Real Estate Investing And The Power Of Interpersonal Relationships
December 1, 2008
We often hear from new investors that they never know what their first step is. Everyone always wants to run out and find that first deal and then make a million dollars without laying a solid interpersonal relationships. Real estate investing, like most businesses, prosper greatly from the development of interpersonal relationships. In order to “find” great deals, they are often by-products of the deals finding you!
Dave Sheffield is a motivational speaker and valued author here at Real Estate Radio USA. Here is an article he recently wrote speaking of the value of engaging in the development of new interpersonal relationships and how they may be found where you least expect them to be.
Mach 6 With Your Hair On Fire!
Ask any meeting planner or audience member who’s seen me speak at a live event and they’ll tell you that I do everything all out. Big gestures, big stories, movement and high-octane energy; all of the things you would expect a speaker and positive agent of change like myself to do.
Anyone who has traveled with me knows that I’m also a very intense person. After all, I have found that it’s much easier to catch a plane when it’s on the ground as opposed to catching it when it’s in the air. More on that point a little bit later, but for now a recent travel experience that left a big impression on me that I’d like to quickly share with you.
It blows me away at how many sales professionals and entrepreneur’s fly for business related purposes and bury themselves in their laptops and iPods as soon as they step on board the plane. I look at flying as being trapped in a metal tube with 200 or so potential clients, employers, or people who could help connect you to those who can make your dreams a reality.
By listening carefully and engaging others, not talking their ear off either, you can often uncover unique ideas and opportunities. A recent flight experience I had returning from an international conference taught me many lessons that I think you’ll find of value to your business and those around you!
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to an audience in Calgary, AB Canada. What a fantastic experience. The audience was made up of people from over 60 countries. The people were excited about the new tools for success and strategies I shared and the time was well spent. The program went exceptionally well. The next day my flight out of Calgary took off without a problem and things were running smoothly until we were informed in mid-flight of weather issues happening in the Midwest.
This delayed our landing by 30 minutes. Keep in mind that my connecting flight was going to get me in that day. If I missed this connecting flight I wouldn’t get in until the next day. Upon landing and with the Olympics fresh on my mind, a mental decision was made to capture the Olympic spirit with making my next flight the gold medal prize I’d be awarded if I could make the gate in world record time. If you haven’t been to the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport it’s HUGE! It was easily a three mile run from where we exited the plane to my next flight’s departing gate.
I ripped my sandals off, looked at the sign above me and then took off hauling through the airport. Of course the tram went down so I kicked on the afterburners and in such a focused, goal driven mental state noticed that I was passing airport police officers riding Segways. Carefully dodging small children and ducking under tall people in front of me walking at two miles per hour, I moved like a true Olympian while at the same time carrying a laptop bag weighing 20 lbs. and an odd-sized three foot banner that I use in my live programs.
I can imagine that this was quite a sight to see a barefooted, running man loaded down with carry-on items ripping by them like a petty criminal who just stole something from the airport bookstore. After a few minutes into my airport marathon, I quickly glanced up and noted that I was down to 16-minutes before my flight took off! I kept running with the goal clearly locked in my mind of making this flight. I finally made it to the gate, with 8-minutes to spare. I was a bit winded, but grateful that I had a few minutes to spare. As I put my laptop and banner bag on the ground I heard the gate agent calmly say, “Oh, you’re fine. Our flight was delayed, you have 30 more minutes.”
With some extra time now on my hands I ended up engaged in a conversation with a woman named Scotty, out of Palm Beach, FL. In the middle of our conversation she chuckled and stated, “You were running Mach 6 with your hair on fire!”
I discovered that she was an interior designer and was impressed by my stunning ability to avoid humans and not get run over by the many airport carts I managed to avoid with cat-like agility. As our conversation progressed, I soon found another traveler named Joe who engaged us and shared that he designs and builds casinos. He’s based in Chicago but works in Palm Springs, CA. After our short conversation I encouraged Scotty and Joe to exchange business cards. (Do you have any idea how much revenue an interior designer would make from a casino?!)
When we got on the plane, I soon met a couple of great people in my seating area. The woman next to me was a junior at Purdue named Leah. I love visiting with college students, especially if I can get to them before they buy into too much of the educational “the sky is falling if you play outside of the box” type of mentality. (Can you tell that I am a non-conformist?) She was sharing some of her ambitions and dreams with me. One of which was to intern at a major casino.
“Joe!” I exclaimed as I tapped the seat in front of me. “This is Leah, she is a sharp as a tack girl who would love to intern at one of your casinos.” They exchanged information once we deplaned. Who knows where the connection may end up. Most people in the job search, client search, or and any kind of search process should let people know what they’re looking for and broadcast the message. People aren’t mind readers, and as this true story demonstrates, you never know where a conversation with someone you’ve never met may take you.
There are three key ideas that everyone can take away from this recent travel experience:
- Make a conscious effort to not only tell others what you do, but also find out what they do. Everyone loves the sound of their own voice. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
- This line is golden: “What do I need to know about you to help you achieve your goals?” Hello! Can you say tuned into everyone’s favorite station, WIIFM, or What’s In It For Me? People love this.
- Follow up. Stay in touch with people. You never know when opportunity or a potentially great connection may be seated three-feet in front of you like I described when I introduced Leah to Joe on the flight. Life’s all about building relationships.
In our continuing effort to bring you the best from the world of real estate and business Real Estate Radio USA is proud to present the writings of Dave Sheffield.
Dave "The Shef" Sheffield is one of America's most sought after experts on marketing, leadership, Generation X and Y, and Sales training. He has spoken to over 350,000 people ; delivering messages that not only inspire and motivate, but also give the attendees tools that they can put to work right away.
He is a contributing author of 4 books Unleashing the Leader Within You, Unleashing the Vision Within You, One Step From Striking Gold, and A Massive Dose of Motivation. These books have sold over 70,000 copies worldwide.
For booking or other information, please visit Mr. Sheffield's website or call Sheffield Development Group at 1-800-863-2591.
This was awesome article. I agree with the fact that interpersonal relationships are far most important in building a successful real estate business.
I have been into this business since a decade can say so from my experience.