It’s not possible for everyone who wants to start a business to fund it on their own. In fact, for the majority of people, this isn’t possible, which means you are going to need someone to invest in your business to help get you off the ground. In this article, we’re going to be looking at how you can market to investors, so that can’t say no. Keep reading if you want to find out more.
Talk About Your Plans
Obviously, you need to talk about your plans. What is the company? What is the product or service you can provide? Why do you think that this is going to succeed on the market? How much research have you done into starting this business? These are just a few of the things that investors are going to want to know about your business, and if you’re not prepared to answer them, they aren’t going to be prepared to put up the money. It’s important to understand that you need them a lot more than they need you, so you’ve got to be willing to give them what they want in terms of explanation of the company.
You can’t roll up to a meeting with an investor with no knowledge of what it is that you want to do, and no solid idea that they can base their decision on. If you do, the meeting won’t go well at all. As such, we recommend that you have some kind of handout with all the information on it. This way, if nerves do get the better of you and you forget a detail, it’s right there on the page. They can also refer back to this if they have any questions they want to ask you about, making the whole process go smoother.
Know What You Need
One thing that the investors are going to want to know is how much money you need, and then how this money is going to be spent. You can’t just walk in and ask for a sum of money with no explanation as to why you want that much, or where it’s going to go. It needs to be clear where you want to spend the money. So, this can include things such as office space, cost to produce a product, or cost to get the necessary equipment to provide services. It could even be that you need to buy a fleet of vans and get van fleet insurance so that everything is covered. Whatever the money is going towards, you need to know. What this means is that you need to have, at least a rough idea of how much this is going to cost.
If you ensure that you write all the costs down on a spreadsheet, it’s easy to understand for everyone involved.
Use Figures
Don’t forget that your information has to be sourced from somewhere. You can’t just pull numbers and figures out of thin air. So, you need to be able to back up why you’re saying what you’re saying using data and figures. Investors are also going to want to know what you’re looking to turnaround in the first year when you think you’ll make a profit, and more information like this. All of this has to have figured behind it, or nobody is going to take you seriously. Business is a harsh world, and it’s difficult to break into, so if you can’t do it alone and you need the help of an investor, you’ve got to make it worth their time.
Be Confident
Finally, you have got to be confident. Not just in your business idea, but in yourself that you can make it happen. When you go into the meeting, you don’t want to be shy, answering ‘I don’t know’ to a whole load of questions, having shaking hands, and so on. This just shows that you’re not sure about what you’re doing, and it’s a bad sign to investors. You’ve got to go in there, hold your head high, explain your ideas, look them in the eye and ask them if they have any questions that they would like you to clarify.
You’re going to be the boss, so everyone is going to look to you, meaning you have to take control. Don’t be afraid, the worst that they can do is say no.
We hope that you have found this article helpful, and now understand how you can market your business to investors. They aren’t looking to catch you out, so as long as you have all the information that they are looking for and you are a sound investment, then you have nothing to worry about. Good luck!
