Is Target Networking Replacing Prospecting?

A recent article directed to real estate agents and brokers should also hold interest for real estate investors who market for buyers and sellers. It’s titled “Prospecting is dead -- long live ‘target networking!”

The entrenched methods used by most real estate agents to drum up business, collectively called “prospecting,” include everything from cold calling to door knocking. Other prospecting activities would be joining organizations and meeting people, handing out business cards everywhere and to everyone. All of these still have a place, but this article recommends some new approaches, called target networking or “pull marketing.”

Actually, many of the “new” approaches in the article were not that original, like calling your closest acquaintances and partnering with local businesses in joint marketing efforts that will benefit both. Joining a business networking group was one suggestion, and another was feeding your contact base “useful” information. For Realtors, market statistics was one recommendation. Let’s run with this last suggestion from the perspective of a real estate investor building out both a buyer list and marketing for distressed seller prospects.

The social media sites are where you need to build a presence that presents you as an expert and a resource for anyone buying or selling real estate. From Facebook to Twitter and Google+, you’ll want to create your space and share the type of information that will interest your followers and entice them to communicate with you with the ultimate goal of doing business. Keep in mind that Google+ has now surpassed Twitter in users and activity, so don’t dismiss it or short-change its value.

In fact, Google+ has become so feature-rich that it can take the place of a marketing website and blog. You can post and write articles just like you would with a website or blog, add media, video and images, and even create communities around your real estate investing niche. Third party solutions are coming along to help you to automate cross-posting between the social sites, so you only write it once and use it multiple times.

The difference in this “target networking” approach is that you’re not just throwing out ads and hoping the right person reads or sees them. You’re creating interesting content and sharing it with a network and communities that you’re building out. They share it with their circles and followers, and your reach increases exponentially. Keep doing what has been working for you, but begin to create your social outreach and target networking now.