Raising Finance Talks
Helping property developers raise finance from private investors so they can grow and scale their property business!
Raising Finance Talks
Our guide to making property investor meetings easy
In this episode you'll learn:
- How to prepare for an investor meeting
- Controlling the controllable’s
- Creating an environment that works for you and the investor
- The importance of understanding your value
- Preparing for a meeting with any type of person
- Raising money from clients
- How to avoid pitching percentages
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Welcome to this week's show everyone, this one is all about how to have incredible investor meetings. So if you've ever felt nervous about going into an investor meeting or meeting in general, then we've got some real cool stuff that's going to help you with all of that.
Al:Hey, guys, you're listening to raising finance talks with Sam UNAL. We're on an absolute mission to help developers raise their first million from investors. So they can go on and do deals with six
Sam:figure profits. So if you're not moving forward with your property business, for a lack of cash, then this podcast is for you. We're going to deep dive into all aspects of raising private finance. So thanks for listening. And let's dive in. First things first, I want to talk about meetings. You know,
Al:we love a meeting a very important part of the raising finance process. Funnily enough, Indeed,
Sam:indeed. I think, you know, when it comes to meetings, I don't think there's one of us out there that could say we've not been nervous on some level before any meeting. You know, it can always be a big issue I think for for all of us. Yeah, just getting nervous thinking, you're gonna say the wrong thing, you're gonna fluff your lines. Yeah, the whole world is going to cave in around
Al:around you the sweaty be that just dribbles down your forehead, because you're like, anticipating them saying something really harsh or sort of drilling you straight for the numbers immediately. Just not really knowing how the conversation is gonna go, like, what your sort of what your outlook is on it, what your outcome is, you know, just just not having those sort of specific things in your mind to guide you as you're in that conversation. You just end up also feeling like you're winging it a little bit like you're just winging the meeting. So it's kind of it's it just yeah, it's just potluck. And I think that is a thing, like people do rock up to meetings, and just it's a game of chance. It's like a potluck thing. And that, that creates massive amounts of nerves and pressure, you know?
Sam:Yeah, that's it. And I think when you turn up and you're you're feeling the pressure, and you're not maybe, maybe some people just don't know how to prepare properly for them, or they're not sure that that? Do they know that she needs an outcome? Yeah, I wouldn't have known that before we started working together. I think when you turn up and you do feel those kind of nerves, it's, it's hard to kind of articulate who you are and what you do,
Al:and what your value is, as well as Yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Sam:So it's hard to kind of get interest from an investor because you're not, you're not really talking particularly naturally, because you are so nervous. And you're not exactly sure what you want to say and what you want the outcome of the meeting to be.
Al:Yeah, I think Well, the first thing as well as just to point on is that it's okay to be nervous. I think you'll always be nervous. I were when we started doing these podcasts, we were a little bit nervous, like getting out there and sort of doing a podcast is it can be a bit nerve racking anything in that way can have that that
Sam:effect listen to episode one your
Al:shit at a. But yeah, like it does, and you sort of you always gonna have that feeling. And my background is all in this, like the sport element of you know, how your mindset is, when you're you're approaching a something under pressure, if you're going to have nerves like it's okay. But it's just knowing what to do with them. And sort of knowing that they are just part of the process. And being comfortable with that sense of them. Yeah, and there are things that you can do, obviously, which we're going to get onto now, to sort of mitigate that. But the one thing as well you end up doing is when you haven't sort of done the job in preparation, and all that kind of stuff is is you end up asking people for money. Because that's all you That's the card you hold, you know that that's the sort of your ticket in a way of getting interest, you start flat flashing the percentages a little bit. And the problem with that is well as a it doesn't form a great relationship. But B in many instances, you'll fall foul of the FCA regulations in doing that, and we've had these conversations with people recently I haven't we were that's how they were hooking people because they get a little bit flustered in a meeting or, you know, not not really know what they're gonna say next. And they just come out with it like, oh, I can help you beat the bank or, you know, beat the bank 8% It's like classics from, I don't know, it feels like they've been around for like 15 years or so. Probably forever. Yeah. And that's something that's really important to be aware of, as well. And I know we talked about that in the past episode, but it's maybe something we do a whole episode on. I don't know. But yeah,
