Suzette Hinds is a Business Development Director at
GRS | Title
(214) 296-2166
[email protected]
Networking is a 24/7 event, especially in the commercial real estate industry, which is all about building relationships.
Don’t be hesitant to chat it up even at your kid’s basketball game, the grocery store line, or while waiting for your daughter to finish her Cotillion class. You never know the business connection that can come out of it.
It’s also important to create relationships with your customers, after all, people buy goods and services from people. Then you should leverage those relationships to create new opportunities.
Networking helps further the development of professionals in all areas of commercial real estate, helps promote avenues of communication/discussion, and helps leverage industry knowledge of CRE leaders.
If you’re having trouble getting the ball rolling, conduct some industry research to find resources. Between all of the different trade organizations, associations and other commercial real estate industry groups, there are always a variety of events and conferences to attend. Some great resources I can suggest are: The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), RealShare events hosted by ALM’s Real Estate Media Group, MBA’s Commercial Real Estate Finance (CREF) and the American Land Title Association (ALTA), among others. These can be a great way to expand your network.
Career outreach is also important to help promote and advance your achievements. If you’re newer to the commercial real estate industry, there are plenty of mentors out there who are more than happy to help with decades of valuable advice. Find out who the thought leaders are in your part of the industry from reading articles and industry publications, and don’t be afraid to contact them.
Remember, in the end, it’s your NETWORK that matters most.