5 Ways to Get More Out of Networking Events as a Newbie

It all sounds great, right? The thing is, many new investors get it all wrong when trying to strike up relationships at real estate investing meetings.

With these five rules, you should be able to avoid common beginner pitfalls and leverage real estate investment clubs to work for you.

1. Put yourself out there and network.

The essence of attending a real estate investment meeting is to—yup—network! It might be harder for some people to get acquainted with strangers; that is normal. But ultimately, you need to take steps that will help grow your business.

2. Create an agenda before the meeting.

Networking for the sake of networking is pretty much worthless. Make it a point of setting an objective you want to achieve every time you attend a networking meeting.

Having a goal in mind will not only make your efforts more fruitful but also more enjoyable.

3. Make use of the contacts you meet.

At some point, most of us have built up a fat contact list. But what use is it if it doesn’t add value to your business?

Avoid snapping up business card after business card, only to end up stashing them all in your drawer.

It’s better to have four solid contacts you genuinely get in touch with on occasion than 60 connects with whom you don’t really connect.

4. Don’t be the smartest person in the room.

It’s OK to share what you know with the other investors, but understand that others have something meaningful to say.

Don’t let the conversations you start be all about you, because if you do, not only will you be “that guy,” but you will end up gaining nothing, which defeats the whole purpose of attending the event.

5. Volunteer

By and large, real estate meet-up groups and clubs are not-for-profit, meaning they are mostly run by volunteers.

Volunteering is not just about going out of your way to organize meetings. The other side of this coin is that it gets you on the “inside track” of the investment club, and over time, your influence grows steadily.

What you want is to add value to your real estate business—not waste your valuable time.