Marketing a fund is a game of catch. When you communicate with an investor you are throwing the ball. When the investor responds, they are throwing it back. The ball must pass between you and investor multiple times before the capital raising process gets to the due diligence phase.
The big difference is that this is a game of catch where you always want to be in control.
So how do you do it – without the investor feeling the game is rigged?
Get the right systems in place
Make sure you have the right analytics tools to see when an investor has caught a ball. You can then get ready for the return. This means tracking which documents have been opened, what they read and what was forwarded to other members of their team. If they throw the ball back while you are not paying attention you could end up with a bloody nose.
Get organized so you can respond faster
In the real-life version of this game, there isn't just one ball – so make sure you have all the balls you will need at hand. You need to act quickly when an investor throws a ball back to you or they will quickly lose interest in the game, and you.
Tell them what to do
Make it obvious how the game is being played and what exact action is expected each time you throw a ball. When an investor catches a ball, they received the information sent – but in order to increase the chances of the ball coming back to you, you need to tell them to throw it back. Don't make them expend mental energy working out what needs to happen next.
One ball at a time
If you throw ten balls together at an investor, chances are they will catch none of them and leave the game. If you throw just one ball, they will most likely catch it and return it. Don't burden them with additional items until you have feedback on what you already sent.
To get real results you need to build excitement with every interaction
Ideally, by following the above, you have a solid rhythm of throws and catches. That might be enough to get an investor comfortable enough to take your call but isn't usually enough to get you into due diligence.
To do that you need to build desire and excitement.
If you want to improve your capital raising and marketing outcomes, get in touch to see how we can help.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.