IN THE INVESTOR’S MIND, WHAT IS A SUCCESSFULSUCCESSFUL BUSINESS?

1. Positioning: The voice of the customer comes first and you have correctly heard that voice

2. Strategic Direction: You have stuff that no one else has and everyone wants

3. Tactics: Your “been there done that” execution team is surrounded by geniuses that work for peanut$

4. All you need is a little money

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1. POSITIONING

Your company

Voice of the Customer

New

Old

Customer Needs

Customer Wants

•Most important step

•Identify your audience in each presentation

•Position your company accordingly to address their needs and wants

•Stay focused!

2

The VC reports to a limited partner

The VC Needs:

•10x returns

•A clear exit

•Belief in the management team

•Ability to help influence the direction

The Angel reports to a significant other

The Angel Needs:

•To belief his money will come back to him

•To believe that this is his best opportunity to earn a substantial return on investment

THE INVESTOR

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Venture Capitalists

• You to be successful

• Sales

• The ability to get out at any point in time if things go bad

Angels

• You to be successful

• Sales

• The chance to be part of a remarkable success

THE INVESTOR WANTS

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IF YOU DON’T PASSIONATELY TALK ABOUT YOUR “WIDGET” OR “YOUR DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY”,

YOU WILL NEVER GIVE THE INVESTORS WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR!

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• Pinpoint your business’ core competencies (foundations)

• Identify strategic steps for the company

• Ensure each step is in line with the company’s foundation

• The Board of Directors plays a vital role in developing the strategic direction

1st foundatio

n 2nd foundatio

n

Strategic steps

2. STRATEGIC DIRECTION

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• Can you list just two things that will make your investor excited?

• What does the investor have to know about your market to make him

believe that you will be the next category killer?

• Have you told him your strategy for making sales? Have you proved to him

the “Dog will eat the dog food”?

• How does the investor know that some one won’t come in and “steal your

lunch money”(which belongs to him in his mind); Is your IP adequate?

• Do you have an execution plan that he can believe in?

• Who will help you achieve the success that you must achieve to give him

his money back( is y9our board awe inspiring)

• And by the way how does he get his money back?

YOU AND YOUR COMPANY

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12 Tactics That Make Sales

• Common mistake is doing this step first

• Don’t try to take on more than 12 tactics

• Management execute these steps to the strategy

• Make sure you cover how these tactics will make everyone want to buy you

3. TACTICS

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• The job here is really simple: sell the team if they are

exceptional, sell the execution plan if they aren’t

• Don’t exaggerate the capability of the team or the background: If

it’s skinny the board better be great, if it’s exceptional take the

time to tell them why

• The plan about how you make money must be crystal clear and

rock solid

• For those of you that are unclear, an execution plan is composed

of two things: the sales process and the scale process

• How you make money is the only element that counts

• They don’t believe your projections

• And that really leads to the ASK

NOW IT’S ABOUT THE TEAM

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• It’s really the very simple ending to an effective presentation

• How much do you need?

• How are you going to spend it?

• How much of the company can they have if they give you the

money?

– Saying you are open to negotiation is a death sentence

– “If you do not know how much your company is worth

they should take advantage of you”

• How are you going to make the investor and your team a great

deal of money?

• And when will all this happen?

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THE ASK

Your Compa

ny

New

Old Custome

r NeedsCustomer Wants

1st foundation 2nd

foundation

Strategic steps

Create tactics to make sales

Step 1: Positioning-The voice of the customer is key

Step 2: Strategic Steps-Utilize your Board of Directors

Step 3: Tactics-Specifics on executing your strategy

IN SUMMARY

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WHAT IS AN ENTREPRENEUR?

“Someone who creates and builds a new way of doing business with an

unreasonable expectation of success.”

“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

– Thomas Edison

The Cube

300 East 2nd Street suite 1405

Norman Smith

775-224-9900

normansmith@sbcglobal.net

THANK YOU!

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