Meeting with Investors – Before, During and After

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It is important to be consistent throughout meetings with investors. As you meet with investors more and more, you will begin to develop your own way of working. To begin, here are some pointers I suggest when meeting with investors through the whole process.

Preparing for your meeting:

Carry out research on the person that you’re meeting with.  What makes the person you’re meeting with excited? What grabs their attention? In doing this, you are getting a feel of your investor before you’re on the spot with them.

With your research in place, you can then fully prepare your pitch with your investor in mind. A tailored pitch makes for an interested investor – and an interested investor is one that actually invests in you. By personalising your pitch, you’re doing something many overlook and actually targeting the correct audience.

It’s also important to prepare yourself mentally. For a successful pitch, you need knowledge, passion and the ability to target your audience specifically.

During your meeting:

It is important to be confident during your meeting. Your investor is listening to every word you are saying and the way your portray yourself. Believe in yourself and your visions and an investor can spot that in your meetings.

While you may think that your memory is impeccable, don’t underestimate the value of taking notes on anything you find to be important. If you feel that it is important during your meeting – the chances are it will definitely be important afterwards.  Even if your memory is that good, it shows your investor that you understand the importance of things being said in your meeting.

Another thing to do while you and your investor are face to face is to ask questions. You should ask questions about anything you would like further clarification on, that you’re interested in or that you don’t understand (if that is the case). Your investor will appreciate your receptiveness more than someone who doesn’t show interest in them.

After your meeting:

Back to the memory point, write any of your initial thoughts down. Not only are they fresh in your mind, you can go back to the exact thought you had and expand it, act on it or even bin it.

Anything agreed during the meeting that should happen after, should be actioned. It seems like an obvious point, but by writing them down during the meeting and having notes to act upon, you have an accurate base to work from.

Quite possibly the most important act is to maintain relationships with all investors – whether they invest in you and your business or not. If someone is giving you money for your business, you should keep them sweet at least and let them know their money is in safe hands. In the event that they don’t invest in you, there’s nothing to stop them from watching you grow your business and want to invest later.

Meeting with investors is important and shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, if you prep right and show your passion for what you do, the rest can be worked on later.

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