Mega-broker Long & Foster Real Estate in Fairfax, Virginia has a successful approach to train agents to become more tech-savvy. "An Evening With Mike" is a series of technology seminars that has attracted over 10,000 agents, an increase over 3,729 the previous year. Is that among the reasons why the brokerage increased sales to $23 billion from $18.5 billion in 2001?

"As we all know, real estate customers are becoming more and more tech-savvy with every passing month," explains Joe Pickett, spokesperson for Long & Foster. "More than 80 percent of consumers conduct property searches and research online, and those customers want instant responses to their e-mail queries, or they move on to another agent or company. A real estate company that can attract the best technically-able agents to cater to this growing segment of the market has a big edge on the competition."

There are plenty of good real estate companies out there, so attracting those agents sometimes requires something extra. Long & Foster meets this challenge with technology seminars, usually held by CIO Michael Koval several times throughout the year to cover some of the latest technology in the marketplace and how Long & Foster agents use that technology to drive their careers.

A recent 'An Evening with Mike' covered a variety of technology topics that agents can use, including:

• Mobile Computing - The latest laptops, tablet PC's, smart displays, PDAs, SPOT technology, and alternative input devices.
• Pen-Based Computing - New digital pens such as the Logitech Io.
• Wireless Connectivity - How to connect to Long & Foster's network in a sales office with no hard wire connection.
• Mobile Wireless Broadband - The basics of emerging wireless technology that offers real-time computing, always-on functionality, increased efficiency and reduced down times.

So how does Long & Foster get agents to attend? The company promotes the seminars "relentlessly" on the company Intranet site, says Pickett, and it also holds a prize drawing for the thousands of agents who attended 'An Evening With Mike' that year. Recently, three lucky Long & Foster agents walked away with a Dell laptop computer, Dell desktop, and a Sony digital camera, just for attending one of the seminars in 2002.

One of the winning agents, Carol Evans, was enthusiastic about not only her new Dell Latitude laptop computer, but about the technology seminars overall. She says, "'An Evening With Mike' is a great seminar! I teach new agent classes and I tell my students to attend 'An Evening With Mike' all the time. The seminars are great for learning what features are most important on various pieces of technology equipment, like laptops and digital cameras."

"The leadership of Long & Foster also recognizes the importance of 'An Evening With Mike.' Says Long & Foster President P. Wesley Foster, Jr., "With the emergence of the Internet, the process of buying and selling real estate has changed drastically in the last several years. It is imperative that our sales associates keep up with what the public wants and needs. The 'Evening with Mike' seminars enable our sales associates to keep up with the latest in technology in order to provide more professional service to our clients."

So, to attract new agents and to get your current agents thinking about how to make better use of new technologies, consider conducting technology seminars sweetened with prizes. Long & Foster says it works.

Published: May 1, 2003

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.