Put yourself in a potential investor’s shoes. They have limitless possibilities of where to invest their money so why should they choose you? You need to make your investor relations strategy stand out in order for them to remember your values and your investment strategy. So let’s talk about the five fundamental ways your private equity firm can win new investors!
Help Investors to Get to Know You
There is an abundance of private equity firms in the US alone, so how do you stand out to a potential investor? It’s important to make a strong first impression. The investor needs to feel that they can trust your associates and executives and that they align with your firm culturally. Present them with the purpose of your firm, your work force and its culture, and your company values.
Sure, the biggest goal of the potential investor is to make money, but they also want to work with a firm that holds values that are important to the investors and treats its employees well. To help an investor get to know you, you could create a dynamic PowerPoint presentation, an effective one-sheeter, or a short introductory video. Video can be especially compelling to potential investors, as video has been shown to hold people’s attention for 2.7 minutes, compared to the average adult attention span of 10 seconds.
Explain Your Investment Strategy
Probably one of the biggest questions your potential investor is asking themselves is what sets your investment strategy apart from other firms? How will you double, triple, or quadruple their money? Identifying the market size and industries your firm will invest in as well as your firm’s investment strategy to grow companies through organic or acquisition growth are key topics to address for investors.
Video is a fantastic medium to hear directly from partners and executives on how this works for your firm. Using an animation video to explain what sets you apart from your competition can be both informative and entertaining for the potential investor. Since 65% of the population are visual learners, odds are that your investment strategy will stick out in their mind when they compare it to other firms’ strategies.
Show Investors How You Win
The most iconic companies have a “secret” for how they’ve become the best. McDonald’s has a “secret sauce,” Google has a secret search algorithm, The New York Times has a secret definition for a bestseller. But why are you the best? How do you make sure the portfolio companies you invest in will be guaranteed immense growth?
This could be a breakdown of how your firm sources new investments, how you compete against other private equity firms and win, or how you make consistent gains. These topics will lead the potential investor to feel like they really understand your process.
Highlight Case Studies
When investors are looking for the perfect firm to invest in, they want to make sure that their money is in capable hands. Showing off the portfolio companies you have successfully grown is a must to entice new investors. Portfolio company growth videos are the perfect vehicle to highlight the most prosperous of your current or former portfolio companies.
These videos showcase what the company does, how it solves a market need, the people and communities it impacts, and its growth trajectory. No other medium is capable of showing investors firsthand how your firm connected with people at the company, invested in infrastructure, and empowered management teams with the tools to grow successfully. Case studies are an excellent way to get investors excited about the potential of investing with your firm.
Show Off Your Recent Exits
While case studies can show off the most well-known, successful, or dynamic of your portfolio companies, you should also be featuring your most recent exits, hopefully ones that excite both you and your potential investors.
Recent exits that happened at the right time for both you and your portfolio company should be highlighted. This is not only because of the success of the exit, but also because it shows how much you care about your portfolio companies by recognizing when a trade sale, buyout, or IPO is best for the company.
Recent exits are something commonly overlooked in the fundraising process, as many Investor Relations teams focus on communicating how they source portfolio companies and not how they exit. Showing that your firm has a proven exit strategy could be something that sets you apart from other firms.
Win New Investors Today!
Book a free, 30 minute consultation to discuss your goals.