7 Tips For Profitable Real Estate Networking
1. Most real estate investors think that networking is all about talking fast. Good networkers actually listen more than talk. Whether I am talking to a prospective private investor or another real estate investor for some deal or talking to a top FHA lender – I pay very close attention to what they are saying. There is a reason why we have two ears and only one mouth.
2. Dress up. Yeah I know all about the shallowness of this suggestion but have you ever seen Trump in jeans and a t-shirt? Ever seen Buffet walking around in khaki shorts? Guys for some reason have an attitude against looking good in when they are meeting new people. Most of them are trying to compete to look who can look more frazzled. It takes exactly 10 minutes to dress nice. First impression matters.
3. At seminars – sit at the top corner or at the bottom corner. When you have a question to ask – stand up, introduce your self and then ask a question. Do it two or three times: ask question, start by introducing yourself – and the speaker and the audience will know who you are. Since you are sitting in a corner – most people will turn around and look at you. So they will know not just your voice but also your face. That alone will get people coming to you at breaks, lunch sessions and at the end of the day. Just sitting and asking a question where nobody can see you is a waste.
4. Smile. Smile. Smile. People are attracted to it. Gloominess might be the national pastime in Michigan but in business settings, it just turns people off.
5. Energy is everything. There is a reason why planets revolve around the sun and not vice versa. I love hanging out with real estate investors because they are so full of life and energy in one on one conversations once you get to know them but in front of people they don’t know – most investors just buttoned up. Why so serious and defensive? Do you really think that crossing your hands on your chest and looking down makes anybody come and talk to you?
6. Business cards – make some kick ass business cards. Avoid putting your pictures and silly graphics of houses on it. Avoid the virus of naming your LLC and using the words foreclosure, save houses, investment, property, global, universal etc in it. That is what everybody else is doing it. Why would you want to be like somebody else? Moo.com makes really beautiful looking cards. They are not as cheap as VistaPrint but they do leave a more lasting impression.
7. Good networking is not about meeting somebody and then dumping your wish-list on them. It is about finding out who the other person is and letting them know you first. Build a bridge. Build a relationship first. The business will just happen automatically. Most private money and wholesaling networking opportunities should never start with, “Well let me tell you what I have been about recently…” .