Through My Lens

At Your Service - Let LIBOR Be Your Concierge

by Doreen Spagnuolo, LIBOR CEO

I've been looking back over my first full year as Chief Executive Officer of LIBOR and thinking a lot about what our association delivers to members. Specifically, I've been asking myself, "What makes LIBOR different and better than other real estate trade associations?"

Trade associations were created, even before medieval guilds, as a way of supporting and empowering working people whose voices might otherwise be muted. People who might have nowhere else to go to learn their "trade," advance and benefit from being associated with other individuals with similar professional goals.

So, while some may think of trade associations as organizations that just deliver Continuing Education (CE) or hold big conventions, there's a lot more to what we do. Indeed, the benefits that LIBOR offers are exhaustive, enough to fill a 16-page booklet and multiple pages on lirealtor.com. And, while those benefits are many and important, there's more to what truly sets LIBOR apart.

I've come to believe and, more importantly, come to witness that our members get the most bang for your membership buck when you see and use LIBOR as a concierge service.

Because, while we are undoubtedly a big organization, with almost 30,000 individual members. the level of individualized support that we offer members can be downright amazing. Whether it's help with CE, licensing, onboarding new agents, navigating technology, or help understanding the post-NAR settlement world, LIBOR people are only a call or visit away whenever a member needs a hand.

I regularly witness LIBOR staff handholding frantic members who realize they're facing license expiry due to missing CE classes, walking a new agent (yet again), through the basics of buyer agency, discussing changes to the MLS system or helping resolve a listing dispute. It's struck me, time and time again, that LIBOR provides a place to turn on just about any issue that affects your real estate career or an individual transaction.

In this respect, we're a big organization with a "hometown" feel. And that's really important in a business where our members are independent contractors who may not have all of the conventional support that, say, a corporate job offers.

LIBOR is also made up of a bunch of smaller communities where members can find other professionals like themselves. Whether it's the Women's Council, Young Professionals Network, other groups or via one of our committees, there are lots of ways members can plug into others like themselves for support, growth, and camaraderie.

This can be a lonely profession if you let it be. Through LIBOR, no member has to feel like you're going it alone. The only catch is that you have to step up and take advantage of what we offer. Take even one class, listen to our new podcast, tune into a webinar, attend an event or ask a question and you'll get immediate payback. So, this January, resolve to let LIBOR be your professional concierge service and make 2025 your most successful year ever.