Upcoming Worldwide ERC’s National Relocation Conference

If it seems like I just returned from Vegas for a relocation trip, you are right.  I was just there for 6 days in March for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio Conferences.  And tomorrow, I head back to Vegas for more.  This time it is for the Worldwide ERC’s National Relocation Conference.  It is sure to be a jam-packed, fun-filled 5 days.

It all kicks off with the Global Mobility Specialist (GMS) Training Program.  This program consists of 3 Modules, the first of which I was able to take on-line prior to the Conference.  Once I have completed all 3 Modules and taken the comprehensive exam, I will have earned my GMS designation.  This designation will signify that I am specialized in the field of global workforce mobility and that I am committed to ongoing education to grow my expertise.  Having assisted many international assignees over the past 11 years, I understand the importance of the GMS education and look forward to enhancing my knowledge in this area.

Due to an overlapping of scheduled events, I will unfortunately not be able to attend the RDC (Relocation Directors Council) Conference this time.  I will, however, be attending the RDC Dinner, and look forward to catching up with my many Relocation Director buddies at that time, and throughout the week.

I am also excited to be presenting for the first time at the Worldwide ERC’s National Relocation Conference.  I will be presenting at a session entitled, “Social Media Lab – BYOL (Bring Your Own Laptop).”  This should be a very fun and informative hands-on session on social media marketing.  It will be held on Thursday, May 19th at 1:45, so I hope you can make it if you are attending the Conference.

Last, but not least, I have also been nominated for the 2010 Editorial Achievement Award, for my contributions to MOBILITY magazine, the monthly publication of Worldwide ERC.  The winner will be announced during the awards luncheon at the WERC Conference.  I wish that I could say that it’s an honor just to be nominated, but who am I kidding…I am in it to win it!  Please wish me luck.

So, there you have it…I have an exciting week coming up, and I am sure to tweet and blog my way through the week.  To follow me, please be sure and click on the links below.

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In Global Mobility Specialist (GMS) Designation
Houston Relocation
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Luxury Portfolio
Relocation Directors Council (RDC)
Socal Media

Houston “Relo Guru” Michelle Sandlin Speaks at WCR Luncheon

First of all, let me apologize for my absence during the month of April.  I have a good reason though…I have been absolutely swamped with Houston Relocation business!  It has just been booming, as people continue to move to Houston, both as a result of their job situations and through choice.  While I normally do most of my writing and blogging at night anyway, the off hours over the past several weeks have also been spent working, catching up on emails, reviewing BMAs and preparing for presentations.

Most recently, I was invited to be the featured speaker at the Women Council of Realtors Houston Chapter’s Business Resource Meeting.  The topic, of course, was Relocation.  My invitation to speak came from one of our agents, Margo Cunningham, who is also an Executive Officer for the WCR Houston Chapter and serves as Treasurer.

My presentation was entitled, “An Overview of the Relocation Industry as it Relates to Real Estate.”  The purpose of my presentation was to provide a little background on the relocation industry, discuss best practices and the importance of having a well-trained “Relocation Team” of agents, share my insight on current trends, and answer audience questions.  It was nice to have several people in attendance who were somewhat familiar with relocation and the nuances associated with real estate transactions involving relocation companies.  As I have said many times, relocation business is not meant to be handled by agents who are new to the business or have not had the proper training and experience necessary and required by relocation companies.

I concluded my presentation with a brief discussion regarding the effectiveness of Social Media Marketing as it relates to what I do for my company, our branding, and new business development opportunities.  WCR Houston Chapter President Tiffany Curry said, “We chose Michelle because of her ability to combine technology with her extensive experience in real estate, relocation, marketing and knack for business development.”

I have to say that perhaps the coolest part of being the featured speaker at the WCR Houston Chapter Meeting, was all of the buzz and publicity on the Internet in advance of the meeting. WCR did an excellent job at promoting the event, and I was very pleased when I stumbled upon the announcement, which read: 

“Join us for our exciting April Business Meeting with Houston ‘Relo Guru’ Michelle Sandlin, Director of Global Relocation Services for John Daugherty Realtors.” 

