What do you bring to the table when you are meeting new prospects?

That is the question you should ask yourself before walking into any networking event, before picking up he phone, before sending out a singe marketing email.  Are you selling something, or are you bringing real value?

On more than one occasion, I have had people walk up to me at networking events, jam their business card in my hand, and ask to start making referrals for their business.  Really? I don’t know them, trust them, and they aren’t making a good case for me to like them, and they want me to cash in on my professional capital with my network to grow their business.

Try this instead: give before you ask.   Think of it as a Bank – you must first make deposits before you can withdrawl your money.    It goes a long way to building good will, and is a much stronger foundation to building business relationships that last.  Here are a few tips:

• Start by asking questions about them.  (Remember, according to Dale Carnegie, most people’s favorite topic is themselves.)
• Offer to introduce them to someone in your network who could be a prospect for them.
• Offer a free seminar or be part of a  Forum and give out advice.
• End every conversation with, “How can I help you grow your business?”

We believe that you should give 60-70% value and content to your readers.  Do not spam them with endless sales pitches.   Socual Networking (Events, Blogging, Social Sites) are about communicating.   Make the Deposits before you take the withdrawls.

Cutomers like to work with people they know and trust.   Wealth Alliance Financial uses a  unique combination of new media tools and tactics to develop a customized, results driven, social media plan for each client.  Try some of these sites

1.  ActiveRain is a Real Estate Networking site for real estate professionals. As of me writing this post,

there are over 98,000 members there. You can signup for a free membership, create your profile, and

start interacting with the community. When you join, make sure you use their unique referral program.

You can use the referral service to find the best real estate professionals, real estate leads and form

local real estate relationships. One of the best parts of the referral service is the ability to search on a

local level, right in your county.

2. Facebook

Facebook is a very professional network that is growing at an unprecedented rate. This is a great

platform for reaching out to potential buyers, and increasing your marketing’s reach. Unlike other Ad

services, Facebook’s Ads allow you to target your EXACT audience on a much deeper level. You can

target your audience by age, location, keywords and their relationship.

3. FlippingPad

Flipping pad is designed specifically for real estate investors looking to build relationships with other

investors across the country. If you are a rehabber or a wholesaler, this site is a great opportunity to

network and get new leads. Action Tip: Interact with other investors in the forums section of the site.

Ask and answer questions that provide valuable information. More you interact, more visible you

become among flipping pad members.

4. LinkedIn

Linked in is one of the best social network sites to form relationship among real estate

professionals. Action Tip: Make sure to build out your profile. When people search for

you, they can find you by your keywords, places, employment, and experience you have

in your resume. When searching for people, never spam others. When asking people to

be added to your network, it is best to ask people you know first.

5. Localism

Localism is the valued point of connection, a place of meaningful interaction. It’s where

neighbors and local merchants share what’s happening in their community. It’s people

collectively communicating the unique flavor and nuances of where they live, work, eat,

and play. Localism provides the environment where residents and business owners can

create a micro-social network uniquely attuned to their individual communities.

Together, they use multi-media to paint a canvas of local color and texture. Their

Localism ‘Neighborpedia’ becomes an extension of who and what they are.

6. Puurple

This is a pligg site, which is designed with similar functionality to digg.com. You can go

to the site to find real estate related articles, and to vote up & down the articles/blogs

that you find. It is also a great resource to bookmark your listings to share with the

community.

7. Trulia

5 million active buyers and sellers come to Trulia.com each month to start their real

estate search. Sign up by joining Trulia Pro, an all-in-one marketing solution for real

estate and other professionals who want to promote their brand and listings to over 5

million home buyers and sellers each month.

8. Zillow

Zillow is a free online real estate site where you can search for homes for sale, find

home prices, see home values, view recently sold homes, and check mortgage rates. Get

started by finding real estate in top states and real estate in top cities.

9. Zolve

Zolve connects home buyers and sellers to real estate practitioners in their desired area

by providing a platform where real estate practitioners can demonstrate their market

and neighborhood expertise by sharing the information that home buyers, sellers, and

owners are looking for on the internet.

10. RealTown

Whether you are a consumer looking for buyer and seller information on real property or

a real estate professional looking for resources and networking, RealTown.com has it all.

Here you will find one of the most comprehensive and valuable resources available, a

real estate portal with concentration on Content, Context, Collaboration, and

Community.

For more information on Social Media and Internet marketing, check out our friends at eClick Marketing – www.eclickbiz.com

Remember, For all your mortgage needs – www.MyMortgageXpress.com