Sam:I think also it's worth mentioning that when when you aren't prepared, and you don't know exactly what the outcome of the meeting is the You'd have to decide on that. Unless you unless you've done that, then you're going to probably spend a lot of time thinking about what you want to say next. Yeah, and preparing that in your mind. And while the potential investor is talking, you're you look like you're listening, but you're just trying to figure out what you're going to say next, based on what you think they might say next, and then you're not really listening to them what they want, you know, so it's hard to have a kind of a deeper conversation and really understanding who they are, what they're in it for, what they're trying to achieve
Al:absolute. And, you know, from a purely from a performance perspective, that's a nightmare when you're trying to perform a skill. And in this case, it is the person in front of you, you have to you just it is all about them. And if you're trying to listen and perform that sort of active listening skill, and your mind is thinking about all the other things that you might want to say, that has a massive impact on how that person is going to feel about you, because it'll come across in your body language, in your tonality in all sorts of things. You know, it's really, really important to remember so preparation, preparation, preparation is really key, we know that the three P's love the three P's we've mentioned before, but let's get some, let's have a little look at some structure. So people can, you know, of course, preparation is important, but how do I do it? What kind of structure can I get? And that sort of like delve into that so we can create some sort of solutions here? Yeah, I
Sam:think one of the big things to go into is really getting a deep understanding of your value. As big for you to get confidence was for me, it made a huge difference to me and how I viewed myself. Yeah. And obviously gave me sort of confidence going into the meeting, they know who I was, and the value of me. Yeah. So I spending a lot of time with that I less,
Al:so I don't want to take up less less. Let's give some examples of that. So, like your value. I mean, one we would literally just discussing was, you know, you lived in an area for seven years at that point? How do we sort of like switch that up to make it a bit more investor friendly and make it feel for them? Like there's something in it for them that that would help them?
Sam:Yeah, that's it. So one of the things I thought would help me was kind of noticing quite well, because I've lived in southwest London for a long time. And been specifically in tooting for six or seven years. But I just thought, yeah, that helps because I have an idea on the market. But actually, when you when when you said to me, we'll switch that round, what what else can that, you know, look like it was okay. You know, I spend a lot of time on Rightmove and I will see, you know, done previous developments. And I bought my own houses around here as well. So my value is I've got seven years extensive knowledge of the market in southwest London. Absolutely, yeah.
Al:But that sounds totally different. It doesn't it and it's not a lie. It's not bullshit, because it's true. It's just what the way you position yourself. And in doing that beforehand, and preparing yourself, you are telling yourself that a very different story about what you value, what value you bring to somebody else. And that will transcend into a meeting. And that that's something that is really key to sort of have in a locker.
Sam:And another thing would be knowledge of local build costs as well. Yeah, so having done my own houses and a couple of small developments, I had a really good idea on what builders I wanted to use, what types they were just recommendations for other people or people I'd used before. And obviously, I knew the kind of finishes I wanted to use, because I knew the local market, having sold my own houses, and as I say a couple of small developments. And I really knew what people were looking for who were sort of first time buyers. And I knew how to finish properties. I knew all the costs around that. So again, local experience. So when it comes to the build and pricing things up, I knew pretty much bang on what it was gonna cost to get the right job done. For the for any development I was doing.
Al:Yeah, and that translates to somebody else that okay, I am interested in investing. I am in you know, I'd love to get involved in sort of London development. And I've got this person in front of me that it this is not rocket science stuff. This is just things that can make my life a heck of a lot easier and bring massive value to me because I don't have those things. I don't have area knowledge. I don't understand the market in that area and what the end user is, I don't know, the build costs, you know, off the top of my head it would it would really stress me out to cost up a job and make make it right and to ensure that it's right so those things are valuable to someone that doesn't have that so by preparing your value or the value of you, you You're, you're building that confidence that within yourself of what you're bringing, and this is vital, because if you know all of this stuff beforehand, and you've put the work in to know it, then when you're in front of somebody else, it comes out naturally, it comes out in a way where, you know, you're not having to think about what you're going to say next, because it's already there, because you've prepared it, you know what your value is. So that's really key. And then the opportunity is a massive one, isn't it in terms of, you know, actual model, the property strategy that you're deploying is, is knowing that inside out as well?
