Mike Hambright is a real estate investor, mentor and coach, and is the Founder of FlipNerd.com and the Investor Fuel Mastermind.
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In real estate investing these days, there are new tools and strategies constantly emerging. They are allowing our business to become more efficient than ever before. With more technology at our fingertips comes more responsibility to stay on top of the latest trends and tools.
The best way I’ve personally found to stay current on the newest and best is through my network, 100%.
As you become more seasoned in this industry, your relationships grow and prosper. You find investors to work with and those who you trust and respect. We all run a slightly different business model but in general, the foundational structure is there in all of our companies. We typically all concentrate on having the right lists to market to, the best strategies and tools to communicate with sellers and buyers, a CRM, perfecting various exit strategies and scaling our business.
It’s common in real estate investing to find out about new companies and tools through recommendations from other investors. This seems like a simple concept, but knowing what to use, and more importantly, what not to use, can save you thousands of dollars and your valuable time.
For example, if you’re trying to figure out the best CRM for your business and go with the only one you personally know of, you’re blind to the knowledge of how it stands up compared to other CRMs. You invest your time and energy building it out without realizing there was a far superior CRM that is cheaper, has more of the functionality you require and has a smoother user experience overall.
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As entrepreneurs, we don’t have time or patience to go through trial and error with systems in our companies. An inefficient use of your time means lost opportunities on deals and big money in your pocket.
You have to stay lean and mean.
With my network of investors, we’re constantly discussing business imperatives like which tools and companies are the best to use. There is inevitably going to be changing of vendors and the conversations around why it made sense to change can help each other make the best choices and learn from each other’s “mistakes.”
By knowing how to best equip your business, your focus is able to stay on your business goals and growth. It’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole of a non-income producing issue. Always try to minimize this and lean on your network when needed.
Listen to your network and don’t jump from ship to ship every time something new comes out either. Once you have certain systems and processes that work for your business, only worry about tweaking and perfecting them. When a drastically new product comes out, bet that your network will be talking about it. There’s a fine line between knowing when it does and doesn’t make sense to switch to a new tool or product.
Keep your competitive edge by staying on top of the real estate investing industry and trends we’re all seeing. Utilize your network and continue nurturing your relationships. The opportunities are endless when you have the right network.
Forbes Real Estate Council is an invitation-only community for executives in the real estate industry. Do I qualify?