Reflection on Secrets of Successful Syndication Seminar

[Taylor L.]

I attended the Secrets of Successful Syndication seminar in September 2016. My mentor recommended I write down my top takeaways so they’re more likely to stick. There’s a lot of great information and opportunity at this event, I would recommend going. Much of what I learned came from talking with other attendees, who were kind enough to relay some of what they’ve learned as well.

Quick disclaimer, I am not affiliated with The Real Estate Guys or Real Estate Guys Radio. There are a lot of things you can learn at this event. I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested in or involved with a syndication business. I immediately signed up for the March 2017 session in Dallas. I hope to see you there.

1. Any asset purchase can be syndicated, not just apartments.
   1. I talked with other attendees who had syndicated single family portfolios, medical office developments, hotels...the list goes on! The Guys are opening their Belize Hotel Construction to outside syndicators. I’d like to get a piece of that, for sure.
2. Building a brand early is critical.
   1. The Guys wear suits and ties all the time because that is part of their brand. Associating yourself and your brand with other powerful brands is a great way to help demonstrate your own credibility. I’ve started getting pictures with successful or influential people whenever I have the opportunity. “Here’s the caliber of person I rub elbows with.”
3. The person I need to be in order to be successful is not necessarily the person my instincts want me to be.
   1. I genuinely do like talking to people, learning about what they do and what they care about. However, I’m not always in the mood to go be chatty - it’s easy to stick to myself at fundraising events (or other events with networking opportunities). I need to get out there and talk to people in order to be successful. This is a people business, first and foremost. If I want to be successful, I have to get out there. Which leads me to the next one...
4. Many successful business people are unassuming, and you cannot judge a book by its cover.
   1. There are plenty of ten minute breaks to get to know someone briefly. Everyone else is there to meet new people. It’d be tough to manage to talk to same person over and over again for two days. Get up, be social, and learn about somebody else. Maybe you can help them with something. I’m in Rotary Club and I was able to connect another attendee with a Rotary contact of mine in Phoenix.
5. You can still have amazing conversations even if you don’t do the VIP lunch.
   1. I got to have an hour and a half long conversation and lunch, one-on-one, with David Sewell, President of International Coffee Farms. We talked about ICF, his time in Colombia prior to starting this venture, his time in the Canadian Navy, and so much more. I listen to a ton of podcasts so I was a bit starstruck to be honest.
6. Successful investors have had failures.
   1. Ken McElroy came by and told us about his rough patch in the ‘08 economic downturn. Setbacks are a part of business. The best investors can come back from the biggest ones.
7. Remember that your investors are seeing investing opportunities and information from all angles, not just you as a syndicator.
   1. When you’re talking to prospects about investing with you, bear in mind that they’re talking to others as well, probably Financial Planners. Financial Planners are great, but remember they are paid when people invest in stocks and bonds with them. They’re incentivized to tell investors not to invest in your deal. Best to understand the methods and strategies they use.
8. Dallas is a hot, hot market right now.
   1. Joe is investing there, and I can see why. It’s not my market, but I’d invest in someone else’s deal if the numbers are right. The majority of the experienced syndicators were doing at least some investing in Dallas.
9. Experienced syndicators have more money to invest than they have deals to invest in.
   1. It makes sense that a successful syndicator will keep his or her investors happy. After you get a track record going your satisfied investors will put more money in your deals, they’ll tell their friends, and eventually you’ll be more hungry for deals than for money.
10. I need to put my picture on my business card. It’s easier to associate a person and conversation with a picture than with a name and logo. I did get at least one good picture while I was there...

[Marc C.]

Good job on the synopsis! 

Sounds like about the same info I've received from all of the podcasts and books I've read on the subject, so not so sure I'd get much out of it. 

Key takeaways: 

1. You usually need a couple of deals under your belt to get folks to trust you with their money. That is the hardest part! You can get around it a little bit if you put the right partners on your team (ie., people who HAVE done it). 

2. A pitch book or 15-slide pitch deck is useful, even if a generic description of your business plan. You don't email this to folks...you go over it with them in person. 

3. It's all about networking, and not just with anyone, but networking with millionaires. And NOT just to discuss your deal (unless they ask), but about getting to know them, their needs, etc. People like investing with people they know. They don't like hard sales pitches, especially from strangers. 

4. Referrals from previous investors are one of the main sources of funding for most syndicators. Some experienced syndicators have received investments from BP users they didn't know first, but in general, most investments come from people you know/have met/will meet. 

5. It's easier to pitch a local deal to local investors who can drive by the property than one in a faraway state. (Not mentioned: If all of your investors are in your state and so is the property, many states have Rule 504 exemptions to having to register your offering with the SEC under Rule 506. (For example, in my state, you can raise up to $2.5M from 10 state residents, who need not be accredited, simply by sending a 2-page form to the state securities office. You can't advertise/solicit publicly, though))

6. In general, you cannot advertise your deal through social media, etc. These deals are to be done PRIVATELY with (usually) millionaires with whom you have an EXISTING business relationship. Rule 506c does allow you to advertise your deal to millionaires (only), however, and it is by far the most common rule offerings are done under these days, as a result. Rule 506b allows you to accept 35 "sophisticated" non-millionaire investors, but then you can't advertise your offering. A sophisticated investor understands real estate, business, finance, and has the knowledge to adequately analyze your deal and its risk. They are kind of hard to find. 

7. You need to spend about $5-10K on having a securities attorney draw up your offering disclosures and docs. Reg D Resources will do the Private Placement Memorandum and Subscription Agreement in a gorgeous format for $5500. Your attorney needs to provide the operating agreement to them to include. Reg D Resources has an example of their PPM for a multifamily fund on their web site.