Beata Staszkow — December 8, 2017 — December 8, 2017
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Once you have a targeted list of angel investors to approach, your next step should be to reach out and connect. There are in essence three processes to do this. They are:
- Reaching out
- Responding
- Following up
In this post we look at these processes and how best to approach them.
Reaching Out
Your goal here is to get a response from your potential investor. To this end it is important to identify a hook to cultivate enough interest to make your investor eager to learn more and feature this in your cold call email.
So consider:
- Hooks can be trending business topics such as blockchain, smart home technology, etc. Remember your business proposition has to be connected with the trending topic
- A Hooks could feature already secured funding from established investors
- A hook could be the value proposition of your business idea
Always:
- Keep the email as short as possible. Large blocks of texts are very off-putting. You do not need to explain everything at this stage
- Ensure the hook is clear easily understood and you talk about this straight away. The chances are your investor is busy and will switch off if they can’t see why you have ‘hassled’ them in the first place
- Remember that you are a cold caller. So both your hook and framing of your hook has to be on point
- Always end on a call to action that invites a response; “Can I send you more information. I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
Responding
Once you get a response it is important you follow up no later than 48 hours. It is vital that you create a good impression. Nobody will invest unless you can project your enthusiasm for your project.
So:
- Always follow up within 48 hours
- Answer all the questions an investor asks. If you do not know the answer then and there, say so and state you will forward the answer to them as soon as you have it. Make sure you do this.
- Ensure your email has no spelling and grammar errors
- Avoid blocks of text be concise and get to the point
- End with a suitable call to action that invites a follow-up email and hopefully open a dialogue
Following up
It is not uncommon that once you have responded to your chosen investor that you do not hear anything for a while. This is also true of an email dialogue that may have suddenly stopped. This does not necessarily mean that the investor has lost interest. Most investors are incredibly busy. That said, if you do not hear anything for a while it is worth sending a follow-up email.
So how long should you wait?
Unless you are asked by the investor to contact them at a certain time, it is advised not to send a follow-up email for around ten days. Investors are prudent people and may well be carrying out due diligence checks on your proposition. This takes time. Be patient here as if you annoy them any potential deal could fall through.
The ideal follow up email
The idea follow up email will cite impressive figures and if another investor has committed to the project it is a good idea to cite this too. If you can’t do this don’t worry. A simple “any more thoughts” email can prompt a response.
Securing investment is going to be a time-consuming process and a patient game needs to be played. With this method, you will avoid annoying your potential investors and convey a professional business ready demeanour which is needed to secure finance.
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