Acquisitions - Sourcing your first deal

I deal with this question a lot as I help bring our analysts along.  It's a tough question because everyone gets in the business to do deals, but there is just so much that goes into getting a deal done that is beyond just talking to a broker and putting numbers in a model.  My two cents is below, and take it with a grain of salt as it is from an institutional background and other shops may behave differently.

• Be good at your current job.  Your seniors are assessing your ability to do well in the job that you are in, and that will influence how they see your growth path.
• Being good at your job is table stakes.  The next thing you have to do is show them the ability and the skillset to build a network and access information.  This comes from building relationships outside of the company and within the company.
• Don't try and nudge in on your boss's relationships, of course try and have a familiar one, but you aren't trying to be the senior broker or developer's best friend. Instead, move down the totem pole a bit.  Those folks are in the same position you are where they're trying to make shit happen, and they'll want to talk to you.  All of the sudden, you're bringing useful information and relationships to your bosses. That in turn makes them think you'll be suited to be outward facing.
• Do ULI, NAIOP, NMHC, etc.  Get involved, get mentoring, and attend events.  Then follow-up with the people you meet.  Your network will grow exponentially.
• Get good at running the process for your boss, they don't actually want to "run" DD, do IC memos, host calls for stakeholders, etc.  They want to see their families and do more deals.  Make their life easier there and they'll see you as someone who can run independently.  Also, others in the organization will see that as well.  Take as much agency and ownership over the process as they'll give you (don't overstep here; there is a fine line).
• As you do the above, you'll start to learn the sensitivities people have on different types of deals and types of submarkets, and it'll make it so that when you do find something you know how to navigate that internally.  I spend a lot of my time "selling" to our portfolio manager, asset managers, operations people, construction people, the CFO, and various members of the IC. 
• Working a deal through the guts of an institution is not as simple as "look at my model and this nice write-up I did".  It is about building consensus, compromising on various assumptions, and knowing how to move various people along.
• To me, that is a reps thing, and it is hopefully something your bosses are helping you develop as you progress in your career.  If they aren't, find a different place to be.

Again, some shops are more entrepreneurial, but that has been my experience navigating this at a junior level at an institutional-type shop.  Everyone is anxious to start doing deals, but you've got to convince someone to give you the keys to the car... that comes with them having confidence in you and your abilities, which comes with time.  Not really the answer I wanted to hear earlier in my career, and not the answer I like giving to the young bucks.  Hope that is useful for you.