Real Estate Professionals from Across the Country Come Together to Learn Business Boosting Skills in PR, Digital, Tech & Leadership – and to Celebrate a Year of Top Performances
From March 4-6th,Douglas Elliman, the third largest residential real estate brokerage company in the United States, hosted over 2,000 of its agents from around the country at Elliman Summit, the firm’s new iteration of its annual two-day national sales and networking conference. Held at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, Elliman Summit offered attendees unique networking opportunities and valuable business-development skills training.
Highlights of the conference were the 2018 Ellie Awards – an annual celebration of the firm’s top performers and achievements, and the release of The 2019 Wealth Report – the industry’s leading publication from Douglas Elliman and Knight Frank Residential on global prime property markets, wealth distribution and investment sentiment.
Elliman agents and leadership from all ten markets that Douglas Elliman serves – New York City, Long Island, the Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut, South Florida, California, Colorado and Boston, were in attendance.
“We are proud to have successfully introduced and hosted the first Elliman Summit, our new annual event that brings our agents from all regions together in one place to meet, learn from each other, and motivate one another, while fostering a great sense of camaraderie,” said Scott Durkin, Douglas Elliman’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “This year’s all-encompassing conference boasted a broad range of panel discussions, industry experts and an abundance of networking opportunities. We believe it is incredibly important to invest in the careers of our Douglas Elliman agents by educating them with the latest in digital platforms, social networking, technology and coaching and Summit is an extraordinary place for this to happen.”
During the conference, seminars were held on PR, digital and tech resource training, leadership and continuing education. Two interactive spaces at Mohegan Sun, dubbed The Marketing Hub, and Help Desk Live, were the central gathering spots for programming led by Elliman’s powerhouse marketing team and innovative tech department.
On the first day, at Help Desk Live, Elliman’s Chief Technology Officer Jeffrey Hummel led a discussion on “What’s Next for DE Tech,” shedding light on the technological resources and tools currently in development for agents.
Richard L. Jordan, Senior Vice President of Global Markets, led an exciting live demo of Folio – Elliman’s groundbreaking mobile platform that connects DE’s iconic new developments to more than 21,500 agents.
“Understanding Instagram Stories” taught attendees how to harness the power of Stories – the fastest growing feature of social media today – and take their Instagram presence to the next level. Other day one panels and discussions included “Let’s Get Social (Increase Your Following)”, a “Communicating with Intelligence” media training workshop, “Building Your Brand by Giving Back” and “The Brain Science of Selling.”
The Directors of Marketing from each region came together for two discussions to share strategies and successes. In “Marketing Your Exclusive,” the team shared everything an agent should do when preparing for a listing, what to do when the listing comes on the market and how to set yourself up for success. There was also a collaborative and interactive portion where audience members provided one of their active exclusives on the market and the team walked them through best practices and uncovered new ways to bring their properties to life. The second session, “Building Your Business Through Marketing,” went over the benefits of putting a yearly and quarterly marketing plan together and how to stand out from the crowd.
The day concluded with a lively welcome cocktail party hosted by Howard M. Lorber, Executive Chairman, Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC and Dottie Herman, Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Elliman Real Estate.
On the second day, breakfast was followed by an insightful keynote address by Alison Levine, an American mountain climber, sportswoman, explorer, leadership consultant and NY Times Best-Selling Author. She delivered resounding life lessons learned from her extreme climbing expeditions that remain relevant in today’s fast-paced business environments.
Other highlights of the day included a “Meet the Press” panel moderated by Stephen Larkin, Vice President of Public Relations, offering agents an opportunity to hear directly from award-winning journalists Julie Satow and Robert Frank. Satow has long covered real estate and metro stories for outlets including The New York Times and the author of The Plaza: The Secret Life of America’s Most Famous Hotel and Frank is a CNBC reporter and editor and a leading authority on the American wealthy. He also hosts "Secret Lives of the Super Rich."
Many joined the Douglas Elliman Development Marketing team, led by President & CEO Susan de França, for an update on their current portfolio and to hear what’s in the pipeline nationwide. Several top-producing Elliman agents led an enlightening panel discussion called “Mastermind” offering advice and tips on how their peers can also “find the flow” towards living exceptional lives. Additional Day Two panels and discussions included “Bring Your Human to Work”,“Building Your Business Through Marketing”, and “Managing Your Online Reputation”. A Referral Fair connected colleagues from around the country.
Throughout the conference, brokers were invited to explore innovative Pop-up shops, a networking lounge, interactive and communal experiences, and breakout broker bootcamp sessions. Morning and Happy Hour yoga sessions were also offered, and a social media wall invited guests to share #EllimanSummit content in real time, creating even more connections among colleagues.
At one standout pop-up, experimental music company, MindTravel, presented its signature live-to-headphones ‘Silent’ Piano concerts. This magical and communal experience takes audiences on a profound journey as composer and pianist Murray Hidary’s real-time, spontaneously improvised compositions are beamed directly into the MindTravel Headphones that the audience wears.
Elliman Summit closed with the festive Ellie Awards celebration, honoring top performances and achievements across all of Elliman’s markets. Nationwide sales for Douglas Elliman in 2018 totaled $28.1 billion - an eight percent increase from 2017 - as the company continued its nationwide growth into new markets. The firm was responsible for 44,131 sales and rental transactions, and was ranked the number three brokerage in the nation by sales volume.
“Elliman Summit is a forward-focused event and one of the carefully curated learning experiences that really differentiates Douglas Elliman from other brokerages,” concluded Durkin. “Real estate is a competitive business, and we work hard to recruit the best – and keep the best – in order to better serve our clients and the real estate community.”
About Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Established in 1911, Douglas Elliman Real Estate is the largest brokerage in the New York Metropolitan area and the third largest residential real estate company nationwide. With more than 7,000 agents, the company operates approximately 118 offices in New York City, Long Island, The Hamptons, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, California, Colorado and Massachusetts. Moreover, Douglas Elliman has a strategic global alliance with London-based Knight Frank Residential for business in the worldwide luxury markets spanning 60 countries and six continents. The company also controls a portfolio of real estate services including Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, Douglas Elliman Property Management and Douglas Elliman Commercial. For more information on Douglas Elliman as well as expert commentary on emerging trends in the real estate industry, please visit elliman.com.
