inman Connect though. I find that I get the same energy and inspiration from similar events (like the upcoming REALTORS® Conference & Expo) that connect me with others around our industry.

Alyssa Hellman (right) with Lynn Johnson of Keller Williams Realty Cary at the 2015 Inman Connect in San Francisco.

So why do these events have such an incredible impact on the attendees? Well, in my opinion, it has to do with the mindset of the attendees. The mindset is different when it isn’t a requirement. Yes, we all commit to continuing education to keep our real estate license active, but the very nature of a required course for credit can be disengaging. I’m not suggesting that we do away with continuing education or the requirement element, but I am suggesting that we take note of events like this.

When you attend an event that is neither required or offering any benefit other than the knowledge you can gain, you are committing to being better. That commitment carries over to how you serve your clients. You are staying engaged with the industry and going beyond the annual updates on your local contract. You are forward-thinking, and dare I say, innovative – or at least interested in being innovation. To me, that is exactly where we need to be as an industry. We need to be committed to being better, not by comparison to others, but by comparison to ourselves. This desire to keep learning and stay on a constant journey of personal and professional growth is how we grow as an industry. It is how we demonstrate the value of a REALTOR® to consumers.

What are you doing to stay educated beyond your required continuing education? I’d love to hear about it!

Alyssa Hellman is the director of the Go School at Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate, Go Realty based in Cary, N.C., serving Raleigh-Durham and surrounding areas. You can find Alyssa on Twitter @AVHellman or visit her website, www.alyssahellman.com.