Diamond River Currents...Monadnock Region...Keene, NH: July 2010

Susan Haughton, of Alexandria, VA hits this one out of the park!  A good lesson reminding REALTORs that the homebuying process can be overwhelming and our "must haves" are negotiable.  Even when we're absolutely, positively adamant that they are not.

And, for those of you "outside" our crazy industry...let this put your mind at ease!  Some of us really do "get it!"  and that's the truth!  :)

Keene NH Realtor® braves Boston RainCamp and lives to blog about it!

I've been a member of Active Rain since October 2007.  My point accumulation is nothing to write home about, since I've been more of a reader and commenter than a blogger.  I'm ranked as the #1 real estate agent in Cheshire County and Keene, NH, but that's more a result of the lack of AR members in my neck of the woods than anything else.  It's easy to get complacent when you don't have much competition, but my complacency isn't paying the bills or bringing me the business I know is out there for me.

Having spent almost three years lurking and learning, commenting and connecting, I know that this blogging thing has helped thousands of AR members increase their business, even in a less-than-stellar market, and I know it's time to start putting it to work for me.

Enter:  RainCamp Boston                                                                                         

"WOW" doesn't even begin to do it justice.  Ben Kinney really knows his stuff and has the ability to deliver the goods with a humor and ease that makes even the most "long-tail-S-E-O-say-what?" among us relax and let the information just soak in.  All the snippets of information I'd been gleaning and testing online suddenly started to make sense.  I have a much clearer picture of what I'm doing right, and more importantly, what I'm doing wrong.  I'm actually able to connect the dots of the various Social Media platforms, and I left Boston's Seaport Amphitheater confident that I can accomplish it.  That, my friends, is not only encouraging, it's empowering.

My advice to my fellow Active Rainers?  Get thee to RainCamp!

If you're committed to bringing your business to the next level, it really is a no-brainer.

BUT WAIT....There's MORE!

Did you know that there are real, live human beings behind those profile pictures?  Seriously!  I've seen it for myself.  RainCamp is an extraordinary opportunity to travel through the looking glass computer screen and connect with some of the folks you've been "socializing" with right here on AR. 

During my time here on Active Rain, I've made some really great friends.  I can safely say that at least 30% of my Facebook Friends are people I've met through AR.  Some have become such close friends that it's easy to forget that I've never actually met them.  We're able to get acquainted a bit more easily through reading blogs or commenting on Facebook updates or re-tweeting 140-character-or-less epiphanies.  Social media often allows us a little more insight into what makes people tick, and I think we're better able to bond without some of the boundaries that we might have to maneuver IRL. (that's In Real Life...and don't feel bad, I didn't know either ‘til my kids told me)

But...every now and then we might just have the chance to see beyond the keyboard voice and profile pic. 

 I was able to re-connect with my favorite "wedding crasher"  after nearly 24 years!

I exchanged FB messages with my newest Facebook Friend, Connecticut's own "Running Realtor", like we were passing notes in school.  I was fortunate to have lunch with some terrific real estate agents and stagers, including New Hampshire's own Sharon Tara, and I finally got a chance to apologize to former Keene, NH resident, Liz Bolton (who moved to Cambridge right around the time I moved to Westmoreland, NH) for not following up on some fabulous blog ideas she had for me.

To transition from info-surge to life as we know it, our day of inspiration and education was followed by the after-party where we could all begin to relax and make the most of a little more "facetime".  I so enjoyed chatting over a glass of wine with Marianne Cherico and Annie (I wish I could remember her last name!!) about staging, antique homes, kids in college and facing the ups and downs of a challenging market.

Sadly, it wasn't until today that I realized that I missed catching up with some of the folks who were there.  (A great reason for AR to provide a list of attendees, so we don't miss our "connections" Hint, hint, AR gods)  Crystal, we won't make that mistake again, my friend!

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all!  I sure didn't see anyone grousing.  Reeling from information overload, perhaps, but definitely not grousing!

Some things to remember, when you attend your region's RainCamp:

Bring your laptop or, at least, a notebook.  You'll need it to write down a lot of stuff.  I typed up six pages of notes and wish I'd taken more!

Bring business cards.  Lots of them.

Get a good night's sleep the day before.  You want to be fresh and ready to soak everything in.

Seasoned pro or nervous newbie, be prepared to be blown away.

Oh, and if you want to be one of lucky owners of an official RainCamp t-shirt, don't just sit there.

Trust me on that one!

Read the post below, watch the video, sign the petition.  Will it help?  Perhaps.  I'd like to think it will.  It certainly won't hurt.  If you'd like to share the link on your own blogs, FB pages, etc. you'll find a link when you watch the video. 

Forget the blame for now.  There are bigger problems to address, and it's easy for us to forget that when we're not right there living it.

Doing nothing begets nothing.