Real estate development companies are always interested in talking to qualified candidates. While you may have to start out in the real estate development industry with an entry-level position, with additional real estate development software training and certifications, you can move up into more lucrative jobs. Training and professional development opportunities abound in the real estate business development industry.

Get every kind of training for real estate developers that you can. Ask your employer to pay for land development courses and commercial real estate development association fees so that you can take advantage of the many training opportunities they offer. Look for training for real estate development in a variety of places.

1. Join real estate company trade groups for training opportunities

2. Look for online commercial real estate development training

3. Get real estate development tools through certifications

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Participate in real estate development business groups

Most trade associations offer continuing education and professional development courses for their members. Some groups can guide you to special certification courses that will help you advance your career while offering events and meetings at which you can meet other professionals and find out about other training options.

I recommend: Take advantage of the seminars and educational opportunities through the Association of Commercial Real Estate. The Associated General Contractors of America offer a slew of professional development and industry training courses for members interested in advancing their careers.

Try web-based real estate development training

Keep an eye out for the trends that are leading the industry to point you to the training that you need to meet the demands of the times. Consider the requirements of the jobs you might like to pursue and find out what certificates or training you can get to make yourself a desirable candidate.

I recommend: Commercial Academy focuses exclusively on the many aspects of commercial real estate development and offers courses in a variety of areas. Use the trainers at Train Up to either take courses online or bring training classes into your business for employees.

Get an MBA in commercial real estate development

For an all-around education in real estate development, go for an MBA with a specialization in residential or commercial real estate development. Many of the top business schools train real estate developers.

I recommend: The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University are two of the real estate development MBA programs offered at leading B-schools.

Find out about required real estate development industry training

Whether you want to advance an already successful career or are looking to break into a new business, you need to find out where the jobs are and who's making it. Read up on industry trends to find out what kinds of credentials and certifications are necessary for the kind of advancement you're seeking.

I recommend: Check out Neighbor Works for credentialing requirements and certification courses. Try the programs and mentoring program in real estate development at Real Estate Development Coach.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Once you complete a real estate development business certificate or seminar, add it to your resume so that you'll be ready when you find a position you're interested in applying for.

As a professional real estate developer, you know that it's important to stay on top of the market. You know that many of the real estate development tools are nothing more than flashes in the pan and can actually make your commercial real estate development more difficult. It's therefore important to find the right tools the first time around.

While the spreadsheet is the best friend of most real estate development companies, they can also become quickly overly complex and cumbersome. This can then increase the risk for a simple mistake that could cost you millions of dollars. There are many innovative tools available to real estate developers. Some of these tools can help analyze cash flow projections, forecast unit sales and even manage debt equity. These can help you keep your next land development project in the black from Day 1.

When choosing new tools to assist in your real estate development business, among the key points to consider are:

1. The ability of the real estate development software to grow and evolve as you move through real estate business development.

2. The flexibility of the tool to move between residential and commercial real estate development.

3. The effectiveness of the tool to help you secure more capital investments for your real estate development project.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Choose real estate development software that grows as you do

For commercial real estate developers, it's important to choose new tools that truly understand the real estate development industry. And it's key to know that real estate development companies grow and change over time. So when you're choosing a piece of software for your business, be sure that it has the ability to grow with you as your real estate company grows.

I recommend: planEASe offers a wide variety of modules for its commercial real estate development software, including options for reporting and graphics.

Plan for your future needs for both residential and commercial real estate development

If your commercial real estate development company works with residential real estate development, it's important that the software you choose understands the inherent issues with this arm of the real estate business. Development, after all, is very different in the residential market than the commercial market.

I recommend: RealData's On Schedule offers you the ability to plan for subdivision and condominium development, as well as any piece of land development that's done in stages.

Improve your real estate development project's financing options

The key to all land development is, of course, the financing. A commercial real estate development company cannot succeed without a strong network of financing options available to them. The right real estate development tools can help to sell your project to capital investors, allowing you to further your development goals.

I recommend: ARGUS Developer includes a Debt Equity module that can be used to further analyze your development's financing options.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  No real estate development software is a substitute for experience in the real estate development industry. Always have your internal experts (you and your employees) look at a new tool before investing to ensure that it won't actually slow down your development efforts.

Real estate development companies go through changes that follow both technological and financial changes. To keep up with the emerging issues as the real estate development software market evolves, you should maintain a solid stream of real estate business development information. To remain competitive and be prepared to shift your presentations and business practice, you should follow real estate developers and the news they make.

Observe the trends that are affecting the real estate development business industry in a variety of ways. Read publications that can keep you updated with land development news and information. Subscribe to white papers and real estate development industry articles. Take advantage of commercial real estate development trade groups that keep members apprised of news and trends. Look for real estate development news and trends in a number of ways.

1. Watch your email for real estate development software alerts

2. Get involved in real estate business development trade groups

3. Subscribe to real estate company magazines

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for real estate development industry newsletters

Set up a separate email account to get email alerts, RSS feeds and industry newsletters that will send you news as it happens, the latest trend pieces and information about what the major industry players are up to. Check this email daily so you don't miss out on important news.

I recommend: National Real Estate Investor is an online newsletter that keeps you updated on the recent news and event affecting your business. Keep up with the latest news and trends by reading the Commercial Property News.

Participate in real estate developer groups

Association with other professionals in the same field will provide you with an inside track to news, often before it hits the press. Get involved with your trade association and take advantage of the networking opportunities to develop relationships as well as the group's newsletters and communication vehicles.

I recommend: In addition to networking and professional development opportunities, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties keeps members informed of news driving the industry. Follow all the news you need to stay competitive through the releases put out by the National Association of Development Organizations.

Follow news and trends through commercial real estate development publications

Take time to read in-depth reports and magazines that cover the industry further than the headlines. Often the best information that can help drive your own business decisions comes from investigative reporting and research articles that take a deeper look into industry issues.

I recommend: Globe St. covers every sector of the commercial real estate developers industry with breaking news and in-depth reports. Keep up with the important stories that are affecting the news at RIS Media.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find a favorite real estate development news source and watch it daily while checking with one or two other sources for news and trend issues that your main resource may have overlooked.