The deal you lost turns into the windfall you were dreaming of

When I got into real estate investing I started out like most people. I had a real estate license and went about creating a new business like all agents, through various forms of prospecting: open houses, sphere of influence, door knocking and I admit, a little cold calling too.  

I started working with investors, writing several offers day, playing the numbers game. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was running into the same listing agents in the same areas over and over again. 

I've always been a big believer in keeping the bridges strong and the communication open. I never let a deal I didn't get, get in the way of me building and maintaining a relationship that might be advantageous to myself, my team or my clients in the future.

Being polite, unemotional and letting your business associate know that you'd like them to keep you in mind will lead to more transactions than simply completing a single deal. 

People need to get to know who you are in order to trust you and seeing you gracefully deal with rejection will sometimes speak better about your character than a deal that is smooth sailing. 

No less than once a week I get a call from an agent, telling me their deal fell out of escrow and want to know if we're still interested. The best part about that call is I already have established rapport and unlike last week when I was competing with multiple offers I'm now talking to a person with a problem I can solve right away. Pretty good leverage.