After 25 years, Inman Connect is coming to you. Get ready for the top industry leaders plotting the path forward, new business ideas and opportunities, networking like you’ve never imagined it, and tons of exciting new magic, all straight to you. It’s all part of an epic new Inman experience, Inman Connect Now, June 2-4, 2020. Click here to save your seat.
In advance of Connect Now, we’ve asked many well-known members of the Inman community for their insights on how they are working and keeping their businesses moving forward in this time — in other words, How They Connect Now. Here are three responses.
David Charron
David Charron
President, MRIS Investors, Inc.
What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now?
Constructive relationships developed over my career allow me to successfully reach out directly to people and companies via email and phone.
How do you find new business in a time like this?
Tough to do as cold calling without a strong reference base would be challenging. In this new world order, references are key. Nurture them.
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
At my desk at a regular hour each day, light eating and exercise. Only tune into TV for breaking news.
Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time?
My family of course plus my virtual cocktail buds.
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
Slow recovery. Plan for it. If it happens faster, you’ll be ready for it.
Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times?
Brad Inman’s “Daily Dispatch” podcast has been a godsend. Great to hear people I admire, some I know, many that I don’t, their experience and most importantly their outlook. Identify people and things that are certain in your life and build on them. The good stuff will follow.
Katie Lance
Katie Lance
Founder/CEO, Katie Lance Consulting
What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now?
A big portion of my business has been as a professional paid speaker at in-person industry events. With the pandemic, our company is now pivoting to primarily virtual events. Luckily, we already do a great deal of virtual training and webinars, so we have the infrastructure in place to handle this new demand.
We are doing more online training, webinars and more online events than ever before, teaching agents and brokers how to be smart about their social media strategy, what to post/not post, how to leverage video and Facebook Live platforms and more. There is an even greater need for brokers and associations to provide valuable training to their agents, and we are proud to be able to help and serve in that capacity.
How do you find new business in a time like this?
A lot of our new business is from our past clients. We have personally reached out to each and every client we have worked with since our company’s inception in 2012. We reached out not with a marketing message, but just a message of “How are you? Is there anything I can do to help?” It has been incredible to see the response and the business that has indirectly come from being a helper in this time.
We are also getting a tremendous amount of business from the content we create, specifically our weekly videos and podcasts. We pivoted our content to make sure we were meeting the needs of our audience and providing a lot of value with our free content as well as the training we provide for our clients and #GetSocialSmart Academy members.
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
I try to focus on the positive, what we are most grateful for, and we try to give each other (in our family and in our team) a lot of grace. This is a new “normal” for all of us. I also try to make sure I am checking in with our team not just with things “work-related” but just checking in to see how they are doing and also continuing our culture of being completely transparent with how our company is doing.
A lot of people are scared right now and so we are trying to be as reassuring and helpful as possible. We also try to do little things like get outside each day, take the time to spend time with our kids throughout the day, try to stick to a schedule, but if things fall awry, we know it’s not the end of the world.
Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time?
My friends and clients. Team Diva Real Estate continue to inspire me with their creativity, their heart for their community, the helpful content they are sharing and the true stewards they are in their community.
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
I am cautiously optimistic. Taking it day by day but also looking ahead to see how we can continue to pivot and stay the course during all of this!
Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times?
Inman will always be near and dear to my heart. As many people in know, I worked for Inman for many years as their social media director and helped to create their ambassador program many moons ago.
As I made my own pivot to my own company, the Inman community has always been “the best of the best” and a second family to me in so many ways. Inman events are always must-attend because of the caliber of people who gather. I can point to countless deals that were done and client partnerships that were formed for our company because of a meeting at Inman!
Emily Chenevert
Emily Chenevert
CEO, Austin Board of Realtors
What’s the biggest change in the way you’re managing your business now?
High-touch management. I’m getting much more personal in my communications with leading brokers in our market, with our staff and with the board leadership. A phone call goes a lot farther than it used to when people feel disconnected.
How do you keep morale up, for you personally, and for your team?
I center in gratitude. I’m grateful our market remains strong despite all of this. I’m grateful I was able to get our team up and running remotely early and before the shelter-in-place orders came along. I’m grateful my family is safe and healthy.
If I focus on those things first, it’s not as easy to get so irritated when my Zoom won’t work just right. I share the same with our staff. They remain grateful they have jobs that allow them to continue when we serve an industry that’s so directly implicated with the environment we’re in.
Who in the community has impressed you or helped you most during this time?
Jeff Turner. We’ve been working on a potential business arrangement and every time I speak with him I feel calm again. He has a steady style, and it’s much welcomed in a time of chaos.
What’s your outlook for the rest of this year?
This is an amazing time to be in leadership and in this industry. We’re going to see changes made to the homebuying and selling process that would have taken years to accomplish, and we’re going to see more energy and enthusiasm around that change now. Let’s embrace what’s really good about the environment we’re in.
Can you share a few words about how Inman has helped you grow your business, in bull or bear times?
Inman helps our members stay engaged with the larger picture of the industry. We think it’s important they have awareness of how the bigger picture is evolving, and Inman is a source for that kind of content.
Inman Connect Now connects virtually June 2-4, 2020. The digital event offers standout speakers, incredible networking opportunities and the chance to forge business breakthroughs and build new relationships to last a lifetime. Don’t miss out — register today.