- There are three really good reasons why you should
regularly be attending property networking events.
Let me tell you what these three reasons are
and give you some top tips so you can get
the most out of the next one you go along to.
(funky jazz music)
Hi, my name is Tony Law from Your First Four Houses,
and I teach people how to build
a small property portfolio that generates
a great income for them
so they can give up the day job if they wish
because they're now financially free.
If this is your first time here,
be sure to subscribe to the channel
and click that notification icon
so that you don't miss out in any of the free content
that I give you each and every week.
Now, I recognise that, for some people,
the idea of going along to a property networking event,
or indeed any kind of networking event,
is simply terrifying.
It certainly was when I first started out,
and I had certain things I did to get over that fear.
But once you do get over those initial nerves,
honestly, it can actually be a lot of fun.
Dare I say, I kinda know because I used to run
a really rather successful property networking event
for actually six years.
However, there are three really big reasons
why you do need to get out of your comfort zone
and commit to going to these types of events,
I would suggest maybe twice a month.
And they are:
finding deals,
sourcing money,
and learning new skills.
So can I suggest you start off by typing into Google
the name of your town followed by "property networking"?
What comes up?
You're probably gonna get one or two
property networking events directly in your area
that immediately come up to the top of Google.
And I would suggest you need to go along at least once
to every single one of those.
So once you've got one or two of these in the diary,
let me give you a few quick tips
that I know will help you maximise
the results you get from attending.
Firstly, what should you wear?
Well (laughs), think I would suggest smart casual.
Perhaps don't wear a suit, would be my guidance,
but do wear a shirt, maybe wear a smart pair of jeans,
but certainly look sort of smart casual.
That kinda makes you look professional, of course,
but also approachable in a way that sometimes,
a suit might be slightly less approachable,
if that makes sense.
Take some business cards with you.
Have I mentioned this before?
Of course I have. (laughs)
And if you haven't got any business cards made up,
please go and do it right now.
You can get them so cheaply on so many different sources.
They don't have to be perfect, but you do need some.
You need a way of being able
to pass over your information to people.
In fact, when you meet someone,
make sure you get their business card,
and on the back of it--
So make sure you got a pen with you.
On the back of it, make a few notes
of the conversation that you just had
because, honestly, you will forget,
probably as soon as you leave that event.
Get there early and leave late.
Deals are done in the bar, in my experience.
So many people, they get to the end of the networking event
and they say, "Bye," and then they're gone.
But what you need to be doing is staying late in the bar,
getting involved in those conversations where you're talking
to somebody who's maybe got an HMO or something like that,
and they're kinda moaning about this tenant
that they've just had to kick out,
and they're sort of thinking to themselves--
or rather, they're saying to you,
"Oh, I just wanna kinda get out of this."
That is an opportunity for you to dive in,
but you won't be having those types of conversations,
I would respectfully suggest,
if you're leaving the moment that
the actual, physical event actually ends.
And offer to help your host.
(laughs)
Again, I mentioned this earlier.
I was a property event host for six years.
Hardly anyone ever came up to me and said,
"Tony, can I help you put some stuff on some chairs?
"Do you want any help with this, that, and the other?
"Can I maybe buy you a drink?"
Do you know what?
It just didn't happen.
If it had and they then followed it up with something like,
"Do you know what?
"I'm looking for somebody who's looking
"to kinda sell on some properties.
"Who do you think I should maybe have a chat to, Tony?"
If they'd said that to me, honestly, I would say,
"Come with me.
"You need to have a chat to this person,"
because the truth is the host knows
pretty much everybody in that room.
In fact, click this link here.
I did a whole video on how to interact with your hosts.
And I'm sure you'll find that helpful.
Try to put your phone away.
Now, I know it's really hard.
It's almost like a kind of comfort blanket
at these type of events, isn't it?
But you need to put your phone away.
You need to put it in your pocket, ideally turn it off
because the problem you have is that
when you're looking at your phone,
you're completely unapproachable.
Nobody will come up to you.
So lift your eyes, smile, try your best to be approachable.
And don't worry, everybody in the room is nervous.
It's not just you.
Sit with people that you don't know.
Don't sit with the person that you came along with,
if you came along with anybody.
Split up, and that doubles your chances
of interacting with other people in the room.
And approach people who are standing alone.
And dare I say it, if there's somebody standing alone
with a phone in their hand,
might they actually be faking
the fact that they're on the phone?
Maybe you should just go up to them and say,
"Oh, hi.
"Oh, I'm so sorry.
"Are you on the phone?"
And I bet you the first thing they'll do is they'll go,
"Oh, no, no, no."
They'll put their phone away,
and then you're interacting
and you're having a really, really good conversation.
Don't try to connect with everyone.
Honestly, all you want is just
one or two genuine connections,
genuine conversations with people.
That's all you want at each event.
So each event, you maybe want to connect
with one or two new people.
And follow up.
Follow-up is everything.
The amount of times people have said to me,
"Do you know what, Tony?
"I'll give you a call tomorrow or the next day,
"and we'll have a chat about x, y, z."
And they never picked up the phone and called.
And when I say follow up,
I don't just mean having a phone call.
I also mean getting together with her
outside of the networking event.
Go for coffee.
Go for coffee rather than beer.
Coffee kind of leans towards
a kind of business-like conversation, doesn't it?
Beer can be pretty much everything else.
So go and have a cup of coffee.
And make a commitment to attend regularly
these property networking events.
Maybe you only pick up one that you like each month
or that I would love you to go to two,
but whatever you do, make a commitment to go there regularly
because, honestly, relationships,
well, they don't happen overnight.
I recently updated my 50-point checklist
that runs you through all the steps you need to take
before buying your first investment property.
Simply click the link here or in description box blow
to download your copy today.
(funky jazz music)