I talked about some traditional methods, like calling dream team members who are advertising and screening them to find great ones to join your team. I also talked about the two short cuts for finding a great source of dream team members by tapping into the networks of other real estate investors and real estate agents and brokers.
What do you do if the real estate investors, real estate agents, or brokers that you are networking with don't have a particularly good dream team member that you need (which has happened to me) or you are seeking additional real estate investors, agents and brokers to network with?
Well, a great way for dealing with these two challenges is by placing ads on CraigsList. What kinds of ads? I'm glad you asked.
First, let's say you are missing a key dream team member like a mailing list broker. You've asked your real estate investor associates and your favorite real estate agent/broker and they just don't have a good recommendation for you. Here's what I do: I go into CraigsList and I post an ad offering a job with exactly what I am looking for. If I am looking for a mailing list broker to get me a great list of absentee owners in a particular part of town with a certain amount of equity, I lay out, in detail, what I am looking for and post it in the jobs offered section of CraigsList that most closely relates to that type of job. I keep the ad relatively high on the page by reposting it a couple of times per week and wait for responses to come in from the dream team members I am searching for. Often, it is a friend of a dream team member that sees the ad and tells them to call me.
Here's another example: what if you are trying to find more real estate investors to add to your dream team (and buyers list). Well, I've written very detailed articles about how to find investors for building a buyers list that you should read because you need to use those same strategies, but here's another twist I would use if I was only looking to network with investors. I would post an ad to start a real estate investor networking group and then go to lunch with each person that calls in order to start a formal group of us. I've done this in my local market. It is an amazing way to get to know other investors.
Another way to do it is to post an ad for an "Activity Partner". Maybe you're looking for someone with similar real estate investing interests to discuss local investing strategies, exchange ideas and become better real estate investors.
A third example of posting ads to find dream team members is seeking out real estate agents that specialize in catering to investors. If you're not lucky enough to be in a market that I've found a great investor friendly agent/broker for you to work with, then here's a great way to start the search. Post an ad in the "real estate jobs" section telling them that you are a real estate investor who works with other local investors and you are seeking an agent or broker to help find deals for your investor group. Describe the types of deals you are looking for and the type of agent you want to work with. Some investors prefer the agent to run some preliminary numbers. Some don't. Some investors prefer their agents to find signs of motivation. Some don't. Some investors prefer agents who invest in real estate themselves. Some think that they'd rather not have someone skimming great deals off the top (which rarely happens). Then, keep this ad running until you find a great agent/broker for your team.
With these three methods you should, within a matter of months - and often faster - be able to find some great team members to make your real estate investing business much easier to run and ultimately more profitable.
Andrew Thomas is Managing Director and Story Teller at ZipBrands He has studied the Real Estate Business for years. He enjoys connecting with people, keeping updated with latest in the field of Real Estate and Business etc. He has also discovered great shortcuts that can help investors make better decisions when it comes to buying and selling. His work across multiple disciplines broadly addresses narratives of human experience. You can follow him on facebook also.