Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty broker Brian Hopper recently attended Inman Luxury Connect, and he shares his key takeaways in the following blog post:
Last week I attended Inman Luxury Connect 2017 held at the beautiful and iconic Beverly Hills Hotel in California. The timing was perfect as a bunch of rain was headed to Seattle on the morning we flew out. I woke up early and pumped to speak at the event: it was finally here! Follow along below, where I summarize my notes so you can take in the information and insights from the receptions.
About Inman Luxury Connect
Inman Luxury Connect annually brings together the most influential names in real estate for a high powered event in the heart of Beverly Hills. This luxury event, full of style, caters to an elite group of individuals and attendees from across the country to network, learn and share their knowledge about the business. The event was attended by over 600 of the countries top real estate agents.
The Opening Networking Reception, Hosted by Hilton & Hyland
It was a beautiful sunny LA night, a perfect setting for the opening network reception.
The opening network reception held a super swanky party at a gorgeous $15 million dollar Beverly Hills home hosted by Hilton & Hyland. No expenses were spared at the reception, which featured a live DJ (with an electric violist that played along with the DJ poolside), tons of photographers, tasting rooms, a red carpet “step & repeat” photo booth and a hair “touch-up” salon station in the master bathroom.
“The pop-up salon in the master bathroom was a big hit with the crowd,” said Nicole Hopper, Hopper Group Interior Stylist.
The home was to die for. Opulence at every corner. The biggest surprise in the home, and something we had never seen before were the “dual (his and hers) lounges” in the master bedroom! Yes, a full lounge where you just hang and chill in your bedroom!
{To see more photos of this gorgeous property, click here.}
Instagram Takeover
For the opening reception, I was invited by Inman to do an Instagram “takeover” throughout the opening party. We had so much fun doing all the Instagram stories for the reception, interviewing agents, and meeting tons of people. You can see all the Instagram stories, compiled on the video below:
The Morning Session
While the opening party was extravagant, we couldn’t wait to dive right into the sessions of the event. The day began with a warm welcome from Brad Inman, founder of Inman News and Laura Monroe
(Vice President of Growth and Partner Collective, Sequel). The morning session was full of a variety of topics from global economics to climate change and its affect on housing, and crowd-favorite discussion presented by Chris Voss of the Black Swan Group. Voss is a seasoned hostage negotiator and former 24 year FBI agent. He spoke on topics including pricing and commission rates, sharing the secrets of artfully navigating client conversations. Voss’ military background was refreshing, offering a unique perspective from outside the industry.
See a short snippet of Voss and others speaking below:
as well as his point of view from someone not in the industry. See a short ‘snippet’ of Voss and others speaking below:
Morning Session Key Takeaways
- “Stop saying yes” – Chris Voss
- A Must-Read Book: Kiss, Bow or Shake Hands – Michi Olson
- “Could you sell your business” – Sharran Srivatsaa
Lunchtime quickly approached, and we were given the choice to sit at a table with a topic, or a table with no topic and just open discussion. I chose a table where the discussion was centered around ways to achieve media attention for listings, something we are always working on.
Lunch Session Key Points
- Your media plan should include a local media outlet, national media outlet and a news source (i.e. a local newspaper, national publication and an industry-specific inside news source such as Inman).
- Know who reports on real estate in your area.
- Everyone is starving for content: give it to them.
The Afternoon Session
I was the first speaker to take the stage after lunch, which sounded daunting given that I’d be trying to awaken a sleepy, post lunch crowd, however, Brad Inman and company got every one awake with a short report from table hosts on topics discussed at their table. On top of that, the crowd was fired up and ready to jump right into the content. As I spoke on stage I looked out at the audience and was glad to see people taking notes and writing down what I was sharing about. Someone asked if I ever get butterflies before going on stage, and I said ‘every time’. It’s what you do with that feeling that matters.
There was plenty of great content in the afternoon sessions, led by industry titans. Discussions on how video usage on a listing, uncertain markets, listing presentation do’s and don’ts and much more. A fad that has recently swept the LA market is extensive listing videos to showcase a property. I heard of one video that had a budget of over $60,000 to produce which included models, helicopters, and Lambos. The discussion led by Rayni Williams affirmed my suspicion about these types of theatrical listing videos. Though she describes these mini-films as neat and fun (and affirms having used them for her own listings) she says they didn’t prove effective enough in reaching buyers.
One of the last speaker panels was led by Tomer Fridman, Gary Gold and Joyce Rey. The three shared “war stories” of listing presentations they have experienced. Gold, most recently known for selling a well known Bel Air Mansion owned by the late Hugh Hefner, talked about the work he had to put into it and all of the things that were required to obtain and ultimately sell the famous mansion. Rey spoke about how she likes to have the comparable properties printed to present to the client, as well as an electronic copy emailed to the client. She is a powerhouse on Instagram. In fact, her and I were both recently recognized by Placester for having some of the best run agent Instagram accounts!
Afternoon Session Key Takeaways
- Never skip the hustle and make sure you always put in the hard work – Gary Gold.
- Review my Top Ten Productivity Hacks
The Grand Closing Reception, Hosted by The Agency
The grand reception was held at the newly developed Mr. C Residences. The Agency poured it on with a red carpet rollout to highlight these spectacular brand new 4 story townhomes.
The very best part of Inman Luxury Connect was meeting so many AMAZING people. People who are in this business, doing their very best for their clients, and who willing to share their knowledge to make us all better. I especially enjoyed meeting fellow Sothebys International Realty broker Dusty Baker, who is a highly successful broker in the Santa Barbraa area. We first connected on Instagram, and it was great to finally meet him in person, as well as many others that I had the chance to connect with face to face.
I will be back next year for sure, as this is now a “can’t miss” event for me!
Brian Hopper was also invited by Inman to share his key takeaways from the event in an article which may be read in full here.