Sam:Yeah, that's it and knowing it inside out, so you can answer any questions. Whether it's, you know, timescales, sales values, obviously, Bill costs any of that stuff, you just need to be able to repeat that to people off the top of your head. So don't a lot of practice around that. As I always say, I've always got my reams and reams of post it notes on the wall, when I'm doing this kind of stuff, whether it's preparing for a meeting or learning something new, I've always got my little bullet points of post it's on on the wall. And just a quick note on that. One big thing to do on that is never write too much information or post it. Because then if you're maybe on a call, and you're looking at your post, it's just as a reference, maybe, if you've got too much writing on there, you can sound like a bit of a robot and you can be just spouting off a bit too much information. When you don't really, when it's kind of initial calls with people, when you're talking about what you're up to, you don't it's kind of surface level information you need to give and it's more about them and finding out where they're at, and what kind of investments they're looking to do. Obviously, what they're looking to achieve. So you don't want to be writing too much information on your posts. It's just just personal brief bullet points around you know, your value, what it's limited by, you know how many deals you're looking to do per year, and obviously, around your exact opportunity as well. So you don't have to go into too much detail on that. But yeah, just just having different options written up there. Depends on on the questions you'll get to see you can answer them easily. Yeah.
Al:And and a point on that point is, if you have to write more than a bullet point down for something that you're going to talk to someone about that it means you haven't prepared enough, you're not prepared enough. So if you have to write down, say you were on having a call with someone, and you would have to write down half a page of writing to describe something that you would then relate to them, then it means that you're not prepared enough. So therefore, this is like really, really valuable for you to sort of be able to create those post it notes with just one bullet point of, you know, like Sam said earlier, seven years of extensive local knowledge area, like area knowledge, that like just having that one line should then trigger you to be able to just just let go on, on how you deliver that to someone. And I think that yeah, absolutely massive,
Sam:I know, that's a big one for you letting go, that's a big part of your CEU. With with your golf history, yeah, you know, doing doing your deliberate practice your preparation, and then when it comes out to take the shot, letting go. And that's
Al:it. Because there's nothing you can do once you're in a meeting with someone, just like, you know, some reference my golf like you, once you're about to hit a golf shot, you can't like you cannot, there is nothing more you can do, you have to be able to let go. And you have to be able to just perform almost in a subconscious manner. And I think it's really, really key to get that across. Because if you don't let go, you're, you're gonna run the risk of not being you and they're not going to get to know you. And therefore you won't be able to build that relationship with them. And a meeting is exactly the same. Being able to walk into a meeting with that feeling that you're just going to let go. And the meeting is going to free flow. And you know, you're not going to have to think too much about what you need to say next, you can start asking loads of open questions you can sort of really get deep into into them, and not so much worrying about you. That is really, really powerful in terms of delivery. So really, really vital. And this is something that, you know, we worked on and we're at the beginning so hard to get right. I mean, us used to spend hours prepping at the very beginning when this wasn't sort of like a sort of automatic thing. You'd spend hours getting ready for a meeting. Yeah, because that meeting could mean a million quid.
Sam:Yeah, that's how I judged it. Yeah, there was, you know, I've I've sent just say, you know, how the process I've used for raising most of our money is, I've sent a text. I've had a call with them. And then we've had a meeting afterwards. And then we've agreed to work together after that. That's how I raised most of my money. So There's a lot of preparation that goes into the text and getting that right. Yeah. Because on the other end of that is a meeting and that or a call. And that call could lead to the meeting, which the other end of that could be three or 4 million million quid. Yeah, you know, raised. So yeah, it's, it's, you can't spend too much time on it. That's how I that's how I viewed it. I, when I started working with you, I was like, I need this. I need a deal. And I need money. That's, that's what I need to do property is nothing more complicated. And there's other bits and pieces you need. But when it all boils down to in essence, like, that's what you need to get going. So
Al:find a deal, fund the deal, or fund the deal then fine. I almost said that.
Sam:Stephen, why Johnny guidelines.
Al:That's compass company policy just gone tits up. Oh, well, nevermind. Nobody heard that anyway, because we're early days in this podcast.
