Congratulations to the Virginia Leadership Academy, Class of 2009

IMHO, to be a great Real Estate Consultant/Realtor, you have to do more than just “sell real estate”. That is why, over the past 9 months, I’ve been attending sessions throughout Virginia as part of the Virginia Association of REALTORS® (VAR), Virginia Leadership Academy (VLA) program.

From VAR’s website:

VAR challenges REALTORS® to invest in themselves and their associations by participating in the Virginia REALTORS® Leadership Academy . Through this program, VAR identifies and trains emerging REALTOR® leaders from all around the Commonwealth. Approximately 20 applicants are accepted each year, and each class of participants builds their leadership skills through a series of retreats and a major class project. Graduates are groomed to take on leadership positions in their local associations, at VAR, or in other organizations.

Not only do the participants develop strong leadership skills to put to use in their communities and professional lives, they also nurture strong relationships with their class members that turn into rewarding business and personal connections.

The VLA program consisted of several multi-day retreats throughout Virginia. We studied and discussed leadership and listened to and spoke with many incredibly knowledgeable and experienced folks with credentials the length of a real estate sales contract. We also spoke with local and state association officials and worked on a very mentally challenging class project.

This year’s class was instrumental in the design redesign and continued new direction of the Virginia Homeowners Alliance. This was a tough project, but the outcome was better than I thought it would be and everyone in our class learned a lot about leadership and speaking up for the sake of others in the process.

The VLA program was by no means a “piece of cake” – it meant taking time out of my professional career and working with 21 other professionals, many of whom are “Type A”. Was it worth it? It was more than worth it.

Will I end up being in a leadership role in the local or state REALTORS® association? I don’t know. But I do know that I’ve learned a lot, made some great friendships in the process and have become a more well rounded person personally and professionally.

Thank you to VAR for the opportunity to be a part of the Virginia Leadership Academy, Class of 2009 and congratulations to all my fellow alumni! (click here if you can’t see the video below)

Thursday Poll: Pick an Agent

In the last 12 to 18 months, the Internet has surpassed print advertising as the number one source of real estate marketing in many areas of the country.  Loudoun County is no exception.  The print ads in the local papers keep dwindling and the number of websites offering listings to search keeps growing.

And with that shift, there are many more online resources available for buyers and sellers of real estate to use in their search for a real estate agent.  However, these resources are not as obvious or informative as some of the sites that show properties for sale.  It takes a little more creativity and investigation to research a real estate agent.  Unfortunately a photo of an agent isn’t going to tell you what you want to know the way a photo of a kitchen will.  And there is no single resource available that can give you answers to questions like expertise, marketing resources, neighborhood knowledge, negotiating skills, etc.

But there are ways to use the internet to get a better picture of an agent than "They have a nice sign" or "They helped by aunt and uncle find a house 6 years ago". 

So this weeks poll asks the question (multiple choice):

A lot of these choices are easy to use and can be very helpful in getting a better picture of an agent and their business.  Others, however, are a bit more elusive.  But there is a new website that will allow and agent to provide a wealth of information to prospective buyers and sellers.  Here is a link to my profile on this new site, clipREAL.com