You won’t find deals if you don’t look!
Since we are actively looking for houses to buy right now, our networking forces are in full effect. What do we do when we are in this mode? We move our mouths a lot! For example:
- Today I’m going to meet with a local real estate agent and talk to her about our business and how we could benefit each other. It turns out she used to work with Carol, so that’s a nice intro. How did I find her? She called me, looking for houses for sale around the Bobcat Lair. Good marketing on her part.
- Lee is meeting with various people, especially at his Rotary club meetings. Joining a philanthropic organization is a great way to make connections in the local community. They all know other people! He often speaks at these, which builds credibility and gets his name out.
- Carol is going “door knocking” in the neighborhood of the Oakridge house. She designed some cards to pass out to folks in the neighborhood highlighting how well the Oakridge rehab went. She hopes to meet new clients or get referrals that way.
- Russell is attending his own networking meetings, so he’s busy talking our business up, as well. He’s had lots of chances to practice his “elevator speech” about our business model and what we do as real estate redevelopers.
Actually, none of us had business cards at dinner last night, but I have some in my bag now!
Be Prepared!
We all make sure we have business cards wherever we go, because you never know when you will meet a potential client. Anita and I were reminded of this last night, when we had dinner with our hairdresser, who is also our friend. We got to chatting with the waitress at the cute and trendy Austin restaurant (it was Monday, a slow night), and she asked how we all knew each other (we were each wearing jean jackets and had various purple hair highlights, so we looked like a weird family). When we told her of the hair connection, the waitress declared she needed a new colorist. At that point, our friend regretted having not made new business cards with her new salon location on it. You never knew when a potential client may materialize!
By the way, we know some investors who get around the business card issue by always having a photo of it with them. And if you text the photo to a new contact, you automatically have their phone number to put in your database! Score!
Got any networking and chatting hints? Please share!
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