Sam:So yeah, one of obviously they're just speaking about their like, being able to just do all of that prep, because I just knew how important it was. Yeah. So yeah, and a couple of hours the day before a call, I would be going through all my posts, debts and rehearsing things and speaking them out loud, or even drag Sondra into the mix occasion, Anita, and I get her to ask me a few questions as well give me a bit of a grilling. So that really helped with the preparation as well. So just it was It wasn't just in my head, I was speaking out loud. And I was doing the practice. Yeah. So that that made it really easy. When I was going to the meetings, you know,
Al:it's massive. And I think you know, when you think about it, you've got those moments that can change your life, like literally, that that's almost how we have to, like, Look at, look at these meetings, these conversations. You know, if you think about a sports person, you know, you've got a moment in a World Cup final with a penalty. If you're a footballer, that's the one you're practising for, for your whole life. And I bet there's loads of things that you've done to prepare for that moment, if you're a golfer, you've got a part to win a major, that's something you will have prepared for for your whole life, you will have done everything you physically possibly can to have like recreated that moment. And so that when you do eventually get to that moment, and not many that do you feel a bit, just that little bit more comfortable with it than you would if you hadn't prepared. And I think that's really, really key. And something that we really, really, really are big on when it comes to working with our clients and stuff like that, is creating that deliberate practice. So, you know, you've got, you've got two things where you have to create that consequence, which is what Sam was talking about. So Sandra would come in a room and just grill him. And I think that's really key, because what that's creating is the environment of consequence. Yeah, so there's a consequence to inaction, which makes it a lot harder than just thinking in your mind. And then having the feedback situation of, okay, this feedback I get now once I want to know how I've done, it has to be in facts, not feelings. Like because if someone's, you can say, Oh, that felt really good. But actually, factually, what, what what happened? Like, break it down? Think about that, you know, ask that person that you were in that conversation with, you know, how was that for you? How could I have done better? Which questions landed Well, which didn't, which felt a little bit like you were probing too much, which felt really comfortable getting that feedback in a factual way. That is golden as well. So
Sam:amazing practice really, really valuable. Yeah.
Al:And then moving into sort of other things around controlling the controllables. So, you know, you've mentioned already, I think, in this episode, but about, you know, where you would meet someone. I think now, maybe that was last
Sam:night, as we're talking about yesterday, actually. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Al:You know, because I had a meeting yesterday with someone, and they offered a venue. And I knew I didn't want to go to that venue, because I've never been there before. And therefore that that's within my control. So I said, Actually, no, we'll go to this place, because I know it really well. I know where we can sit. I know, you know, it's going to be quiet. I know that I can concentrate because I can't work in sort of really loud spaces. It just I can't have an in depth sort of meeting with someone in those spaces. So controlling that venue is so and it's so simple, but easy to do.
Sam:Yeah. One you know, one of my bugbears is coffee shop. Oh yeah. Fancy baristas for the most, the most times of the day. Forget investor meetings just most times of the day. You know, they're generally pretty busy at most times of the day, and there's always a barista smashing a coffee pot, like all the time smashing. It's
Al:all about Rafi milk mate.
Sam:Exactly, exactly. I wouldn't know about that. I'm not a coffee drinker, but yeah, see what they're up to and I don't like it. So that is not not there's not a place I want to be for, for a meeting. Absolutely not. So yeah, just picking and picking the right venue. I'd also say like picking the right time as well. I know, for me, having two young kids getting woken up in the night, I need to do most of my good my sort of focus work if you like, before 12 Because after that it can I can just be just a bit tired, knackered eyes are burning, fancy taking a nap. So I need to do all my kind of focus time in the morning, whilst I've got a little bit of energy. And then after that, it can be, you know, I want to do the simplest kind of tasks after that. Yeah. And that's not every day, obviously. But I know, often, that's how I feel if it's been a long night with the, with the kids being up or whatever. So picking the right time to do those meetings is key. Yeah. So I know I'm going to be on form. And also thinking about the day we're thinking about the investor as well, thinking about what their life looks like. Yeah. And when it would be a good time for them to meet up? Are they in a stressful job? You know, are they doing long hours? You think about that? When would it be best to meet them, but it'd be best to meet them. Maybe at the start of their week, you know, when they haven't had a long and stressful week, you know, maybe a Monday evening, if they're working long hours, and they can only meet in the evenings, versus, you know, Thursday night. So having to think about all those things as to when the ideal time for both of you would be to meet up?
