Whatever role you have in commercial real estate, you will always need a strong network to grow. Typically, a strong structure can be vital in a variety of ways – for example, without a web of professional knowledge to draw from, most would struggle to grow commissions and even find worthwhile commercial real estate listings. Unfortunately, this is a problem that many individuals in this industry have to deal with, without quite knowing the solution.
If a business is failing, one of the first things to look at is the quantity and quality of the contacts they have made – as well as the time and effort that is put into both building their list and maintaining it.
Most of those who find that their issues stem from having a poor network will be glad to hear that there are methods that can be used to help improve their current standing. While this is generally something that can take time and hard work, you’ll find that it’s often more than worth it. I will show you why your networking methods are failing, and the things you can do to rectify them.
What kind of people do you need in your network?
Firstly, let’s look at the type of people you should be looking to network with. Typically, it’s not about finding as many individuals as possible – in fact, taking the time to figure out what you’re missing and reaching out to individuals who you think could be beneficial to you can be far better than just randomly contacting people and hoping that they’ll be able to help you somehow. Quality is more important than quantity, and it is important you narrow down your ideal target audience, and know them properly. Here are some examples of the kinds of individuals that you should consider reaching out to:
- Property developers
- Investors in the local area (it won’t hurt to have contacts with ones outside of the region, too)
- Individuals who finance commercial and retail buildings
- Owners with quality properties in the area
- Local business owners that could be looking to expand or find new premises
It’s also important to take the time to build relationships with people in different fields of the commercial real estate sector. It may take time to do this, but in the long run you’ll find that it’s more than worth it. Most experts will agree that a strong and relevant network can be so valuable in the industry, simply because of everything that a good support structure can offer. Networking is a numbers game, but it is also a time game. It will require both time and effort, but the end results make it worthwhile.
A Strong System Is ESSENTIAL
In most cases, an individual’s connections are a vital part of their ability to be successful in the world of commercial real estate. To be successful, you need to think about networking in terms of systems and maths. Firstly, you should understand your audience, and be clear with who you want to target. It takes many potential relationships to find an ideal client, and you will need many interactions before finding a customer or relationship partner. It is a numbers game, and you can control these numbers to devise the most efficient networking strategy. If you don’t know the numbers, then you won’t be able to scale. Your networking sucks because you are going about it in the wrong manner. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way. Have a look below at the key things you need to take into account to improve your networking strategy.
3 Tips for Building an Optimal Networking System
There are three things to take into account when building an optimized networking system:
- Play The Numbers Game
Networking is a numbers game, pure and simple. We mentioned above, that quality is more important than quantity. However, even after identifying your target audience, you will still need to put the time and effort to reach out to as many of these people as you can. Not every interaction will lead to a new client, and you will need to realize this. Know your math and play the numbers game to start optimizing your system.
- Make It Personal
You cannot be insincere with networking. Nobody in this industry is stupid, and they want to be treated as individuals. You can’t mass spam your target audience with a pre-written text and hope to build relationships. Instead, you must put in the time to personalize your messages, and really resonate with the individual. People aren’t robots, you must be able to relate with them.
- Use Data And Systems
Luckily, if you have the right system, all of this will require far less time and effort. The modern networking approach requires data collection, and the use of systems to process this data. This means collecting personal and important data and using it to produce personalized approaches. You can develop relevant messaging, and track the effectiveness of your campaigns. Automation tools make it easy to reach out globally to the type of people that will allow your business to flourish.
The more people you interact with and form relationships with, from other brokers to lenders, the larger your list of contacts will become – which can lead to greater opportunities in the future. Networking should be an essential aspect for anyone working in the industry. Regardless of what your asset type or property type is, you should always be looking to develop and optimize your networking systems. This will allow you to reach the right people, at the right times, which will lead to the right opportunities to capitalize on.
