You can’t pitch if you don’t have a meeting on your calendar
Strategies on securing your intro call with a funder - and not getting stuck in scheduling limbo
So… You’ve read our posts on
“Should you even raise?” and decided, yes, you should?
“The different types of funding” and you’ve chosen which to pursue?
Outbound sales (or setting meetings at conferences) and learned about how to find the right people to target and how to target them?
How to use something like Calendly effectively to make sure your call gets scheduled?
Good. You’re otherwise ready to go. If not…
Your last job here (before actually pitching) is to make make sure you and your lead actually start chatting by 10:01 AM EAT (or whenever your call is scheduled). Here are our tips to doing just that.
Getting a meeting on the books
Whether you…
Ran an effective cold outreach sequence on LinkedIn and/or email (see here for more)
Got a warm introduction from another funder or entrepreneur in your network
Had a potential funder reach out to you directly
Met at an in-person event and are now planning a follow up call
… however you got in touch with your new funding lead, once you have their interest and attention its up to you to launch the process in securing their investment.
Quick side note. At Grant & Co, (our partner org) we leverage our database of over 3500+ grant, debt, and equity funders in Africa to get our CEO clients in touch with potential partners.
$1,000 a month in exchange for a minimum of 4 (qualified) meetings and pitches.
Guaranteed or you don’t pay for the next month. We make it easy.
Email Daniel@thegrant.co to chat more here.
If your funder lead asks you for a deck before getting on a call with you…
Send it!
This whole idea of asking a lead (of any kind) to sign an NDA in advance to them looking at a deck or having a 30 minute intro call…
Is often considered the mark of a green entrepreneur
From our experience, NDA’s have no weight; they’re unenforceable across country borders; and (depending on the stage your company is in) is it really worth your time to assess “damages” and go to court?
But, more importantly, it’s a bottle neck in your process, and might get you stuck in the back-and-forth prescheduling limbo. Trust us, it’s not where you want to be.
Our guide to a winning deck for premium subscribers below 👇
If they directly ask if you’re available to meet them at a specific time…
Make every effort to be available then
They are specifically saying “I want to learn about your business. And the best time I have available to do so is XXX”
Unless you have another “meeting” at that same time with a different funder, potential customer, partner/significant other, or doctor OR you’re out of the office that particular day, make it happen when your prospective funder wants!
Internal team meetings, personal engagements, or training, can be rescheduled
Save them a step; send the Calendar Invite directly
Pre-written response templates for premium subscribers below 👇
If you’re truly not available at the time they suggested…
Be transparent
Offer alternative times
Add your Calendly link too
Cross your fingers to not end up in the back-and-forth prescheduling limbo
Pre-written response templates for premium subscribers below 👇
If they don’t offer up any time they’d be available (but have expressed interest)…
Suggest a few times
Add your Calendly link as an alternative
Follow the “two check ins” rule and timelines
If all else fails, get creative (More info for premium subscribers below 👇)
Confirming your calls
Depending on whether you’re (founder/CEO) exclusively interacting with your lead or if your PA/Grant & Co engaged originally and is now looping you in… there are a couple of different strategies you should use to make sure your lead gets on the ZOOM/Meet/Teams call with you.
If it’s just you…
Send a “looking forward to speaking with you” email the day before or on the morning of your meeting
If someone on your team (or Grant & Co) first engaged with the lead and helped schedule you…
Send a “nice to e-meet you; looking forward to speaking with you” email the before or on the morning of your meeting
Short and sweet; Be specific about the date and time
We recommend turning off your Calendly or ESP’s (email service providers) auto notifications. Quite frankly, they are annoying and your lead will have their own alerts on their end. You want to be personalized here.
Pre-written response templates for premium subscribers below 👇
If you have to reschedule…
First of all. Don’t. Just don’t. Obviously emergencies happen, but…
We’re trying to do everything in our power to make sure that your scheduled call with your prospective funder goes through smoothly at the originally scheduled time.
If a rescheduling has to happen, there’s a risk that your lead can go cold or fall off completely. Make sure you’re Calendly is optimized based on these recommendations:
If your funding lead has to reschedule last minute…
Sometimes, even after doing everything right, they might still reschedule or cancel at the last minute. Here’s how to handle it:
Acknowledge and confirm; say no problem
Repeat the process above
Pre-written templates to get rescheduled for premium subscribers below 👇
If you’re ever stuck in the “dead-end zone”
The scheduling limbo, Bermuda triangle, sunken place, whatever you want to call it.
Don’t panic. Our guide for premium subscribers below 👇 will help you.
You get on the Google Meet and your funder is not there…
Yikes. You’re getting ghosted.
Don’t panic. We’ve got you. Keep an eye out for a future post entirely dedicated to this.
You get on the Google Meet and your funder is there…
Woohoo! Your work here is done. Our next couple of posts will be dedicated to helping you get set up for your pitch and make the most of it.
*No time for lead gen? Get in touch with Daniel@thegrant.co to talk more about connecting with you with 4+ new funders to pitch to every month.
👇👇👇 Premium Fundraising Dispatch subscribers and Grant & Co clients 👇👇👇
Proven Email Templates to use to Schedule and Follow Up
For (almost) every possible situation
Proven Email Templates for Rescheduling or Confirming
Tracking your TOFU (Top-Funnel) leads in your CRM
How to not let anything slip through the cracks
What to do to get out of the “dead-end zone”
BUT QUICK… SOMETHING SUPER IMPORTANT BEFORE WE DIVE IN
To help you prevent you getting ghosted or getting caught in the dead end zone:
The absolute IMMEDIATE thing you have to do first, right away, before anything else(!!) is to check your funder lead’s email signature for…
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