Hi, everyone. This is Alejandro Cremades, and today we’re going to be talking about
how to follow-up with investors. The follow-up is supercritical. It’s one of the key ingredients
of raising capital. You’re never going to get a check on day one. It’s going to be
a progression, and for that reason, following-up with investors is critical. So, with that
being said, let’s get into it. When it comes down to the follow-up, when
you are meeting with investors, there are always going to be concerns. At the beginning,
during your first meeting, it’s going to be getting to know each other. What’s the
why of your business, the what, the how? And remember that those investors are also speaking
with your competitors. They are also very well-versed in your market, and they are looking
at making a potential investment in a company like yours.
Essentially, the reasoning behind those follow-ups is, what you’re doing is getting closer
to the money because the more that you follow-up, hopefully, the more meetings that you can
get to secure; and the more meetings that you secure, the more concerns you will be
able to address; and the more concerns that you address, the closer that you will be to
the money. At the end of the day, remember that what
is separating you and the money are the concerns that are in-between. For that reason, following-up
is critical. As I always tell entrepreneurs, on every single interaction, on every single
email, or whatever follow-up you are doing, make sure that every interaction has a call
to action. Never ever leave that call to action or that
follow-up open-ended. Like, “Look forward to hearing from you,” or “Looking forward
to your comments.” Always finish it with “Are you available for a call next week
or the following to catch-up.” That way, you’re always trying to get the next meeting.
Get to the next meeting always, so that you can get those concerns addressed.
In terms of how and when you are going to be following-up with investors at least every
two weeks. Remember that this is not just a checking-in note because that’s super
annoying. What you want to do is add value, and that means that you need to give an update,
something that is exciting that can also get them pumped, so they could make an investment.
That could be, maybe you’ve made new hires; maybe you have a nice press mention on a media
outlet. Maybe there’s a nice blog that features your company. Perhaps there’s a nice milestone
that you’ve achieved. Maybe there are people that you’ve hired in your business.
It needs to be something that adds value and that essentially what it’s doing in the
follow-up is giving them the idea that whatever promises that you made on your first meeting,
you’re delivering those promises, and it helps them to connect the dots, and for them
to say, “Hey, look. This individual is actually delivering on the promises that initially
she or he made on our first meeting.” That’s what you want to do. Again, remember that
you want to do this at least every couple of weeks and with something that adds value
to the investor and to your story. In terms of what makes a great update, it
needs to be authentic, there are no lies, and it’s also transparent because here’s
the thing: investors, as a matter of fact, they have become experts at pattern recognition.
They can identify someone that is being superficial, someone who is being unauthentic, and you
want to make sure that you’re coming across as what you see is what you get. For that
reason, you want to make sure that it’s authentic, that you’re not throwing any
lies, and that it’s transparent with whatever update that you’re sharing with the investor.
Again, follow these steps consistently, and eventually, you will get to that point where
all the dots have connected. They’re going to be like, “Hey, by the way, are you looking
for money?” Then, at that point, you’re going to be like, “Absolutely. Would you
like to lead my round, or would you like to participate?” Then, eventually, everything
falls into place. As I always say, “Never go for money because
if you ask for money, you’re going to get advice; but if you ask for advice, you’ll
get money twice. And for that reason, you’re constantly following-up to continue to get
more meetings, to continue to get more advice, and that essentially is going to get them
excited to give you the money. Hopefully, you liked the video, and if that’s
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watching.