Introduction
Terry Martin, Sales Executive at Vari and co-founder of the Leads Exchange Group, joins Jack Ossa on The Power of Design Podcast to talk about networking with intent. The Leads Exchange Group is a networking organization for the commercial real estate industry in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Terry built it after entering the industry with no contacts.
The conversation covers how Terry got from insurance and the car business into commercial real estate, how his group grew from six organizers to events of 80 people, and why he believes authenticity and a personal brand matter more than collecting business cards.
About the Episode
Terry is from Fayetteville, North Carolina, and has lived in Charlotte since 2000. He spent about 11 years in insurance, later worked in the car business as a liaison between service and sales, and coached youth football with a team of 80 to 100 kids. He says all of this taught him to start conversations with strangers and to keep a group's attention. In commercial real estate he began with structured cabling, then moved to an AV division and now sells furniture at Vari, where he is the first employee on the ground in Charlotte.
He explains why he started the Leads Exchange Group: project managers told him they would rather deal with one trusted vendor than many, so he began meeting regularly with people from other trades to pass each other real introductions. The first public event in January 2019 in South End drew 12 people. By late 2019 the events averaged about 42, and by February 2020 they reached 80. During COVID the group went virtual, then hybrid, and kept meeting.
Jack, who joined an early meeting, connects Terry's story to branding: a leader's personality and values flow into the culture of a group, and that is why different groups feel different. They also discuss work-life balance, the habit of overwork, and what Terry hopes for the group, including taking it to other cities.
Key Takeaways
- Network with intent: know why you are at an event and be honest about whether you want a few deep relationships or many contacts.
- Be authentic: you cannot be for everybody, and people notice when you pretend to be someone else.
- Give first: Terry grew his business by introducing clients to trusted specialists, even when it did not pay him directly, and those clients remembered it.
- Offer a turnkey path: project managers prefer fewer vendors, so a network of trusted trades in lighting, flooring, furniture and cabling is valuable.
- Lower the pressure: the group uses no name tags and no titles, and Terry collects contact details and sends the list afterward so people can focus on meeting.
- Find a mentor: Terry advises newcomers to the industry to find a mentor they trust and to build a personal brand through networking.
- Work and life are not separate: Jack argues that the same person shows up at home and at the office, so bringing humanity to work makes it more refreshing.
Highlights from the Conversation
Network with intent, always be authentic to yourself, be genuine when you meet with other people.
Terry Martin
If you're going to go into an event and you're going to be the relationship person and there's 400 people in the room and you're going to come out with four relationships, be that person.
Terry Martin
Let's not focus on the transactions, don't focus on the products, let's focus on the relationship and find a solution for the client.
Terry Martin
Topics Discussed
- Networking with intent and being authentic
- Starting a networking group with no industry contacts
- Growing the Leads Exchange Group, in person and hybrid
- Why project managers prefer turnkey solutions
- Vari and selling commercial furniture directly
- Personal branding and how a leader shapes a group's culture
- Work-life balance and the habit of overwork
- Advice for young professionals in commercial real estate
Why This Conversation Matters
In architecture, interior design and branding, most work comes through relationships with brokers, general contractors, owners and vendors, so the way people connect matters as much as the work itself. Terry's approach is a useful reminder that trust comes from consistency and honesty, which is the same idea behind our branding work and the way we plan workplaces in interior architecture. You can see that workplace work in projects like the BWM Office and the Collet Office.
About the Guest
Terry Martin is a Sales Executive at Vari, a commercial furniture company, and co-founder of the Leads Exchange Group, a networking organization for the commercial real estate industry in Charlotte. A Fayetteville, North Carolina native who moved to Charlotte in 2000, he has a customer service background and experience in insurance, the car business, structured cabling and AV. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.
