5 Reasons You Aren't Making Connections With Clients on BP as an Agent

[Jonathan Greene]

If you are a real estate agent who wants to work with investors but can't seem to make any solid connections here on BiggerPockets, these five things might be the reasons why:

1. You end every post or reply with a call to action.

- "Get in touch if you need any help."

- "Send me a DM to connect."

- "I will follow up with you."

When you write things like this, you remove all the value from anything you said before. It's too eager. Every adult can figure out how to contact you if they think you provided valuable information to them. You don't need to tell them how.

2. You give vague answers to specific questions.

For example, when someone asks about potential rent, and they provide enough information for you, don't respond with an extensive range. That means you didn't look up the comps. Vague answers mean you don't know the answer, so your response will lose you the business you were trying to get.

3. You don't discuss your investment properties or direct client wins.

If you don't provide real-life examples of your success or your client's success, people will know you don't have the experience to help them. The difference between saying that your rental in the same area cash flows $372/month versus that the average in the neighborhood is $300/month is gigantic. You can use client data to support your work as an investor-friendly agent without making it a pitch. If it's a fact that your client, Jimmy, owns a 4-family around the corner from where they are looking (and you'd be happy to connect them directly with them), and that fact could be beneficial.

4. You post market stats.

No one reads these or cares about these. You would do better to hold the stats until someone asks about the area and then drop the knowledge for them in direct response. If no one is asking for the stats, you are pandering.

5. You cut and paste your realtor emails into a post here.

These are so obvious. When you copy and paste something to start a post, everyone knows. No one will respond to something you already sent to other people. Your posts here should be informative or responsive.

If you want to connect with clients on BiggerPockets, don't post. Only respond. Respond with good information and never ask for business. The longer you add value without asking for anything, the more your inbox will be full of connections.

Do any realtors have anything to add?

In the past ten years, I've made thousands of connections through BiggerPockets without ever having a call-to-action or sending a DM first.

[Russell Brazil]

100% agree. Im typically ranked in the top 200 agents in my entire state with most of my business coming from BP. Ive never used a call to action or asked for business here. I merely provide good information and good answers. 

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

100% agree. Im typically ranked in the top 200 agents in my entire state with most of my business coming from BP. Ive never used a call to action or asked for business here. I merely provide good information and good answers. 

If we could just explain to the young agents or new agents, here and in the field, to add value wherever they go, the clients would come from that. It's really that easy along with knowing your business inside and out.

[Don Konipol]

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

100% agree. Im typically ranked in the top 200 agents in my entire state with most of my business coming from BP. Ive never used a call to action or asked for business here. I merely provide good information and good answers. 

Russel, while I don’t always agree with you, I respect your opinions and your contributions to BP.  I can see why you’re successful in obtaining BP business.  

[V.G Jason]

The first and foremost reason most people don't work with BP agents is cause 99%  of them are absolute trash. Most focus on the sale, not the relationship.

The second reason most people don't work with BP agents is because of their behavior.

Most are folks that have the emotional control of a 5 year old, controlling attitude, an omniscient narrative in every thread & topic, act like an online hall monitor, and constant attention seeking. This is the same type of personality to gaslight you when you don't agree with their view on a deal or something goes awry, gatekeep you from information and deals, and become a resistance force in actually becoming a REI.

I am sure I am missing some agents, but due to all of the trash on here there are only four that I would use for myself, have used for myself, or an contemplating. Of course, every buyer needs to do their own diligence. Those are @Steve K., @James Hamling, @Jordan Moorhead, and @Russell Brazil. This isn't a recommendation or a vouch, this is just my opinion. Take it FWIW.

I will say my recommendation is to not use the agents that fit the criteria of my first & second points. Those agents have their ego at the expense of the relationship, and there are such agents actively participating in this thread. And the top tier agents have their ego at the deal level. We all have ego's-- it's a good thing. It's just what is it for. 

[Jay Hinrichs]

Quote from @V.G Jason:

The first and foremost reason most people don't work with BP agents is cause 99%  of them are absolute trash. Most focus on the sale, not the relationship.

The second reason most people don't work with BP agents is because of their behavior.

Most are folks that have the emotional control of a 5 year old, controlling attitude, an omniscient narrative in every thread & topic, act like an online hall monitor, and constant attention seeking. This is the same type of personality to gaslight you when you don't agree with their view on a deal or something goes awry, gatekeep you from information and deals, and become a resistance force in actually becoming a REI.

I am sure I am missing some agents, but due to all of the trash on here there are only four that I would use for myself, have used for myself, or an contemplating. Of course, every buyer needs to do their own diligence. Those are @Steve K., @James Hamling, @Jordan Moorhead, and @Russell Brazil. This isn't a recommendation or a vouch, this is just my opinion. Take it FWIW.

I will say my recommendation is to not use the agents that fit the criteria of my first & second points. Those agents have their ego at the expense of the relationship, and there are such agents actively participating in this thread. And the top tier agents have their ego at the deal level. We all have ego's-- it's a good thing. It's just what is it for. 

Part of lead flow on BP I suspect also has to do with the market you serve and the BP audience. Most Brokers on this site work very specific markets. And some markets are going to be a lot more popular for the average BP member ( which to me is heavily slanted to starting out) At least from the post we see.  

