STAY IN TOUCH? WTH! Now What to Do!?
A great meeting with a potential Capital Provider.
Hit it off, agreed with many statements,, knew some of the same people, went on similar vacations, even, maybe, went to the same college or prep school. Getting capital is a “done deal”.
THE DREADED
“Really enjoyed our meeting. Stay in touch – we are not making investments like this now but likely we will be doing so in 1, 2 or 3 YEARS!!”
WTH!! The meeting was great. The people were great! I am asking for capital, and I don’t have 1, 2 to 3 years. What should I say in any case? How should I stay in touch?
In a low liquidity, low transaction volume environment, this response will be more likely than not. It’s definitional, if the Capital Provider does not have or does not want to deploy capital, there will be no capital transaction.
Therefore, this response is likely true. Most institutional capital providers have enough to do with their time so do not need another opportunity “staying in touch”. Therefore, it is likely true that the capital provider would like you to stay in touch and they would expect the staying in touch to be done in a meaningful way.
The reward for staying in touch is that it requires minimal effort (can and should be done by mostly via email rather than meeting requests), proactively creates a “Medium Capital Funnel” for future capital requirements as well as canvases the target audience for possibly adding to the “Immediate Capital Funnel”. The Immediate Capital Funnel may grow for a variety of reasons including the “ask” may last longer than expected or the situation might have changed at the potential Capital Provider.
| “Staying in Touch” Techniques Using Email | Description |
| Short Updates | A very short (2 to 3 Paragraph) update on a positive company development (new acquisition, new client, new contract, other organizational updates, etc). |
| Team Updates | New team additions are important since they usually convey a growing and strengthening organization. |
| Relevant Research or Market Updates | A longer (attached) relevant proprietary research piece on an important market, sector or industry development or a short (2 to 5 paragraph) market update on a timely market development. |
| Investor Reports | Conveying non-NDA information shared with existing investors on a regular basis gives timely and “inside the company” updates. |
| Invites to Events, Meetings (incl Annual) and Info Sessions | In-person events, when done well, are high value since they convey information as well as create an opportunity for high quality personal interaction. |
| Webinars | If there is enough critical information that would be better delivered verbally – it is possible to offer webinars. |
| Video | Under the umbrella that different people like information delivered in different manners – it is possible (even in an old school industry like finance) to deliver information via video. It’s just important – like in all other instances – to make sure that the content is well-curated, to the point and professional. |
| Timeliness – Every Other Month or as Needed | The point of the updates is to remain in front of the potential Capital Provider but to not appear annoying or spam. So, cadence is related to ability to deliver valuable information and updates. However, most organizations should be able to provide some valuable information at a minimum of every 2 to 3 months. |
If you would like to discuss this further – Contact us! Or, if you or one of your clients is thinking about or has a capital opportunity – we advise on creating successful outcomes.
