Reinventing Property Networking
Property networking is amazing, chatting to other with the same interest as you - but there’s just not enough of it!
If you are thinking - hang on, there are masses of property networking meetings every week of the month – true, there are but how much time to you actually get to do the very thing you attended to do – network?
I’ve both attended and spoken at hundreds of these typical midweek evening networking meetings that run between 7-9pm over nearly two decades. Here’s the drill you will recognise only too well:
- You get shepherded into your seat, row upon row crammed in theatre style, for the best part of the two-hour meeting
- You get talked at, starting with the host introduction, then the mortgage update, the state-of-the-lettings-market report and then usually two speakers, along with the inevitable sales pitches.
Where’s the networking in all this, you may be thinking? Precisely!
It’s jammed into no more than 15 minutes maximum at the mid-point of the meeting.
No prizes for working out that 10-15 minutes from a 2-hour meeting isn’t really networking at all, is it? Worse still, it’s being played out week in, week out at well over 100 of these property ‘networking’ meetings.
Net-working or net-sitting - what do you think?
‘Arrive early – stay late’ is the mantra to maximise your networking opportunities - but how practical is that? Yes, of course, you can arrive early or stay after the meeting to network, but not everyone can get there before 7pm, due to family or work commitments. Staying out late on a work night isn’t always a smart move – especially if you have a partner at home muttering about your absence!
This means that even if you can be present pre or post meeting, there will be a limited number of others there to network with. It can all too quickly become a fruitless exercise.
Disrupting the model
I’ve always believed James Caan had it right when he said, ‘Observe the masses and do the opposite’.
Call me an inveterate disrupter but it’s a strategy that has worked for me again and again -
- With my approach to buying property – biggest profits, least competition
- With how I construct a training programme
- With how I deliver a mentorship
- With how I operate a high-level mastermind
- With how I run a networking conference – 100% pitch free – Guaranteed!
The disruptive next step – midweek evening property networking meetings
The amazing success of the 100% Pitch Free Networking all-day weekend events, with a full 5 hours of face-to-face informal networking, confirmed what I inherently knew - property people love to chat property - with minimal, if any, distractions.
The challenge was how to condense that in-demand, frills-free, no-nonsense, approach to property networking into a deliverable, scalable midweek evening format.
The solution is - Recycle Your Cash Property Chats
I knew what people didn’t like – so I did the opposite to most property networking meetings.
|
Tradition model |
Property Chats |
|
7-9pm on a weeknight, monthly |
7-9pm on a weeknight, monthly |
|
Featured speakers |
No speakers |
|
Announcements and updates |
No announcements, no presentations of any kind |
|
Fee – circa £20 per meeting |
No fees |
|
Tea & coffee (usually stewed) |
Buy your own drinks/food/whatever |
The 100% Pitch Free Networking events shouted loud and clear what people wanted; to move around the room, chat to who they want, and have multiple conversations, getting to know new people, touching base with existing connections and simply talking property. There’s no reason why you can’t do this in a two-hour slot.
Property Chats are on the 1st Thursday of the month – and all the groups meet on the same date and time, so if you’re away from home you can always pop into one that’s local to where you happen to be.
The proof of the pudding
With Ninja Investor-trained hosts, I know that they ‘get it’ and won’t turn the event into anything other than what it is – property people talking to other property people.
Although it only launched in April 2024, the success has been instant. People love the concept. These are typical of the comments people have made so far:
“At last, a networking meeting that lives up to its name”
“This is the best networking I’ve ever been to”
“A really nice bunch of genuine people”
“It was quite a surprise to find out how open people were and how much they’re sharing.”
Recycle Your Cash Property Chats
No Fees, No Speakers, No Big Egos, No BS – just chat
Wins are coming right away, with new people seeing the benefits of learning more. Making new connections, sourcing trades and professional contacts, and being part of the growing local property ‘tribe’ in their town.
Attendees can stand and chat or sit and chat, but nobody is pinned down. People who come are genuinely interested in chat, connecting, and communication.
Each group has a WhatsApp group that brings people together and has already turned into a valuable forum for getting help, advice, recommendations, etc.
More hosts are signing up so the current list of groups will expand rapidly over the next few months.