For example how many post do we see that Say I live in LA which is expensive and need to look OOS .. and how many post do we see that says I live in Cleveland and I want to invest in LA. ???Dont get me wrong there are plenty of heavy hitters that just scan the site and dont really post.  So as for Russell who noted his success in the WA DC market ( expensive) I wonder if @Steve K. gets the same for his market in Boulder Co. ( expensive).  When I used to have RE Broker in my title ( I still have the license just dont practice) I would get folks pinging me about Vegas about once a quarter or so and I would hand those leads to my Daughter  she made some pretty awesome connections from a few of those folks that bought multi million dollar homes.. But its more of a rarity than deal flow and she has no interest in coming on BP..

[Jonathan Greene]

The best agents reject more business than they take because it's not a good fit or isn't their client avatar. They don't need the business. I think we also have to separate agents posting on BP and people who pay to get featured as an agent on BP, not that they are much different.

In the end, the best agents are the ones who provide the most value to the clients and know the most about their markets.

[Nathan Gesner]

I must be doing something right because I never attempt to generate leads, and I've been 100% successful so far! ;)

[Steve K.]

Quote from @Jay Hinrichs:

Quote from @V.G Jason:

The first and foremost reason most people don't work with BP agents is cause 99%  of them are absolute trash. Most focus on the sale, not the relationship.

The second reason most people don't work with BP agents is because of their behavior.

Most are folks that have the emotional control of a 5 year old, controlling attitude, an omniscient narrative in every thread & topic, act like an online hall monitor, and constant attention seeking. This is the same type of personality to gaslight you when you don't agree with their view on a deal or something goes awry, gatekeep you from information and deals, and become a resistance force in actually becoming a REI.

I am sure I am missing some agents, but due to all of the trash on here there are only four that I would use for myself, have used for myself, or an contemplating. Of course, every buyer needs to do their own diligence. Those are @Steve K., @James Hamling, @Jordan Moorhead, and @Russell Brazil. This isn't a recommendation or a vouch, this is just my opinion. Take it FWIW.

I will say my recommendation is to not use the agents that fit the criteria of my first & second points. Those agents have their ego at the expense of the relationship, and there are such agents actively participating in this thread. And the top tier agents have their ego at the deal level. We all have ego's-- it's a good thing. It's just what is it for. 

Part of lead flow on BP I suspect also has to do with the market you serve and the BP audience. Most Brokers on this site work very specific markets. And some markets are going to be a lot more popular for the average BP member ( which to me is heavily slanted to starting out) At least from the post we see.  

For example how many post do we see that Say I live in LA which is expensive and need to look OOS .. and how many post do we see that says I live in Cleveland and I want to invest in LA. ???Dont get me wrong there are plenty of heavy hitters that just scan the site and dont really post.  So as for Russell who noted his success in the WA DC market ( expensive) I wonder if @Steve K. gets the same for his market in Boulder Co. ( expensive).  When I used to have RE Broker in my title ( I still have the license just dont practice) I would get folks pinging me about Vegas about once a quarter or so and I would hand those leads to my Daughter  she made some pretty awesome connections from a few of those folks that bought multi million dollar homes.. But its more of a rarity than deal flow and she has no interest in coming on BP..

 I don't get that much business from BP but when I do the transaction values are big enough to justify all of the time that I spend on here. Generating new business isn't primarily why I'm on here though. Jay you probably recall I was on here just as an investor for quite a few years asking stupid questions before I got my license 5 years ago. I like the camaraderie, banter and being able to learn from those with a lot more experience than me, like Jay, Jonathan, Don and Russell etc. I've considered switching my profile back to just "investor" for various reasons, so I guess I'm not your typical agent on here aggressively looking to pick up new investor clients (although I'm happy to help of course). I was a featured agent for a minute and closed a few nice transactions from that program.

[Jonathan Bombaci]

@jonathan Greene Great advice! I’d like to add one more point:

Paying for leads on BiggerPockets can work, but it will only get you so far. To really connect with investors here, you need to contribute consistently to the forums and have some of your deals posted on your profile. Many investors on this platform are working to get over paralysis by analysis and they like to dig in and do their research before reaching out.

I’ll admit, I’ve slacked a bit on BiggerPockets lately, but I have plenty of content on other platforms and websites. That said, the number of times I get on a call with a BP lead and realize they have already thoroughly researched me, including my past deals and content, is incredibly high.

This goes to show that the value you put out there matters. Be active, transparent, and provide helpful insights and leads will naturally find their way to you.

[Jonathan Greene]

Quote from @Jonathan Bombaci:

@jonathan Greene Great advice! I’d like to add one more point:

Paying for leads on BiggerPockets can work, but it will only get you so far. To really connect with investors here, you need to contribute consistently to the forums and have some of your deals posted on your profile. Many investors on this platform are working to get over paralysis by analysis and they like to dig in and do their research before reaching out.

I’ll admit, I’ve slacked a bit on BiggerPockets lately, but I have plenty of content on other platforms and websites. That said, the number of times I get on a call with a BP lead and realize they have already thoroughly researched me, including my past deals and content, is incredibly high.

This goes to show that the value you put out there matters. Be active, transparent, and provide helpful insights and leads will naturally find their way to you.

I couldn't agree more. That's why it's so important not to be a secret agent. When they see you here and they've seen you other places, it adds a layer of trust. When you have that, you don't need a call-to-action.

[Michael K Gallagher]

@Jonathan Greene thank you for the reminder, its often the fundamentals done well that win out time and time again.