Leasing Tip of the Day: How to Network the Right Way
“Intention” networking. For students and newbies.
When you set up a lunch or coffee with an industry peer or mentor, it’s
always smart to have a plan. Have a few questions ready. These are very
valuable meetings and you, as the inviter, should not wing it. Nor should
you spend 15 minutes telling the person what you’ve been up to.
These experts’ time is very valuable.
A typical coffee can take 90 min out of their schedule; a lunch, 2 hours. You
want to learn from them. If they need info from you to help them give you
appropriate advice, they will ask.
Think ahead: “Why am I meeting with this person? What specific advice or
market intel can I ask them about?” “Tell me about your journey or career
path” is not a great question. That answer alone could take 3 hours
depending on how old the expert is! 😊
But asking them “Why did you pick the asset class you are in?” or “Was
there ever a class or workshop you took that helped you further your
career?” or “What lesson did you learn the most from when you were
learning our business?” is going to help you and it may jog their memory and
they can give you more insight.
Have an intention, put some thought into it, and research their social media so
you have a frame of reference about the person before you ask them to
spend 2 hours with you!
You will get more out of the interaction, which is the goal for both parties.
