Dec 09
4
by Julie Broad
Most people think you have to have money to get started in real estate. And, I won’t lie and tell you it’s easy to do it without money, but it IS possible. But there are other resources that are just as important for real estate investing success. These resources include:
- Knowledge
- Time
- Energy
- Your network
- Your team.
So … if you’re a real estate investor with limited cash resources then the most important thing you can do is begin developing the other resources. One of the most important pieces to the puzzle is a strong network. And once of the easiest way to expand your network with like minded people is to attend a conference.
But if you’ve ever attended a conference you know how overwhelming it can be to try and remember everyone you meet. I always take business cards of the people I meet and write a note on the back of it to try and remember who they are and what we spoke about. More recently I’ve taken to sending a follow email that includes my photo and that usually triggers the recipients to send me an email back with their photo… but I recently learned a simple yet effective tip you can use in your networking.
I learned this little networking trick when I met Larry Benet. 
Larry is known as “The Connector of Billionaires and Millionaires“. He is a master networker and connector. His mission in life is to find out what the big guns in the world need and then connect them to the person that can give them what they need. So if you’re going to learn a good networking tip then I think this is the guy to learn it from!
After chatting with Larry for a bit we exchanged contact information. Instead of just taking my business card and putting it in his pocket like most people do, Larry took a moment and entered it into his Blackberry and snapped a photo of us.
Get Ready to Smile For my Blackberry Camera if We Meet
Now if I ever contact him he will have a picture of me to help him remember who I am and where we met. And I am sure he made a few notes about who I was and what we discussed too.
It only took about 60 seconds but I sure wish I had been doing that for the last few years at conferences. I would have better recall of who I had met and I would be a much better connector!
I am sure there are plenty of people out there that already do this but I attended four major conferences and a few other smaller seminars and networking events this year and met at least 100 new people and not one single person did this! But I am going to start doing it … so if we meet in the near future I hope you’re ready to say CHEESE for my Blackberry camera!!
