How To Close More Deals By Networking Better

Behind every good investor is a solid networking background. You can do everything else right in your business, but if you are weak at networking your business will suffer. Networking is one of those things where it doesn’t take much technical skill to be successful. Anyone can talk to someone at a networking meeting or follow up with someone involved in a deal. As important as networking is, few investors truly appreciate the significance. Leads generated through networking have a much higher probability of closing and often go smoother.

Improving your networking just a little bit will result in more deals and an increased bottom line. Networking may not excite you, but if done consistently can change your business tremendously. Here are five tips to improve your networking.

• Join Social Media Groups: One of the basic principles of networking is to get involved with as many groups as possible. In the past, networking was done in person, usually over coffee or breakfast. Today, a good amount of networking is done online. This is perfect, if talking and meeting new people isn’t your strong suit. On Facebook alone, you can probably find at least a half dozen real estate specific groups with minimal effort. Some of these groups are closed but as long as you have some connection to real estate investing you will be allowed in. Once in, don’t be afraid to make timely comments or offer opinions and suggestions. If you see someone who you feel could help your business grow reach out to them and ask if they would be interested in meeting. The more groups you join the more people you will connect with and the higher the potential for deals. The bare minimum of your marketing efforts should be joining social media groups online.
• Don’t Fear The Cold Call: The biggest fear that most people in sales have is making cold calls. For most people, facing the potential rejection on the other end of the phone is not worth the satisfaction of getting a lead. As are truly averse to the phone you can start with an email. Find as many divorce attorneys and mortgage brokers as you can find and shoot them off an email. With your emails you want to keep it short and sweet. Explain that you are a local real estate investor with a mutually beneficial way to help each other’s business. Ask if they would like to meet for a quick cup of coffee at a specific date and time. You can follow up with them via phone in a day or two just to cement the request. Most smart contacts will welcome a free cup of coffee and listen to what you propose. Sure, you may get a few jerks, but those people wouldn’t be good to work with anyway. The more you get used to the phone, the easier cold calling becomes.
• Utilize Existing Contacts: The opposite of a cold call is a warm lead. There is nothing warmer than a contact you have already done business with. They know how you work and you comfortable with how they operate. If you are not reaching out to your existing contacts, you are missing out on a valuable opportunity. Every person in every deal should be someone you try to enhance your relationship with. The listing agent, selling agent, attorney, lender, buyer and seller are all potential lead sources. Just as you did with your cold leads, ask if they are interested in sitting down for a quick cup of coffee to discuss how you can work together. Arm yourself with a few marketing or branding ideas and don’t oversell yourself and your services. They have already seen what you can do, so you don’t have to try too hard. You can find more leads from your existing contacts than almost any other source you have.
• Give Referrals: Networking is as much about what you can do for someone else than what they can do for you. There is nothing more valuable than a referral. You should be mindful of that in everything you do. There will be times when a deal doesn’t work for you or someone needs outside services. Instead of dismissing it, use it as an opportunity. Pass along the name of someone in your circle and see if they can help. If it ends up turning into a sale for them, you can bet they will remember it and try to reciprocate it to you down the road.
• Do Something daily: Anything meaningful you want to accomplish takes time. One of the reasons that most people give up on diets is because they do not see the results as fast as they anticipated. Their expectations are usually unrealistic, they get discouraged and they fall back into their old habits. On the flip side, if you commit to making small progress daily, and weekly, you will eventually get the results you desire. This is the case with networking. By doing something everyday you will slowly increase your contact list and get more from it. There will be times when you don’t want to do anything, and you think your efforts are fruitless. Fight through those times and you will come out better for it. Do something every day, however minor it may be, to improve your networking contacts.

Networking takes nothing more than desire and a willingness to put yourself out there. Don’t let your current pipeline, mood or anything else deter you from networking. The more dedicated you are to networking the stronger your business will be.