A PERSONAL ACCOUNT: ONE DECADE LATER ’ About 400 of us settled into the seats at our tables within the Rodeo Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel for a new conference, Inman’s 2015 Luxury Connect . While I’ve long since abadoned the word “luxury” to describe anything of prominence or value, it was apparent that the attendees and the clients they represented were at the epi- center of the definition to what luxury meant at that particular point in time. I was cloaked in secrecy as an attendee not being a real estate agent or a broker as I was vice president of a title company in Portland and had launched a “private client group” to serve the exact demographic of the Realtor® audience before me. The room fell silent and the founder of real estate’s most powerful news platform, Brad Inman, set the tone and introduced one of the first speakers. A stylish woman with obvious purpose strutted onto the stage and approached the dais. Without hesita- tion, she proudly proclaimed, “I can outsell anyone in this room.” I can outsell anyone in this room. ‘ That is a bold statement to make in front of the top industry producers worldwide, but Douglas Elliman’s Vice-Chair Dottie Herman made it look easy. She was celebrating the company’s expansion into the Beverly Hills marketplace and her fearless vibrato was met with a collective gasp. My indoctrination to an entirely new level of friendly competition between the titans of premier properties of note was complete. We’ve all had those experiences professionally and personally that are once-in-a-life- time moments that can never be replicated. This was one such event for me. To top off her award-winning salesmanship for the virtues of her company, Dottie hosted a party that evening at Owlwood, the northernmost estate on the Los Angeles Country Club for sale at the time for $150 million that once belonged to Sonny & Cher. Like most conferences, they are what you make them to synthesize into actionable items during the seminars to benefit clients. What Inman events excel at is connect- ing top-tier real estate professionals in authentic networking situations - and this set- ting was beyond ideal being a relatively new concept for an event that began in 2014 in a private Bel Air residence with Ariana Huffington offering the keynote. When presented with the star-filled mix of those in the industry whom you admire, it’s easy to forget that everyone at the conference is still just as human as the next. However, these professionals at the top of their game in production and seasoned personalities on television were as just about as ‘real’ as one could have hoped for. In fact, I’m still in contact with most of the individuals I met 10 years ago to this day. Watching the interactions and the positioning at Luxury Connect was another tan- gible takeaway. My colleague Blake and I were the only Oregonians in attendance. Our contributions on the market in Portland were valuable to others which made us a part of so many conversations: a chance meeting with Josh Flagg included trading stories about our grandmothers; Mauricio Umansky’s closing-night soirée included mermaids swimming in the pool at a spec house on Sierra Alta Way; Roh Habibi’s kind persona was reflective of his total client-first attitude; Brad Inman’s getaway to the Polo Lounge after speaking resulted in a great conversation that introduced me to a now-mutual friend Pat Stone, chairman of WFG National Title who previously sat on his Board of Directors; and, I finally got to meet one of the most celebrated social media personas in the real estate space whom I had corresponded with for years on marketing prior to becoming a dear friend, Christophe Choo - setting the stage to visit his $18.8 million Mapleton Drive estate listing ( Mommie Dearest movie backyard set and my favorite home in the area) on the day it went into escrow that next year. Seeking out and cultivating relationships has been valuable within my real estate practice. My former employer Cristie said the other day, “you create access.” Build- ing the fundamentals of exceptional client experiences begins with connectivity.
DOTTIE HERMAN VICE-CHAIR EMERITA | DOUGLAS ELLIMAN
MAURICIO UMANSKY FOUNDER & CEO | THE AGENCY
ROH HABIBI SOTHEBY’S
JOSH FLAGG COMPASS
BRAD INMAN FOUNDER | INMAN NEWS
CHRISTOPHE CHOO COLDWELL BANKER GLOBAL LUXURY 2015 INMAN LUXURY CONNECT BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL
Richard Horswell is publisher and editor of REGENCY Magazine and a broker at Windermere Realty Trust in Portland, Oregon. He is also a contributor for Inman and previously served on its Luxury Connect Advisory Commitee after attending the conference.
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