Al:Yeah, no, no, I think that's it's, it's huge. Creating the environment that works for you. And also, you know, to an extent works for the investors is, is massive and makes all the difference, those tiny little things is like, I call them like the two millimetre moves you, you have those two millimetres each time, and you're just edging towards making that situation just that little bit more comfortable for you. And I think that's, that's really vital. So is anything else in terms of solutions? I don't think so. I think we've covered quite a lot. Yeah. Let's move on to some result based thinking. So what, you know, what would all those solutions? What would that preparation do for you? If people are thinking, Okay, I'm going to spend all this time, how's that going to look for me? What what would that would that feel like?
Sam:I think for me, it was really the biggest thing when I did all that prep, it really allowed me to let go and just be me in the meeting. And every meeting I've ever done, or every call, I've come out the other side of it thinking that was quite fun. I enjoyed that. Even even the first ones, I'd come out of there thinking wow, I didn't think it'd be that easy. Yeah, I was genuinely surprised. Yeah. But then I was like, Okay, well, I've done all the prep. So kind of makes sense.
Al:Yeah, yeah, I remember how you were at, like, after those meetings, and also going into those meetings as well, it wasn't, you know, there wasn't huge issues with it was just okay, I've done what I need to do, and I'm ready to go, I'm ready to sort of let go be me and sort of go find out what this person is all about. And I think that's really key as well like being able to be so prepared in what you bring means that you then you then open up a little bit more to them, which allows you to, you know, handle their questions better, because you've listened to them. And also, which is a massive part of speaking to potential investors is handling their objections better, you're able to do that, because it's more about them. You're not thinking about what you're gonna say next, all of these things that we've discussed, you're able to just confidently sort of just handle what what what they're bringing, they're bringing to you really,
Sam:yeah. And quite often you can be a really good place to be is actually, you know, what typical objections or questions might be, and really good place to be when you've done your preference, you can, you can pretty much handle them, as you're speaking to them anyway. So you're answering the questions before they've come out. So you could, for example, you could be talking about potential issues with planning or potential issues with the build, because it could be a tricky build. Or there's, you know, if you're going to try and push planning a little bit, you know, you could talk about the potential issues or increase timescales. And then you're, you're handling their objections or questions before they, you know, they've thought about them in their head, but you've already answered them, and they've not even asked you and that really can put someone's mind at rest and gives them the confidence that you know what you're doing.
Al:Yeah, because I think a lot of people just think, Oh, wait till the end. That's when all the objections are gonna come at me. But if you like you said, If you answer those objection, object, objections during your sort of conversation, the amount of comfort that gives to somebody else because they don't need to ask the questions is, is huge as well. So it creates just less friction, you know, in the conversation, you sort of really are kind of just free flowing. And you're not pitching. Like I said, we talked about this a lot on, come back to the same thing over and over that, you know, you're not pitching, you don't have to pitch because like I said, you're able to just be you make it about them, and sort of just just having a nice conversation, which is why it doesn't feel difficult, you know, really, really important. Yeah,
Sam:I think you've definitely just come across more confident and credible as well, because you are relaxed, and you can be yourself. Yeah. And you're also much more likely to, you know, have direction for the meeting, because you've decided on what the outcome is, and you're working towards that. And that is, if it's a first call with someone or a meeting, then it's to get interest and gauge interest. Yes, it? Yeah.
Al:And that's part of your prep, isn't it? Like we talked about that having that outcome, being absolutely crystal clear on having that outcome, that you're going to gain interest or not, really does sort of, you know, allow you to settle into a pathway with the conversation that you can take it down that way and know what you need to do during that conversation to get it to that point. And the kinds of questions you need to ask. And just generally, you know, I know sounds mentioned it, but just coming across, credible and confident through the way that you position yourself the way that you have a conversation the way that you're just being new, and you're relaxed and sort of just just like I said, I say this, this conversation word over and over again, and we always talk about it. But that's all it is, is just having that conversation.
Sam:That's it. So from our experience, the more you prepare, the more you will get out of your conversation. And obviously, your phonebook is your investor network. Absolutely. Let's get going.
Al:Thanks for listening guys. And like we said, subscribe. It really sort of helps us to get out there to more people and spread this message that we really want to help people with and we'll see you on the next episode.
Sam:Thanks a lot. Hope you enjoyed it. If you want to attract investors without asking for money, check out raising finance club.com for our free resources. And you can also follow us on Instagram and Facebook at raising finance club