From LinkedIn Post to $3M Deal: Crack the Code on Social Media Lead Generation

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It’s finally starting to get hot (like hot hot) in North Texas. It’ll be like this until mid-October.

I’d recommend avoiding this part of the country at all costs until then.

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When a LinkedIn post turns into a $3 million transaction that gets featured on CoStar's homepage, you know there's a story worth telling.

Carson Baird, an industrial and land specialist at LQ Commercial Real Estate Services in Southwest Florida, recently closed exactly that kind of deal—an 11.72-acre multifamily development site in Punta Gorda that started with a client discovering him through LinkedIn content about local market conditions.

We sat down with Carson to understand how the 33-year-old broker is using social media to compete in a mature market dominated by veterans with decades-old relationships.

Q: You describe Southwest Florida as a "mature market" with older brokers who have 30-40 year relationships. How did you use LinkedIn to break through as a younger broker?

Carson: I found there was an opportunity to differentiate using LinkedIn because I'm in a market where the average age of brokers is probably in the 50s to 60s, and those relationships with major players go back 30-40 years that I'm not even close to competing with.

But there's a lot of interest from outside looking to get into our market. Through a platform like LinkedIn, I might be able to position myself as the first person that comes to mind when they're looking at Southwest Florida as an opportunity. That was my whole game plan—not that I'm thinking about that all the time when I post, but that was at least my thesis.

Q: Walk us through that $3M LinkedIn deal that ended up featured on CoStar's homepage.

Carson: I did a deal earlier this year where a client found me 100% through LinkedIn—a $3+ million deal that started from "Yeah, I saw your content, you're that land guy in Naples." Even though that's not perfectly what I am, it was still a lead that came through LinkedIn. We involved the right people on our team, delivered on our end, and got a deal done with them.

The client was a Midwest developer with a seasonal home in nearby Naples who was looking to expand into the local market. We connected based on content I created around CRE activity and market conditions in Southwest Florida. It was surreal when CoStar ended up putting an article together on it after I posted about it on LinkedIn.

Q: You came from tech sales where you used LinkedIn differently. How did you adapt your approach for commercial real estate?

Carson: Back in tech sales, I had a very different mindset around what I was going to get out of the platform. I was very much "what's in it for me" instead of pushing value out there and trying to provide for the people I want to get connected with without any real expectation of something coming back my way. I think that's the most organic way to do it.

Now it's cold outreach with a purpose. If I'm looking for somebody that runs an auto salvage yard because I have 50 acres of heavy industrial that would be prime for that, I'll find their head of real estate and make personalized outreach through LinkedIn messaging. Rather than blast out 100 messages and get one response, I'll send out three messages and get two responses. Way more efficient use of your time if you focus on who you're trying to connect with.

Q: How do you balance LinkedIn with traditional prospecting methods?

Carson: LinkedIn is definitely one tool, but it's not like I could shut my business down today and survive solely on LinkedIn activity. I'm geographically focused, so I need to be boots on the ground sometimes, making phone calls locally and covering that side of the business while also connecting nationally with guys I would only find digitally on LinkedIn.

Institutional groups, developers, investment sales guys—they're all active on LinkedIn. National tenants and their tenant reps can all be accessed there. Let's say I'm trying to find United Rentals because I have a great 10,000 square foot space on 4 acres. I could find that person in 15 seconds and immediately have an opportunity. That's my pitch to landlords too—that I'm finding people traditional brokerages might not be in front of using those channels.

Q: Looking back, what would you do differently on your first day of industrial brokerage?

Carson: I would be more specialized from the get-go. When I started, I was being a generalist and learned a little bit about a lot of different stuff. I've done a deal in every asset class except existing multifamily and learned what I didn't want to do through that process.

Being a specialist is definitely how you're going to make real significant gains in income and become that thought leader. I can't say I can do anything industrial in the state of Florida with 25 million people here, but I can say I cover industrial and outdoor storage properties in Southwest Florida in these specific counties. That's a much stronger message that's going to resonate with players I'm trying to speak with.

Q: What advice would you give a 22-year-old college grad looking to break into brokerage?

Carson: If you're still in college, get an idea of where you want to be and do homework on what groups you may want to talk to. Find individuals in roles that align with you and do direct outreach. That process—the critical thinking to reach that individual and the ambition to reach out and make the ask—that's half the job right there.

I had a college kid reach out to me on LinkedIn about a year ago. I didn't have anything for him other than general advice, but he told me where he wanted to be. I put him in touch with a major brokerage and a guy I'd interacted with a few times. He got through that filter that 90% of people fall short of, which is just trying to get an interview.

Those direct outreaches are far more effective than blind copying your resume into open job postings. I'll die on that hill.

The Bottom Line

Carson's success illustrates a fundamental shift in how younger brokers can compete: by being where their prospects are and providing value before asking for anything in return. As he puts it, "Being consistent and intentional on social channels will give opportunities a chance to find you."

The biggest objection he hears about social media? That it's an inefficient use of time that doesn't directly generate revenue. "Closing this deal with a client who was procured via social media is all the proof I need to combat that objection."

Want to connect with Carson? Find him on LinkedIn where he regularly shares insights about Southwest Florida's industrial and land markets.