I recently had the great pleasure of spending two days with nearly 50 of Allen Hainge's CyberStars at their Annual Summit held at Stetson University in Kissimmee, Florida. Wow, what an awesome group of people they are!

Allen Hainge, as founder and leader of this group, established from the outset that technology is a tool - real estate is a relationship business that uses tools to better serve and communicate. And it's apparent as you meet the gorup that they truly are grounded in relationships, not only with their respective markets, but also very clearly with each other.

Many of these people I know from my past years at STAR POWER Systems. I delighted in reconnecting with Sandra Nickel, the famed Hat Lady from Montgomery Alabama, and meeting her team member, Jennifer Steverson. Leslie McDonnell continued her reputation as a master of the listing dialogue, helping unreasonable sellers get a grip on the reality of today's market with a three-category approach: those who can't sell, who won't sell, and who need to sell. We only want that last one, right?

Several of the attendees, however, were brand new to me. Some of them are new to CyberStars as well - sharp, bottom-line focused people like Sven Andersen from Massachusetts, who is giving GPS units to buyers that he can push property matches to for them to drive by (thereby saving him time driving people around, and pleasing the buyer as they are able to narrow their search on their own terms).

The content was rich in variety and depth, with Mary McKnight kicking off with such fire about SEO that Darryl Baskin stood up at the end of her session and declared he'd already gotten his money's worth. All our heads were spinning after Teri Isner fired off what felt like ten ideas per minute for leveraging social media. I thought Southern girl Pat Wattam spoke quickly... I am certain that Teri has Pat beat! Brad Korn hammered home the importance of implementing Action Plans to systematize every aspect of the business. Then Pro Step Marketing founder Tricia Andreassen closed Day One powerfully with the key ingredients to appeal to today's Web-enabled consumer.

Absolutely timely were tips shared by Jon Modene on embracing foreclosure/REO business. James Nellis led a fantastic panel on the second day that included dynamite agent Christina Whipple and "Mr. Photo" and wonderful agent Tim Kinzler. And the consummate professional and award-winning marketer, Jo Ellen Nash, showed us how she gives beyond client expectations in her two separate markets of Naples, Florida, and Vail, Colorado. SO many others came forward to share their tips and strategies, that I could easily triple the length of this blog naming them all.

Here's the bottom line: if you're a good agent who is effectively using technology to leverage your real estate business, you should consider joining CyberStars. Their next big event will be in January in Scottsdale, Arizona; and, they are actively sharing and helping each other on a members-only Google Group daily. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll point you in the right direction!