Back from 2007 NAR Convention in Las Vegas

After an exhausting week in Las Vegas, we have finally gotten back from NAR 2007 Convention (National Association of Realtors).  I have to admit to being impressed with the convention.  It was a huge event with approximately 30,000 people.  It was well-planned and well-organized.

I wasn’t too crazy about having NAR in Las Vegas but it is better than where they had the convention in 2006 (New Orleans).  Sometimes, you just have to make the best of situation and environment you are in.

I did have a chance to finally meet Matt Lombardi, Managing Director of Marketing & Sales in charge of carrying “The TurnKey Investor” Book Series.  He was friendly, gracious, and welcoming.  When I informed him Wes and I were going to attend the event, Matt Lombardi made the extra effort to “show off” our books at this particular show.  Needless to say, I was happy for that effort.

Although I am not a Realtor myself (or plan to be anytime in the near future), it was still very educational being in that convention environment.  I did have my brain stretched by Seth Godin (author of Permission Marketing, Purple Cow, Unleashing the IdeaVirus, etc.).  I had never heard him speak before and the room was packed with what I loosely estimated to be around 2,000+ people.  He had a captive audience and there was good reason for it.  Essentially, I was captivated by the paradigm shift I was experiencing.  Sure, I have read his books but listening to the man himself was a way more powerful experience.

Not having any experience in politics beyond the ability to register and vote, my brain was also stretched by Michael E. Dunn on how relatively easy it was to gain political power and influence without ever running for office.  He outlined his political influence model and showed how the process “really” worked.  He was very direct and concise in his presentation.  I was compelled by his ideas that I may one day involve myself with the political process.

Watching Bill Cosby live (my first time) with 25,000 people was also a fun hour.  It was a jammed room however.

The folks at NAR were very thoughtful of creating a private Bloggers break area to sit, break, write, and reflect.  Having great Wi-Fi connections to keep in touch was a huge asset.  It was funny to watch all the Realtors and the gadgets they were carrying.  I consider myself a power user of technology but compared to all the PDAs, smartphones, webphones, Blackberries, etc., I felt like a novice with my very ordinary Samsung cell phone.

All in all, I have to say NAR 2007 was a much better experience than I expected.  NAR 2008 will be located in Orlando, FL which is convenient since that is where I am from.  I definitely plan on attending NAR 2008 in Orlando.