Develop relationships with the attendees and vendors, followup, then followup some more.Finally, and most important-- take action!

The key is to identify the key partners whom you can trust and work with (for the entire end-to-end process).  

It's a $5.00 minimum but you can search something like 1,000 numbers for that price.http://www.searchbug.com/api/identify-phone-number...I developed this strategy on my own for FSBO's and it save a lot of time!

I'm looking to invest in multi-family properties/projects in Atlanta and although I am very familiar with development costs in NYC I am just now beginning my market research in Atlanta. 

Is there any development  or new projects happening?  

I was listening to a webinar on NAR and a few of the webinar hosts said that a second is not an automatic deal breaker as the long as the second doesn't demand too much and they've even heard of the first giving the second up to a few thousand dollars or possibly forcing the seller to contribute to the second for a couple of thousand.My ultimate goal was to get some experience and develop systems so I could have an assistant take care of all of this for me. 

Plus she's an awesome real estate researcher who helps identify the properties.  

I'm still working on developing a rich person's mentality. 

If you don't want to spend the cash going that route then search for hotel management company or hotel development company in your area on google.  

Great age for reading self development books: Rich Dad series, Millionaire Next Door, etc.