4 Ways To Give Investors
Confidence In Uncertain Times

The No. 1 Thing You Need To Give Your Investors In The New Year

Communicate – Early and Often

Be Authentic – Share Good News … and Bad

Be Prepared – Anticipate Investor Questions

Outline Your Goals – And Be Accountable

The global economic downturn triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt in every area of business. While there have been programs such as PPP that offer temporary relief, market conditions continue to be more uncertain and complex than most business owners have – or will ever experience in their lifetime.

As an entrepreneur, you already know that raising sufficient capital is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do as a founder. Whether your business has just one investor, many investors, or you’re starting to think about attracting investors, ensuring they remain confident with their decision to invest – especially in today’s economic climate – is one of your top priorities.

Communication Is Key

Communicating with your investors – and communicating properly – can spell the difference between getting investment for your business and continuing your search of finding investors.

Proper communication means knowing your investor audience and understanding each stakeholder’s needs, as well as the investor group as a whole.

3 Ways to Give Business Investors Confidence

It also means providing routine, timely messages to the entire investment group, similar in format and including consistent information for their review.

Investors love it when they know what to expect. Keeping communication consistent will make their review of your materials easy and efficient.

A great way to gain investor confidence is by anticipating their questions. Doing this will prevent unnecessary distractions that one-off questions create and will show due diligence on your behalf.

When an investor does have questions, you’ll find that they are of the thought-provoking and helpful variety. In turn, you’ll open up a channel to a meaningful relationship with your investors, one that will pay dividends both in good and not so good times.

The 2021 CFO Hiring Guide

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Be Authentic – Share The Good News & Bad

Give Investors Confidence Celebrate The Wins

Building on the theme of communication, it’s important to share your company’s wins – no matter how ‘small.’ Celebrating your company’s successes continues to add a positive spin to your operations and keeps your investors excited about their decision to support you.

On the same note, sharing the bad news when things don’t turn out as expected can work in your favor, too.

Pro Tip: When breaking the bad news, be prepared to share your plan to solve the challenge, and raise your hand to ask your investors for advice, contacts, and ideas to help you.

This transparent and honest approach builds trust and demonstrates that you are humble and able to ask for help – traits savvy investors look for in successful entrepreneurs.

Pro Tip: Share good news early and often because while consistent, scheduled updates are important, so are the ad hoc updates when they are warranted.

Be Prepared & Have Your Finances In Order

Investors are busy and can’t spend hours poring through your company’s financials to figure out what’s happening. When finding investment opportunities, a savvy investor will want you to provide them with financial updates that allow for quick review and analysis.

4 Ways To Give Investors Confidence In 2021 Communication Is Key

By providing a brief written overview and clean, reliable, and timely financials, you’ll be able to deliver confidence right to their inbox.

Outline Your 2021 Goals With Timelines

Sharing your company goals with investors and following up on progress each quarter can ensure that you continue to stay focused on your vision and growing your business.

This is why your investors got involved in the first place – to see your business grow!

Be sure to include a specific timeline to your investors, and – this is critical – stick to it. Sharing your company’s 2021 goals with your investors can not only help you solidify your plan for the year but can keep you accountable, too.

A BSC survey found that 80 percent of organizations using a balanced scorecard reported improvements in operating performance, and 66 percent reported increased profits.

Give Investors Confidence Give A TIme Line

To better implement this strategy, CFO Alliance ensures our clients utilize the same scorecard, which translates a company’s strategic objectives into a coherent set of performance measures that prove easy and effective.

Creating confidence with your investors means investing time and energy to identify and meet their individual and collective stakeholder needs. It also means telling them more than the standard entrepreneur’s optimistic tale about the company and all of its opportunities.

Talking To Your Investors

Providing confidence is the key to a long-standing and healthy investor relationship. This means sharing openly, being transparent, and listening to their feedback in order to strengthen your business.

Like any other partnership built on a solid foundation, approaching investors using these principles will continually remind them why they made the right decision when they placed their bet on you. Is there a better gift than that?

4 Ways To Give Investors
Confidence In Uncertain Times

Communication Is Key