I love being called “Relo Guru,” which is my nickname around the office.  It started just after I joined John Daugherty Realtors, when a couple of the agents started referring to me as “Relo Guru.”  Then, one day, our Marketing Department made it official, and created this sign which proudly hangs just outside the door to my office.

As always, I look forward to sharing more with you on my experiences within the relocation industry!

In Global Relocation Services
Houston Relocation
Relocation Training
Socal Media

1st Time Corporate Attendees Can Attend Worldwide ERC’s Conference for Free

Worldwide ERC is doing it AGAIN!  That’s right, they have a special introductory offer for first-time Corporate HR Attendees…they can attend the upcoming National Relocation Conference in Las Vegas for FREE!  That’s right, free!  To be eligible, you must be both: a Corporate/HR representative and a first-time National Relocation Conference attendee who is responsible for workforce mobility for your organization’s own employees and not involved in marketing, consulting, or any other commercial aspect of providing services related to workforce mobility for any organization.  If you meet these criteria, all you have to do is click on the link below to register.  Please be sure and enter the Promo Code:  NRCCORP11
Register for Worldwide ERC’s National Relocation Conference

This proved to be a very successful program at Worldwide ERC’s Global Relocation Conference in Seattle this past fall.  Please help promote this special offer among your regional relocation groups and organizations, and to your eligible corporate clients.

In Houston Relocation
Socal Media
Worldwide ERC

March is Relocation Conference Month

This has been a whirlwind month for me, and it’s not over yet! And I mean this in the most positive way. First, relocation business in Houston is booming. That has been one very defining theme for the year 2011 thus far. People are moving to Houston in rapid force. If you read my blog post last month recapping Mike Inselmann’s economic forecast when he visited our company earlier this year, then you know a little bit about what all the excitement or buzz is about in Houston.  To read the blog post, please click here:  Houston’s 2011 Economic Forecast

So, let’s go back to start of this month. I had the pleasure as a member of the Houston Relocation Professionals Board of Directors, of spending the entire day in a strategic planning meeting. If done properly, strategic planning can be invaluable to the growth of an organization, and I would say that we definitely conducted ours properly. To facilitate our meeting, we brought in Cris Collie of The Collie Gorg Group. Cris, of course, is the former CEO of Worldwide ERC. As an added bonus, we were joined by Worldwide ERC’s CEO Peggy Smith for the last hour or so of our meeting. (There will be more to come soon on the work that we will be doing and new initiatives we will be implementing, so please stay tuned…)

As day turned into night, we all headed to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo to host an evening of dinner and entertainment, which was topped off by a performance from country singer and Houston native Clay Walker.

The following day was our Houston Relocation Professionals March Event, featuring Peggy Smith as our Keynote Speaker. She shared with us her perspective on the past year and her vision for what we can expect for the relocation industry in 2011. She talked about how the mobility profession is in transition, evolving from a service industry with transactional processes to one that provides powerful support for a company’s talent management objectives. In her presentation, Peggy illustrated how these factors make benchmarking, strategic partnerships, leadership development and regional knowledge more critical than ever.

Also speaking at the HRP March event was Ted Jones, PhD, Chief Economist for Stewart Title who kicked off the morning’s program with a presentation entitled, “An Economic and Real Estate Outlook.” He said that Houston is one of the top 20 cities in terms of job growth. With regards to the recent recession, he said that Houston went into the recession later than the rest of the U.S., we didn’t go as deep, and we were out faster. He predicts that as oil prices go higher, interest rates will go higher, and there will be increased relocation business in Houston. All in all he provided a very positive outlook for Houston in general and with regards to Houston Relocation.

Cris Collie had the pleasure of unveiling our new HRP Mission Statement, which is:  “Engaging, educating, and unifying mobility professionals in the Houston area.”  He also gave a brief overview of our organizational structure and key initiatives that we will be involved in, and various outcomes from our strategic planning meeting.

