Don’t Just Network….Network Right

The strength of your real estate business can be directly linked to the strength of your networking. The more contacts you make and relationships you build, the more opportunities that will come your way. Even though most people in business know the importance of networking, few truly embrace it. They view it as a necessary evil instead of something that can transform their business. Sure, networking can be a grind and downright tedious at times, but it can also immediately jumpstart your business or elevate it to the next level.

It is not enough to simply shake hands and exchange business cards. You need to network to a targeted group with a purpose in mind. By doing so you will see a stark improvement in your results and ultimately in your business. Here are five tips to help improve your networking results.

• Narrow your focus. Successful networking is more about quality than quantity. As obvious as it sounds the goal isn’t to shake hands and get on with your day. You want to establish a meaningful relationship that is mutually beneficial for years to come. The best way of doing this is by going to events, meetings and groups tailored to real estate. A local networking group may be great for other local businesses, but for an investor could be a waste of time. Between the internet, social media and personal contacts you should be able to quickly find a handful of targeted groups or clubs in your market. Go to these meetings with an open mind and ready to work. If you view networking as something you have to do, you might as well not even go. Just one new contact can completely transform your business. A real estate agent, mortgage broker, attorney or hard money lender can become a reliable source for business. Narrow your focus and go to meetings that make sense for a real estate investor.
• Develop talking points. Showing up to meetings is not enough. This is not like college where you can just sign in and tune out of class. You should be pro-active and make use of the time that is available. When meeting people you will find that there is a typical pattern of interaction. You will make small talk about who you are, where you are from, what brings you here and how you run your business. It is important to think of every potential starter question you could be asked and come up with a brief answer for each. You don’t want to sound like you are reading off a script, but you don’t want to struggle for answers and sound unprepared either. Come up with a brief 3-4 sentence answer for each and always end with a return question back to the other person. You want the person you are speaking with answering questions and engaging in conversation. Depending on the answers you will know if you are a good fit or you think you may be able to work together.
• Cross reference contacts. It is no secret that people like to work with people they know and feel comfortable with. As you are just getting to know someone it is a good idea to dig into your mental rolodex of contacts. As the conversation is flowing you should think of anyone in the field or in their area of expertise you know. Don’t be afraid to ask if they know the person. If they do you can use that to pivot the conversation in a different direction. If they don’t you can share some stories from them that may be useful to building a rapport. Even if they don’t know your contact you exhibit that you have knowledge of the industry and have people you can refer. In the brief amount of time you have to talk to someone at a meeting, anything you can use that can keep the conversation flowing is a good idea.
• Ask for a meeting. It may seem like decades ago but back in the day if you wanted to ask someone out on a date you needed to physically ask them. Today, with text, email and social media you can get around talking to someone if you really wanted to. The next logical step after you build an initial rapport with someone is to ask for a meeting. Too many times people in business fail to ask for what they want. Simply ask your new contact if they want to sit down for a few minutes to talk about growing your businesses together. Instead of leaving the request open ended you should always have a specific time and date in mind. By asking if they are free next Tuesday at 8AM for coffee they are less likely to say no.
• 1 new contact per week. Your networking goal should be to generate one new contact per week. Things get hectic in business all the time and it is easy to let your networking slide. By focusing on building one contact a week you can keep your database fresh and new and avoid networking lulls. The longer you are in real estate the more you will realize that contacts drive your business. They will help you find and sell more deals than you realize. Even if things are going great now it can change in the matter of just a few weeks. Make it a point to do something to network every week.

Whatever you do in business you should to do get results, with networking being no exception. You only get some many hours in a day. Don’t just network, network to get results.