Networking:  An Essential Tool for Your Real Estate Investing Business

Networking may be one of the most important business skills you can develop. Trite though it may be, whom you know is sometimes infinitely more important than what you know. The bottom line is, no one can know everything there is to know or do everything there is to do when it comes to real estate investment. When you establish a large network of colleagues, suppliers, service providers, Realtors, appraisers, and investors, it really doesn’t matter which part of the whole you are missing, because you have the ability to reach out and leverage the power, knowledge, influence and financing of others.

Grow your database of contacts, striving to fill it with folks in every field, and nurture those relationships so that you can develop significant business alliances; that means give as good as you get. Don’t be just a resource leech.

In order to form great alliances, you need to know who you are. If you are uncertain about who you are, what you want, where you’re going and what you have to offer, it will be impossible for you to provide value in your business relationships. Successful entrepreneurs and real estate investors know who they are and what they have to offer. Spend some time in self reflection; journaling and meditation are two good ways, but everyone has their own path when it comes to discovering their inner gifts, talents, desires, dreams and abilities.

So how can you get started building this golden list?

It’s simpler than you think.

Attend Tradeshows, Training Seminars, Webinars, Conventions and Summits.

When you attend any of these kinds of events, you have an opportunity to meet other real estate investors as well as professionals who are in fields that compliment real estate investment businesses such as marketing, copywriting, social media, printing, financing, credit card processing, systems and applications development and more.   Any event like this offers up a plethora of opportunity to build your network, partner up with others and also get in on the cutting edge of new development in the world of business and real estate investment.

Get Social.

Facebook, Google + and LinkedIn are probably the three best social media platforms for developing your business network. Start by creating a business page for your real estate investment business that is apart from your personal profile. The one caveat to this is LinkedIn, where you should have both and both should be focused on you and your business. According to LinkedIn, founded in 2003, the company “connects the worlds professionals in virtually every industry to make them more productive and successful. With more than 120 million members worldwide, including executives from ever Fortune 500 Company, LinkedIn is the worlds largest professional network on the Internet”.  Don’t dismiss other professionals or professional groups just because they are not real estate investors.

Remember, when you do go social, have something to offer; share valuable knowledge that you possess or that you come across. Reach out to others and comment on their posts. Think of social media like a cocktail party; offer up something interesting to share. While you can spend a little bit of time talking about yourself and your business, spend at least 80% of your time talking about other things that are relevant, valuable and interesting to your network. No one wants to socialize with the self-centered Me Me Me Jerk; Don’t be that guy.

Get a coach or mentor and surround yourself with successful, like-minded people:

When you do, you will not only learn and grow, but you will be inspired and motivated, as well as have an opportunity to gain access to the people they have in their network. In addition to that, you will learn about, and gain access to, industry events, which are valuable for the education you will gain alone, but, as I said before, they are also incredible networking opportunities.

Success requires expansive vision. Think outside the proverbial box and definitely outside the immediate realm of real estate investment. Don’t discount agents or brokers; they can be your friends and an incredible asset to your business. Carry your business cards and smart phone with you everywhere you go and always be prepared to strike up a conversation with, well, everyone. You never know where opportunity will pop up and open good fortune’s well of abundance.

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