Networking is the key to your success!

[Larry Turowski]

Do you think the BiggerPockets podcasts are awesome?  Taking another investor out for coffee is like your own little podcast.

Going to your local REIA meeting is a start. But it is not enough. You need to meet one on one with other investors.

Make a point to meet for coffee with one new investor per week. If your local REIA meets once per month, schedule four coffee dates before the next meeting. If you do not have a REIA, call up landlords and flippers and introduce yourself.

Put together a few questions just like you hear on the BP podcasts: How did you get started in real estate investing?  What is your niche?  What is a deal for you?  How do you  find your deals?  What is your favorite real estate investing book?  And talk about yourself too.

You will be amazed at how productive these meetings are.

Here are just some of the things that I have gotten out of these coffee meetings that have both motivated me, and saved or made me money:

• Other people are doing this and succeeding.
• Different strategies that are succeeding in my area (many different ones).
• What are the best areas in my city to invest in.
• A great, reliable, reasonably priced contractor.
• A local credit union that does portfolio lending at good rates.
• My accountant.
• My realtor (though I don't find all my deals through them).
• A buyer to wholesale a property to.
• Huge motivation!

Keep in mind that I did not have a specific agenda at these coffee dates.  I just networked.  And I cannot tell you how many times I have come away thinking, "Wow, that was great!"  I just met someone today who is one of the really big successes in the area.  We have a coffee date for next week!

[Jonathan Twombly]

@Larry Turowski Networking is absolutely a must for success in this business, and any business.  The more people you know, the more people are in your support system.

It's great to network in the business, but it's also essential to network outside the real estate field as well.  If you want to find people to invest in your deals, most likely they are going to be people who are not in the real estate business themselves.  It's therefore very important to get your name out there and make sure you are building relationships with people who will talk about you favorably with the potential investor community out there.

My three rules of networking are:  (1) never have an agenda; (2) always look for ways to help the other person first, with zero expectation of getting anything back; and (3) follow up, follow up, follow up.  Oh yes, and rules 4 and 5 are "follow up" and "follow up again".  One networking meeting is useless, unless you build a relationship with someone. That can be as simple as calling them up every few months and saying, "Hey I was thinking of you.  What are you up to lately? How is your business?"  But you'd be surprised how many people don't do it.  They collect a business card and think they're done.  Or they have one coffee and think they are done.  Networking is all about building relationships, and that takes time.  The work never ends.  But the good thing is that getting to know people with no expectation of them ever doing anything for you is a lot of fun.  And you'll be amazed at the results of 2-3 years of proper networking with no expectations, just trying to help people.  You will amass so much good will with people that opportunities will begin to come your way without you asking for them.  But this will only happen if you follow up, consistently, over time.