Real estate networking is one skill that is fundamental to the success of every agent in the industry. You cannot ignore networking as someone working in the real estate market. Yet, many real estate agents fail to take advantage of the fascinating networking opportunities.
You work hard to get your real estate business off the ground. You put in the long hours, invest in your education, and put your client’s needs first. But sometimes, you feel like you’re spinning your wheels.
Whether you’re trying to close a deal, find a new client, or start your new real estate career, real estate networking can be crucial to your success. You can’t get too many connections, either. So, how do you build your network?
This blog will discuss some of the most influential and creative ways to create a real estate network.
How Effective is Real Estate Networking?
Networking is your most crucial action to expand your real estate company quickly. It speeds up the success process and fosters relationships that last a lifetime.
Networking gives you the opportunity to let people know how you can help them with their real estate needs. This type of relationship increases the likelihood of lead generation and ensures a steady flow of potential customers via a diversified network.
The following are some benefits of networking in real estate.
Education
As a rookie agent, you have a lot to learn. While you can access various online educational resources, nothing beats practical, in-person experiences. Even if you’re part of a real estate team or mentorship program, you can develop a distinctive point of view and gain priceless knowledge from interacting with experienced agents and realtors.
Greater Deals
Your access to opportunities expands as your network grows. A more extensive network gives you access to more people who might be able to help you close transactions. Whomever you meet might be interested in buying or selling a property. Growing your real estate network increases your potential to get business opportunities.
Contacts and Team Building
Most successful real estate agents and brokers have worked in a team of professionals. This team can either be one in their brokerage or a group of professional contacts created through networking.
Even though you’re a new agent, you probably know about the challenges and complexities of the real estate industry. Sometimes, it is more about whom you know than what you know. Quality contacts can make everything easier, from generating leads to closing deals. Quickly reach out to a trusted contractor or listing agent whenever you need one.
How To Create A Network In Real Estate
Seasoned real estate agents know that building a network is essential to their success, but it can be challenging for some. One of an agent’s most valuable resources is a reliable network. Let’s get right into how to build a real estate network.
Join a Great Real Estate Team
If you’re a new agent, don’t assume you can handle it yourself. Most brokerages succeed because of a team of capable and reliable agents and brokers. The relationships you develop with people can make your job easier for you now and in the long run.
Some brokerages like eXp Realty make it easier for new agents to be a part of excellent real estate teams. Before you branch out, your real estate team can help you socialize and familiarize yourself with the industry’s operations.
Beyond your team, you can set out to form relationships with other agents and brokers and build a mutually beneficial network.
Establish Networking Goals
The purpose of a real estate network is to grow your business. Your networking goals should include allying with people who can help you generate leads, market your brand, and make sales. You can find contacts outside your field but helpful in the real estate industry.
For instance, building a network of vendors that can connect you to clients is a smart move. You can also include architects, builders, landscapers, painters, and interior designers in your networking goals. If you expand your network by one person monthly, you’ll have a solid real estate network.
Know Where To Network
You can find real estate networking opportunities in gatherings with diverse real estate industry members or potential customers. Business conferences, seminars, and charity events can give you valuable chances to meet many useful contacts in one location.
Attend as many events as possible. But it’s even better if participants pay to attend. Individuals who pay to join networking events are typically more willing to network with other real estate professionals.
Attend Auctions
Attending an auction is one of the most acceptable ways to build your network. When you attend an auction, aim to get as many contacts as possible. You can also use the opportunity to introduce yourself and your services.
The best thing about auctions is that everyone there is a focused and serious-minded buyer. The winning bidder doesn’t have a long time to close the property, so you can offer to help if there’s any way you can.
In-person Networking
In-person conversations have always been incredible, and this still holds today, even with all the digital options. Networking and meeting potential leads in person is an excellent choice.
Look for a neighborhood business networking group, join, and attend their events. These gatherings are among the best places to network with people in your field and market yourself. Some great options include a chamber of commerce or the National Association of Realtors.
Additionally, list any neighborhood companies that might be useful to your customers. Visit these places of business or give them a call to arrange a meeting with the manager/owner. Request their pamphlets and business cards, and inquire about the best method to refer your clients to their company.
Online Networking
The internet provides vast resources for marketing and networking. Whether you choose a website, blog, social media, or all three, you have multiple channels and platforms only a click away.
Professional Blogs and Websites
A professional blog and website won’t only help you reach a target audience, but it will also put you in the class of high-standing real estate agents. A good blog must consistently publish new, original information to keep people informed.
It could help to use locally sourced images instead of stock images to create a good impression. Additionally, you can leverage your website for networking through the following methods:
- Establish a page for reliable suppliers.
- List everyone in your network and link to them.
- Share this page with your social media followers and direct clients to it.
- Create a column for people in your network to share their content. Their contribution can help your blog gain traffic, and you can strengthen your relationship in the process.
Social Media
Social media is an amazing tool for networking, expanding your contact list, and promoting yourself as a real estate agent. You can interact with clients on LinkedIn and Instagram and recommend them to other companies.
