Your funder "pitch" call is 45 minutes max. Here's how to make the most of it.

Build rapport. Ask questions. Set a follow up.

If you’re caught up on all of our guides (you read about outbound sales to cold email funders, how to actually get meetings on your calendar, and how to prepare for your pitch) then you’re ready to get on the phone with investors.

Here is our guide to your pitch. First and Foremost,

If you’re speaking for more than 7 minutes at any given time. You’re doing it wrong.

A "pitch" to an investor is a misnomer.

It's a two-way street where the entrepreneur needs to vet the investor as much as they need to vet you.

Who are they, personally? What’s the behind the scenes of the “about us” or “our mission” pages on their website? Would the cost of capital of working with them outweigh their investment? Will it otherwise provide value to you?

A great way to vet is to ask questions. directly.

And another reason to ask questions? It’s THE most important sales skill.

If you remember one thing from this post

…everyone has a problem. And they usually are afraid to tell you. If you can figure out what their problem is, you can help them solve it. And if you solve the problems of people who control lots of money they will give some of that money to you.

An investor’s problem could be:

• They got burned by a company that was also in your sector. Now they are wary of the whole sector.

• Their partner complains they always bring b2c deals instead of b2b startups.

The only way to find out what their problem is is to ask questions.

And if you do it strategically. The sales concept of the “Yes Ladder” applies here too.

You ask questions to build trust and rapport.
You ask questions they are likely to agree with (say yes to).
You ask questions to figure out what their problem is.
You ask questions to vet.

And

You ask questions to engage them during your pitch

Questions at the beginning of the meeting

• Show you’re a human

Your goal as soon as you start your call is to build rapport. (Pssst… we talk all about it in our post on preparing for your pitch).

How to prepare for your pitch? A guide from someone on both sides of the table

You’ll naturally ask questions to do so. From both a personal and professional perspective catered to the person you’re speaking to. And from both perspectives for their organization/fund as well.

Example rapport building questions for premium subscribers below 👇

• Show you did your research

What do you know about this person? What do you know about the organization? What do you have in common with their existing portfolio? Why should they care about you?

(These are questions you should be asking yourself before you’re ready to ask them questions…. Questions. Questions. Questions. QUESTIONS!)

Example discovery questions for premium subscribers below 👇

• Show you care

Figure out their problem and help your funder care more subconsciously too. Why’d you take this meeting with me? Is a good starting point.

All beginning of the meeting questions for premium subscribers below 👇

Questions during/after pitching

Research indicates that audience attention during presentations, including video calls, begins to wane after approximately 10 minutes.

We’ve found it’s closer to 7. Your pitch should either be 7 minutes long total or you should have specific areas in your pitch where you pause and ask your lead specific questions related to where you are in your deck.

It’s an attention reset.

A list of 20+ tailored questions during your pitch for premium subscribers below 👇

Questions at the end of the meeting

Too important to reserve for just premium subscribers.

1. Can we add you to our investor newsletter so you can stay up to date with our growth and notable achievements? It’s something we send out quarterly and always get feedback that its actually pretty fun and insightful.

This is going to be important for what comes next:

The chasing.
…The nurturing.
……The many emails and phone calls just to get a rejection.

You’ll need a combination of “hard” and “soft” touches.

2. Are you deploying now?

3. What’s the process/next steps from here?

See what their timeline is. See what roller coaster you’re about to get on.

4. Can we schedule another meeting?

5. If I send you [whatever they are asking for] will the same time next week/month/ quarter be enough time for you and your team to review?

Gauge their interest & timeline. Get something on the calendar. If they push back:

6. What if we just throw XXX time on YYY day on the calendar just to have something in place? And I’ll follow up on Monday of that week to confirm the timing or we can adjust. Does that sound ok?

Bonus. Take a risk.

7. Just based on what you've heard, if you were going to invest in us, how much would you invest?

8. How excited do you feel about what we’re building?

9. Do you imagine any initial hesitations before investing in our round?

10. Do you see anything standing in the way of you joining this round?

More for premium subscribers below 👇

General guidelines for talking to investors

1. Be transparent and honest. Investors will not invest if they pick up signals of lack of transparency or honesty. This is part of the risks that they’re trying to reduce. Be careful with games (like “round closes today”) or small exaggerations (like “we have a meeting with a senior partner” at a fund where you’re about to meet with an associate). Don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.

2. Show speed and commitment. Return emails fast, provide requested data immediately, be persistent during the fundraising process, and be available to physically meet if possible.

3. Show seriousness and professionalism. Answer questions seriously, and provide the research you conducted when relevant. Make sure everything you deliver leaves a great impression.

4. Be calm. Accept all questions with love. Don’t complain about the process — if you don’t like it, disengage. Don’t tell them what you think about the process. Be nice when you get rejected, because it could matter when you meet them again.

5. Don’t be arrogant. This can happen when things are going well, but it’s important to stay grounded and be nice. Remember that all startups have ups and downs, and you will need the investors tomorrow.

6. Ask questions.

Information in part from NFX and Verdant.

A book that might be very helpful to you on how to ask questions to uncover hidden information is Never Split the Difference, about a technique developed by an FBI hostage negotiator.

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A quick note on investment readiness…

Pitch practice (and perfection) is part of our onboarding with new clients at Grant & Co. The funder you’re courting will not always tell you why they won’t be investing in you.

And they’ll (almost) never tell you:

- What could have made your pitch stronger
- A specific red flag they found in your financial model that threw them off
- If the way you presented your team turned them off
- The problems they have with your business model
- What specifically about your pitch they didn’t like

We do

And we bring in an equity investor or someone who’s reviewed applications and made grant funding decisions at groups like USAID and Mastercard Foundation (a third party) to do it too.

Athletes review their game tape with coaches to get better. Why shouldn’t you?

Are you a social impact business founder looking to raise capital? Have $150k or more in annual revenue? Get optimized for investment and let us facilitate new opportunities for you. Get in touch with Daniel@thegrant.co.

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• 70+ more questions and why they are relevant