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When it comes to real estate, Harrison Beacher, AHWD, C2EX, and Gary Rogers, ABR, CRS, are naturals, leading in their markets and in the industry at large.
Beacher is managing partner and a salesperson with the Coalition Properties Group of Keller Williams Properties, Washington, D.C. He’s a former Division 1 college football player. In 2016, he was named to REALTOR® Magazine’s 30 Under 30, and in 2022 NAR named him a Fair Housing Champion.
Rogers is broker-owner of RE/MAX On the Charles, Waltham, Mass., and has won distinguished service awards from both the Greater Boston Association of REALTORS® and the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®. Before entering real estate, Rogers served as a medic in the U.S. Air Force.
This year, the two men have key leadership roles at the nation’s largest real estate conference, NAR NXT: The REALTOR® Experience, which kicks off in Boston in one week. Beacher chairs the National Association of REALTORS® Meeting and Conference Committee, which oversees NAR NXT. Rogers is NAR’s 2024 Member Services Liaison, serving as a conduit between the Leadership Team and six NAR committees, including Beacher’s.
Tell us about how you got involved in NAR and about your role at NAR NXT.
Beacher: I got involved in the Greater Capital Association of REALTORS® as a Young Professionals Network committee member in 2013 and worked my way up from there. My role as chair of the Meeting & Conference Committee is to help make the events engaging and worth people’s time. While we’re in Boston, I get to be involved in government affairs, professional development and member education, combining all the best things that happen at our annual conference.
Rogers: I entered real estate in 1988, but wasn’t even aware of what it meant to be a REALTOR®, a member of NAR, until 1993, when an office manager asked why I hadn’t finished my member orientation. Once I got involved, the value of volunteering was clear to me. I’ve served on this committee for several years, including as chair in 2018. I am fortunate to be serving as the committee liaison while NAR NXT is in my hometown.
What are you most excited about attending/learning/doing during NAR NXT?
Beacher: With all the industry changes that have come about this year, I’m excited for the opportunity to reconnect with a lot of peers who do great business in diverse markets around the country and meet new friends in markets where I don’t already have relationships. I really want to hear what people are doing on the ground.
One of my favorite phrases when I’m speaking is: “Nothing bad happens when you make your world bigger.” NAR NXT makes our world bigger.
Rogers: I can’t stress enough how valuable NAR NXT is! Where else can you have access to 100 sessions and design your own custom learning track? Learning from national-level speakers as well as peers who are sharing their expertise and experiences in real markets and in real time has been the biggest boost for my career year after year.
While you’re at the conference, what three market factors will have your attention?
Beacher: First, I want to learn what people are doing to increase their listing business and what they’re doing to help sellers make the correct adjustments to get listings sold.
The second factor I’m working on is leading conversations with buyer clients about compensation and the different options that exist in the market on the other side of the NAR settlement.
Finally, I want to engage with other brokers and people who run large teams to get their perspectives on recruiting and how they are attracting and retaining agents. This is is one of my big professional focuses right now, and there’s a lot of disruption from new business models.
Rogers: Clearly, there are a lot of questions about how we practice buyer representation. We will have the opportunity for up-to-date discussions and the ability to share best practices that are evolving as we speak.
The second factor encompasses all areas of our business: showing real and impactful value in everything we do. Many of our members have experience in slower markets, but many do not. Now we get the opportunity to show we are so much more than people who “sell houses.”
Lastly, many sessions will be talking about how we create differentiation in our marketplaces. Branding ourselves to show who we are as individuals allows consumers to choose their agent by matching their style or the way they want to work.
What tips can you offer to conference attendees to help them make the most of their time?
Beacher: Make sure you update your profile in the NAR NXT app and leverage the scheduling tools. You can plan all the classes, sessions and panel discussions that you want to attend in advance so that you’re not scrambling. Spend some time on the Expo floor and AXIS, which is a focused place for networking and connecting with other members. And don’t be shy—just reach out and introduce yourself to other people you see in the app or see on social media who say they are attending. One of the main reasons you come here is to build new relationships, and that does not have to happen only during the few days you are in Boston.
Also, make sure you create a plan of action based on the things you hear and learn while you are at the conference.
Rogers: Identify which sessions you are most interested in and those that will strengthen your skills. But if something isn’t clicking, get up and visit a backup session that interests you. Take some time to get out, grab dinner at any of the tons of great restaurants, and wear comfortable footwear! And take part in the REALTORS® Relief Run 5k. You don’t have to be a runner to participate—you can be a walker, a cheerleader, or just a contributor to a great cause.
