Marketing to investors is similar to launching your product
Marketing your project to outside world is not a simple process. Once you step outside the realm of your own ingenuity, you will find that there are many other entrepreneurs doing the exact same goals that you are trying to accomplish. All of them have good ideas and interesting strategies on why they should get the capital first. Your role is to market your project in the same way you would market a product launch.
You want to diversify the distribution of your offer. Don’t just approach one or two investors thinking you will get 500K from them. You need to get a handful of investors interested in your project and (if the project is good enough) choose which investors will make the biggest positive impact on your business/project.
Below are a few ways to diversify your offer:
IM Document
Your Information Memorandum is your external business plan that is used when pitching to potential investors. It is a concise document that outlines key strong points about your business/project. Try to distribute your official IM to reputable sources that have real investors with real capital. you can use professional networks to help you with this. Don’t give your IM to someone who will just leave it in their drawer. Keep your IM professional and information up to date as your project may change at any given point.
Website
A website is a great way to market your offer to potential investors that are interested in your business or industry. If you already have a business website, you can include a section that has your investors information and paste your IM in the section. Word on the Internet spreads very quickly and your IM in the right hands will ensure rapid response.
Corporate Video
In this day and age the majority of the business world will be sporting broadband connections for their office and laptops. Video is no longer a technical restriction in the modern business world. It is time to embrace this technology. When marketing your offer, create a simple corporate video about your business and your offer. Place the video on your site or any relevant social networking portals. This gives your project good credibility as investors like to see an entrepreneur that is confident in showing and pitching himself to the public. Do not use funny animations or make jokes about the pitch, keep it professional and clean.
Investor Meetings
The good old fashion way of attracting investors. Pick up the phone and call up investors from angel investment companies to venture capitalists. Pitch your offer to them, explain to them how you plan to get their money back and how you intend to make this project a success. This process may take longer, but you may find yourself contacting a major CEO of a company who has access to thousands on investors. Be firm, confident and most importantly listen to what the investor is saying. Don’t rush through your pitch, take your time and fun.
Company PR
You could also advertise your project/offer through your current marketing channels. You may find that certain suppliers, distributors and manufacturers make great external investors if they find the right deal. So email your suppliers and wholesalers the offer and ask them for their opinion. You may be surprised. You can even try using social networks to market your offer as long as you don’t showcase too many details. Instead post a video and a link to your website where potential investors can download your Information Memorandum.
Finally,
Try and market your offer to as many organizations as you can using the various methods above and many more. You want to get your investors excited about the offer and you also want them to know that many other investors may be interested in your business/project. This creates a buzz around your project, which is exactly what you need.
Tags: business plan, investor, investors, product launch, venture capital, venture capitalist
