The Coldwell Banker Global Luxury® experience has gone virtual. For the first time ever, the popular Coldwell Banker Global Luxury course was livestreamed, with record-breaking attendance. Over 1,200 registered attendees joined the two-day virtual conference on April 28 and 29, 2020. There were over 950 real estate professionals taking the course as the first step to earning the Global Luxury Certification and The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing’s designation. There were also more than 275 guests, including managers, marketing directors and Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Specialists. Attendees represented 42 states and seven other countries, including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Italy, the Virgin Islands, France and Turkey.

“It was a smashing success — by far, our largest certification course in the history of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury program,” says Craig Hogan, vice president of luxury for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “The virtual format allowed more agents in more countries and time zones to attend, with the added benefits of reducing our carbon footprint of travel and, of course, maintaining social distance.”

The Coldwell Banker® brand teamed up with The Institute of Luxury Home Marketing (The Institute) to present “a first-of-its-kind live educational experience” via the Zoom platform. Like the in-person course that has been taught since 2017, the Zoom event was aimed at giving agents “an organized approach to getting to the next level of their business and position them for closing more transactions at a higher price point,” according to The Institute’s president Diane Hartley.

“The beauty of the virtual Luxury Certification Course is that we can come to you now,” she adds. “Not everyone has the ability to travel, and we can only be in so many cities delivering the course live, so we suspected that a virtual version of the course was going to be in high demand. But to have over 950 agents who want to come together while they’re at home and start this journey with us is a tremendous accomplishment. It speaks to the undeniable power of the partnership between The Institute and the Coldwell Banker brand, and the strength of the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury program.”

Learning sessions led by Hogan and Global Luxury Ambassadors Lucio Bernal (also an expert trainer for The Institute), Christophe Choo, Ricardo Rodriguez, Carrie Wells and Danny Hertzberg covered a wide array of topics, including “Understanding High-Net-Worth Individuals,” “Branding Yourself” and “Beyond Price.” Surprise guests included Vanda and Laurent Demeure of Coldwell Banker France and Monaco; Daniel Ortiz of Coldwell Banker Smart in Mexico; Aylin Pelin Onar of Coldwell Banker Maximum in North Cyprus; Jade Mills of Coldwell Banker Realty in Beverly Hills; and Wendy Walker of Coldwell Banker Realty in Arizona. They were interviewed on subjects like pricing, listing consultations and the importance of delivering a clear value statement to clients.

 

Attendees were treated to an overview of the exclusive tools that distinguish a Coldwell Banker Global Luxury Property Specialist in the field. Among those is an exclusive membership to The Institute, which allows agents access to ongoing education resources and tools for agents to improve their craft.

“Right after the virtual course, they can log into The Institute’s portal and dig even deeper into the learning materials,” notes Hartley. “Agents can go to their clients now and demonstrate that they were advancing themselves and investing in their future during this time of uncertainty. Education is a powerful differentiator.”

One of those agents was Julie Gritton of Coldwell Banker Resort Realty in Delaware Beach. “This course was a game changer,” raves the 16-year real estate veteran. “At the end of Day 1, I had already made tweaks to my business plan. By Day 2, I had a list of ideas and the confidence I needed. Like so many of the Global Luxury Ambassadors who presented during the virtual course, I recently left a boutique brokerage and joined Coldwell Banker. Moving to Coldwell Banker has already elevated my career. But I know the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury certification will make a lasting impact on my business, customer service and networking abilities in my resort home area.”

Beyond the learning opportunities, the organizers also made sure that there was a champagne toast and still plenty of virtual networking — just like the in-person course. Attendees also submitted more than 600 questions to the team to answer behind the scenes in real-time across the two days.

“The level of engagement was incredible,” says Hogan. “As we told our attendees, we believe an investment in knowledge pays the best interest. We look forward to adding more virtual courses in the future.”