CareerForward!
The Scoop on Promoting NAIOP's Developing Leaders Program
Start at the Beginning
Make Your Own News
Create a Press Release
Help Yourself by Helping Others
Raise Your Profile in Your Community
Fresh thinking is essential to maintaining NAIOP's energy and vitality. With that in mind, we've kicked off the Developing Leaders program, our initiative to provide programming specifically designed for NAIOP members age 35 and under.
Launching a DL program at your chapter is easier when you can get some publicity — especially when it's free, or at least, low cost. Here are some ideas for getting the word out on your chapter's initiative.
Start at the beginning
A good place to start is the flier template available on this Web site. Fill in your chapter's particulars, print out the fliers, and post them close to restaurants and watering holes in your area where young industry professionals tend to gather.
Make your own news
In order to attract attention, your NAIOP chapter needs to do something out of the ordinary. It's not enough to simply announce your new DL program. Consider a launch event — you'll find ideas right here on this site. Or, host a special workshop or presentation with a key speaker whom the public is likely to recognize. Have any of your chapter members achieved any professional accolades? These achievements can help you get the NAIOP name into local media.
Create a press release
To create buzz around the launch of your program, you'll want to let the news organizations in your area know what's happening (local papers, business publications and radio stations). A well-written press release about your kick-off can get the vital information in print at no cost to you. Here is a sample you can use as a guide. Remember to include the "who-what-when-where" in the first paragraph, and include contact information where interested news people can get further information. Don't forget the "###" centered at the end. Make sure to call the organization and get the right name of the person who's most likely to run a story on local business development.
Help yourself by helping others
You can boost your reputation and the public's awareness of your mission through a little strategic giving-back. Sponsoring special programming or a public service announcement on a local radio or TV station can promote your DL efforts, as can the purchase of a municipal garden plot, or "adopting" a stretch of local roadway. Organizing a home or building renovation creates a perfect tie-in with our business.
Raise your profile in your community
Find out about real estate classes offered at area colleges and universities. In addition to posting fliers, you can contact the faculty and offer to sponsor a lecture, a professional forum, workshop, or presentation.
In your community, you can bet there are plenty of real estate executives and aspiring commercial real estate industry professionals who can benefit from the advantages of NAIOP's DL program. In promoting the program, you're ensuring the future of NAIOP and its mission for a new generation — so start spreading the news.
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