Successful Trade Organization Networking for Commercial Brokers
A valuable source of untapped networking opportunities for commercial real estate brokers is trade associations. Becoming a member of a local trade association can prove to be a valuable resource and a viable part of your network as you establish yourself as the real estate expert for their specific needs. More than likely, existing members of the trade association are all members whose area of expertise is directly related to the industry. By becoming a member and establishing yourself as the real estate expert for their association, you will not only be able to provide valuable insight into the real estate issues relative to their industry, you will ultimately be looked upon as their real estate adviser, from which fee service and transactions can result.
For example: If you are a broker of retail space, it would naturally benefit you to participate in the local Restaurant Association. How? Simple: Food courts provide space for parasite locations such as fast food outlets in regional malls and strip centers. Parasite stores provide a guaranteed high traffic area with a small rental space. Local members of this useful trade association are usually the owners/franchisees that make the final decision in the site selection, and a working relationship with them could mean untapped sales from an unlikely source.
Your participation in any targeted trade association can help you learn about the needs and concerns of its members. For instance, in the above example, our broker for retail space learned how profitable it could be to develop a working knowledge of restaurants, including new trends in the industry, such as co-branding (a donut shop and a sandwich concept sharing the same restaurant), smaller dinner houses (Fridays, Chili’s, etc.), restaurants (for small towns), and unique sites for branded chains, such as those found on riverboats, on military bases, and in stadiums. All of this vital information may have remained untapped if the broker in our example had overlooked the valuable resource afforded him by simply looking into the local Restaurant Association.
13 Guidelines for Working with Trade Organizations
To make the most of networking with these plentiful—and profitable—trade associations, follow these thirteen simple guidelines:
Identify various local and national groups by consulting the Encyclopedia of Associations.
• Attend a few local meetings to determine whether the commercial real estate needs of the targeted association are relevant to your business purposes.
• Start out slowly, and establish trust. Begin by simply doing things that need to be done, such as organizing a monthly meeting, getting the announcements printed, helping to set up a trade fair or golf outing, etc. (These may not be glorious or even immediately beneficial tasks, but you will have an inside track on developing relationships with some of the association’s most influential members, a powerful source of networking at its best.)
• Work on memorable introductions and building relationships rather than simply selling.
• Offer to speak on real estate issues related to the association—make the presentation meaningful and relevant.
• Keep track of whom you have met with a logical system, be it collecting business cards, Email addresses, checking off names on membership rosters, etc.
• Write a brief article for their newsletter or local publication.
• Be cooperative with others who are there to market themselves as well.
• Find reasons to re-establish contact with prospective tenants after the meeting.
• Follow up after the meeting.
• Get to know the staff of a particular organization, and zero in on the friendliest—or most efficient—contact person.
• Participate regularly for maximum exposure.
• Pick the associations you work with carefully to avoid wasting your time, and theirs.
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