Attend seminars out of town. Sound crazy? It's not. It is a strategy that works.

As you know, I give seminars nationwide. I taught a REALTOR Institute class in West Virginia last week, and an attendee came up to me on the break. He lived in the town where the Institute was held, and as we talked he complained about his week. He was trying to get business done after class, he had to spend almost every break on the phone, he had to juggle family life while taking his classes, etc.

He was a textbook case - a walking illustration of why I've long recommended that you take seminars out of your area whenever possible.

The reasons are many:

• You don't wear yourself to a frazzle by having to attend a seminar all day, take care of business during the breaks, then immediately begin taking care of business as soon as the session is over. Going out of town allows you to relax.

• You get a lot more out of the seminar, whatever the topic, because you're focusing just on the seminar, not on other business.

• Attending a seminar out of your area allows you to network. One of the main reasons for attending seminars is to network with other sales associates who can help you get where you want to be. If you're in town, you just can't network as effectively as you can by taking a seminar out of town.

• And most important - when you spend a night or two taking a seminar out of your area, you learn that the world goes on back home without you! This is one of the most important lessons anyone can learn: we don't have to run the world ourselves. As a matter of fact, it's quite capable of taking care of itself when we're not there. Once we learn this fact, we learn that real estate doesn't have to be a seven days-a-week, all-consuming job. We earn a good living in real estate while still having a life.

Most of the Allen F. Hainge CyberStars(tm) take a lot of seminars out of their area. They attend RS courses away from their home base; they attend the R.S. Sell-A-Bration; they attend the NAR annual convention wherever it is held; and most attend their state conventions, etc. These professionals are leading producers in their market areas, and the fact that they go to other parts of the country to attend seminars and network makes a strong statement.

So, think about taking your next seminar out of your area. Set up systems to take care of business while you're gone, then hit the road. It's proven that you'll end up making more money by doing so!

Allen F. Hainge is a nationally known real estate trainer and motivational speaker. Email Allen at: news@afhseminars.com or visit his Web site at http://www.afhseminars.com.

Published: August 27, 1998

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