1. Being vs. looking desperate
Just because you are worried about making payroll tomorrow, owe your mom 3 months rent, and just posted your 3,449 piece Lego Death Star ll Original Trilogy Edition on Ebay, doesn’t mean you have to show it. Being desperate for an investor is tough. Looking desperate is worse than being hit by the real Death Star’s ray. Good negotiators don’t project their real weaknesses. If you have an awesome product or service and you are getting into the shark tank of investors, don’t start bleeding desperation. Keep it together and be confident.
Tip: When talking to investors, stay focused on your amazing product or service, your skills or your passion. You are selling an adventure, not your own temporary fears. You are awesome or you would not have gotten this far. Stay awesome in your investor talks.
2. Present where you are going, not where you currently are
This is one time to reject what your therapist keeps telling you about being in the moment. If the moment looks and feels desperate, then dump that loser for a minute and hook up with the future! Investors buy the future. Sure, there is no guarantees for the future, but let’s face it – they already own today. You, me and investors want something better than today or we would not be playing the entrepreneurial game.
Tip: Talk about what you have accomplished that is setting the stage for the future, what is about to happen, how the market is poised for your product or how your service will change the way people live.
3. Be in control of you
There are so many variables in your business, your investors day, and your ex-lover’s social media post about your Lego “investments.” You can’t figure all of that out right now. Get back to being the best you for a few minutes and show that investor what you are made of. You’ve got what it takes to make this business a success. That’s really all they need to know today, and quite frankly, all that will help you succeed today.
Tip: Run, meditate, pray, center, achieve, breathe, stretch or whatever it is you do to calm down and focus… then look your investor in the eye and close the deal!
