Growing my social capital

The lowdown
This is where I deviate from the plan. Normally, I wouldn't be anxious about veering off course--it's kind of my M.O.--but with the zero-tolerance policy, and somewhat mixed messages about whether we can use different activities for different concepts, I feel like I'm stepping out onto wobbly rocks in molten lava...that's redundant, but I was going for parallelism, and most of the applicable adjectives I could stick on "lava" are redundant. Hot lava, molten lava. #formerlitmajorproblems

Anyway, opportunity presented itself in the form of two monthly networking events, and I knew I could exploit this exercise and make valuable business connections. So I did. I think the successful real life application justifies my temporarily stepping out on 1, 2, 3 Play.     

Background information: I'm a Realtor and a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) and Pinellas Realtor Organization (PRO), the last of which hosts a number of events and classes each month. There is every opportunity to connect with people in the business, and I make every excuse to avoid networking. For the longest time--as long as I've been in the business--I've known about the monthly marketing session, with other Realtors and affiliates, and PRO Connect, which is a happy hour, informal, chillaxing social. It just so happens both of the aforementioned events fell on the Tuesday before this assignment was due. Score!

But the actual players I'm using here are people I was introduced to through other connections. I'll talk about that more later.

The players
1) Bill Wall, Broker-in-Charge at The Property Shop (Domain Expert)
In real estate, in Florida at least, you start out as a sales associate (Realtor) and can progress to Broker through additional experience and education. I have been asked over and over whether I'm going to pursue becoming a broker and the thought terrifies me. Enter Bill. All Realtors work under a Broker, and I have a relationship with my Broker, Mark Schmitz. He's always at my disposal. Still, it's nice to have an outsider whose brain I haven't picked yet. I referred a listing to Bill--you can check it out here--and so our relationship has a separate cadence from my relationship with my Broker. 

To break it down to basics, I called him one day out of the blue and asked if he wanted a referral. I'd never given a referral before so I wasn't sure what the proper etiquette would be. Have you seen Superbad? How things went down somewhat resembled how Jonah Hill is with Emma Stone. Or maybe it was more like Michael Cera and his ladylove Becca. At any rate, I nervously asked if he wanted a referral, he asked what, I loudly, quickly blurted out "DO YOU WANT A REFERRAL LISTING?" To which he replied yes, and I went silent. With referrals, the referring agent (me) receives a fee for the referral if the other agent gets the listing and it sells. There's associated paperwork. So there I was on the line with Bill, him asking, "well, what's the listing?"  and I was unsure whether to just tell him the address and sellers or make him sign papers first. 

I trusted Bill would follow-through and gave him all the information. Obviously the house is listed now, and when it sells, he and I will both benefit. Beyond this transaction, I now have a resource in the area I can refer other clients to. I went up to North Carolina to meet Bill--did I mention this was an out of state deal, which is why I can't be the agent? We walked through the property together, I gave him my pitch, showed him I did my research and we sat down together to decide the price and strategy. It's satisfying to have another professional appreciate your opinion. 

And Bill asked the same question many others have, whether I'm going to become a Broker. I'm warming up to the idea. 
   
2) James Watson, Branch Manager at Universal Mortgage and Finance (Market Expert)
James was referred to me through my mentor, fellow agent John Egger. I was in a tough spot where another lender was telling me they couldn't close by contract date, and John said to give James a call, explain the situation and see if he could help. I called James and ran him through the details, and we're set to close the file next week. It's a sale I likely would have lost and a buyer who may have gone to someone else if I didn't come up with a solution. It's not a closed deal, but James is pushing us through. He's encouraging about my career, noting that I should do well, particularly with common sense on my side.  

3) Errol Ayuso, Ayuso Surveying (Supplier)
There's a common misconception that surveyors have an easy job. Errol helped a buyer of mine, getting his survey done quickly and for a good price--it wasn't in a plated subdivision so not all surveyors will accept the survey--and I referred him to another buyer who is a price conscious first time home buyer and needed a survey done ASAP. Here's where the popular idea of what a survey is, what kind of work it takes to complete, comes into play. Like others, I figured Errol and his associate, Chris, would be in and out in less than 30 minutes, but I asked him to give me a call when he was headed to the property so I could grab some of his business cards for my desk. Yes, we really still use business cards! Anyway, Errol called me and said I had at least three hours to get there. Three hours. Once I arrived on the scene, Errol ran me through his process and the after-party of filling out forms and creating the paper survey we receive. 

Errol appreciated my interest; I really do want to learn about all aspects of the real estate business, even the side jobs, like inspecting, appraising, surveying, that I don't personally do. The more I know, the better I can serve.  

The conclusion
All of my contacts for this project and beyond emphasize the importance of connections. Not only do you need to connect with buyers and sellers, you need to have a good rapport with lenders, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, surveyors and other Realtors. It's a simple concept. We all hear about the benefits of networking, but I had become numb to it. When you begin to see the real relationships forming, and how those relationships benefit your clients and your life, networking moves away from the concept of that thing you're supposed to do if you want to be successful toward becoming second nature.
 
Purposeful networking, growing my social capital is inherently different from the shallow mingling I've forced in the past. I'm building something real now, and that is why it was important for me to do this in the context of my current profession, using people who I have more than a surface acquaintanceship with. Will I venture out to PRO social events more often? Reply hazy, try again, but I am going to continue to meet people and foster work relationships. I went to a community connection for Realtors in Largo and signed up to take a class next week so maybe I'm turning a new leaf on this networking business.