Furthermore, if an interior designer did a job in a house you sold, you can acknowledge them on your social media platforms and refer them to potential clients. It’s a unique opportunity to sell your brand, help people in your network sell theirs, and build upon an existing real estate network.
The ability to connect with your clients through social media has grown significantly. It also presents a fantastic opportunity to share your knowledge and expertise with them simply and easily. You can respond to comments and messages to keep your users engaged. While doing this, make sure to maintain your authenticity.
Participate Actively in Your Neighborhood
Building a relationship with others in your community is as important as creating a professional network. Knowing how to create rapport with people in various societal groups is crucial. It will help you build a presence in your local community.
Furthermore, participating in community activities can grow your clientele and enable you to understand the local market better. There are numerous ways for real estate professionals to build their community presence. Below are some suggestions.
Volunteer
Give a few hours a month of your time to charities and groups in your community. There are different volunteer options for real estate members if you want to stick with the real estate theme. Volunteering is fantastic for giving back to your community and growing your network simultaneously.
Use Local Radio
Contact the radio station in your neighborhood. There’s a good chance they’ll allow you to participate in a broadcast or podcast.
Sponsorship
Sponsor neighborhood events like minor league teams and school activities. When you sign up for community sponsorship, you have the opportunity to market your brand. You will get the chance to have your brand’s logo printed on program booklets or fliers.
Join local organizations like nonprofit boards or art associations.
Meet With Landlords and Members of the Real Estate Investors Association (REIA)
Some of the best people to add to your real estate network are landlords and members of the REIA. You should attend their meetings frequently and build a strong network of real estate professionals. It’s an excellent opportunity to get important contacts while marketing your brand.
At these networking events, you’ll meet people you can learn from with a wide range of expertise. Moreover, it’s vital to do local research because not every city has a real estate investment or landlord group.
Business Cards Are Important
We are in a digital era, and most corporate operations are automated. A brokerage like eXp Realty is cloud-based and primarily automated. With all these online resources, it’s easy to underplay the use of business cards.
However, printed business cards are necessary, especially for creating and growing a business network. Business cards enable you to promote brand exposure, boost the bottom line, and strengthen your brand’s credibility.
Your business card provides quick and accessible information about who you are, what you offer, your location, and how to contact you. Some people need persuasion before even providing you with their contact information. Give such people your business card, professionally introduce your business, and show them that you’re ready to do business.
One advantage business cards have over other media is their ease of use. Unlike digital alternatives like emails, they don’t have a time delay. Anyone with your card can contact you immediately without any hassle. Utilize the opportunity to include anyone who contacts you in your real estate network.
Develop Your Listening Skills
You have a lot to learn if you’re new to the industry. Even if you’ve been an agent for a while, you can still learn much from your real estate network. But you can’t learn if you don’t listen.
Make it a habit to speak less and listen more as you start networking. Most people are eager to offer their opinions on important real estate issues, even in professional networking. You can gain much knowledge and valuable information from conversations with other professionals.
Furthermore, active listening can enable you to offer solutions to potential leads and customers’ problems. You can suggest buying and selling properties or detecting difficulties and potential threats to a business deal.
The Importance of Maintaining Contact With Your Real Estate Network
Establishing a real estate network is one thing. Growing and maintaining your contacts is another. Even if you successfully build a strong network, you need to make efforts to preserve your network.
There’s no point in your career when you’ll no longer need help and can’t learn anything. Even established realtors benefit from the networks they’ve built over the years. Here are some advantages of maintaining your real estate network:
- You can exchange ideas with other participants in your field by staying in touch.
- You can broaden your knowledge base as a result.
- Your contacts will alert you if there’s an opportunity in your field. You can prevent and reduce mistakes and seize opportunities as soon as they arise.
- Your customer and potential leads are as important as your network of real estate professionals. Staying in touch with them shows how important they are and can increase loyalty and trust. They will be more willing to refer you to others, and this will help you grow your network.
- Additionally, you receive knowledge that aids in decision-making. Even while you can make decisions on your own in some situations, you could miss out on certain vital information if you don’t stay in touch.
Networking Manners for Real Estate Professionals
You’re at liberty to choose any networking technique that works best for you. However, you must abide by professional guidelines while building a real estate network.
The following are some essential networking guidelines to go by:
Friendly but Professional
Even in a social gathering, your professional objectives are the primary things to remember. It’s okay to act friendly, but remember to always keep things professional. When you maintain a professional approach, whomever you’re dealing with is likely to keep things that way too.
Realistic Expectations
There is two-way traffic in networking. However, don’t have unrealistic expectations for your relationships with other people in your network. Also, ensure that you can provide services that make you valuable to your network.
Truthfulness and Reliability
It will hurt your bottom line if people have reasons to doubt your credibility. You can’t build an excellent real estate network without trust.
Final Words
Moving between appointments can be a great way to network with other real estate professionals. And by networking, it doesn’t just mean handing out business cards and talking about yourself.
Through networking, you have the opportunity to ask questions and listen to the answers. It’s the perfect opportunity to pick experts’ brains and grow your own business. The network you establish in your first year as an agent can help you in the years to come.