Before catching my breath, I caught a plane to Dallas to attend the Annual Texas Relocation Network Conference. Peggy Smith was also the keynote speaker and panel moderator. I didn’t mind that I had just heard Peggy speak the day before, as she has a way of always keeping it fresh and the audience engaged.

One of the best parts of the TRN Conference was a session called, “Everything’s Better in Texas.” We heard from representatives from various Texas real estate markets as they reported on their local markets and provided updated statistics. The panelists reiterated the fact that Texas has really held its own while other real estate markets have suffered. The bottom line is that Texas remains a top-tier state for active incoming Relocations, and Houston continues to enjoy a huge influx of people moving here.

Just a few short days after returning from Dallas, I was off to Las Vegas for the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World and Luxury Portfolio Top Sales Associate Summit. John Daugherty, Realtors was recognized as the company with the most people in attendance, with 23 people at the Luxury Portfolio Top Sales Associate Summit. With a theme of “Engage. Innovate. Lead,” the conference featured a noteworthy line-up of over 150 speakers from within the real estate industry and beyond who addressed a broad range of topics relating to real estate management, technology, marketing and business development.

I served as a panelist at one of the conference sessions on Social Networking. In my presentation, I talked about how I use facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and my Houston Relocation Blog as an important part of my marketing strategy and the huge impact this has had on our relocation business. I explained that social media allows us to transcend the traditional business/professional relationship; because you see and learn so much more about the people you are connected to. People who are “friends” with me, “connected” to me, or “follow” me, really feel like they know me. And that’s because I put so much of myself out there.

There has been a fundamental paradigm shift created in part by social media. If you follow me, you will know me. If you know me, you are more likely to want to do business with me AND engage on a social level. It’s a plain and simple fact: people like to do business with their friends. Social networking allows us to get to know each other, become friends and do business on a whole new level. We used to say, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Now we say, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows YOU!”

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In Houston Relocation
John Daugherty, Realtors
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Luxury Portfolio
Socal Media
Texas
Worldwide ERC

Upcoming Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conference in Las Vegas

We have been planning for and promoting the upcoming Leading Real Estate Companies of the World Conference for several months now.  I can’t believe that it is almost here and we will be on our way to Las Vegas on Sunday morning.  If I sound excited, you are right, and with good reason!

John Daugherty, Realtorswill be well-represented at the LeadingRE and Luxury Portfolio Top Sales Associate Summit March 6^th -10^th.  Several members of our company’s management team will be in attendance:  President & CEO John A. Daugherty, Jr.,  along with our EVP & COO Cheri Fama,  our General Sales Manager Steve Thistle, our Web/IT Manager Darren Moore, and I, along with 17 of our agents:  Tania Amin, Moni Bohnisch, Jane Brennan-Martin, Cindy Caryl, Karen Cooksey, Azar Fisher, Mark Holland, Ann Lerner, Julianna Lind, Lynn Mather, Judy Mousa, Julia Nichols, Travis Nichols, Richard Ray, Patricia Reed, Jo Reid, and Connie Zubizarreta.  We will be the largest group from any member company in attendance this year!  And the buzz around the office continues.  Many agents who didn’t sign up to go this year, have already said that they intend on going next year.

Another reason to be excited, is that our company has also been nominated for several prestigious awards, including the 2010 Innovative Broker of the Year Award, the 2010 Award of Excellence for Incoming Conversions, and the 2010 Diamond Award.  They say it’s an honor just to be nominated, but to tell you the truth, we are going for the win!

I also look forward to serving on a panel at one of the conference sessions on Social Media.  Darren Moore, our Web Marketing/IT Manager will also serve on a conference panel on technology.  Additionally, one of our Sales Associates, Richard Ray will serve as a panelist for a session entitled, “Applying Luxury Marketing Principles to Your Real Estate Sales Practice.”

I plan on blogging and tweeting throughout the conference, so please check back often for updates:  Houston Relocation Blog.

Click to follow Michelle Sandlin on Twitter:  Michelle Sandlin

In Houston Relocation
John Daugherty, Realtors
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Luxury Portfolio
Socal Media
Technology