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My first love
Before we start…
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What everyone wants
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What people get…
It’s not all bad though…
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Things to think about
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Make notes…
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Read
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Talk!!
Listen
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Scratch itches
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Think about your unfair advantage
Be personal
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Lose your shame…
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Finding and engaging with stakeholders
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A simple process
How to listen
• Listen • find the right journalists -‐ the ones that are wriDng about your industry, sector, funding stage, locaDon and more -‐ and keep an eye out for ones that present opportuniDes to engage based on something they’ve wriKen
• find the right B2B clients -‐ who’s speaking at conferences, who’s using startup tools, who’s being quoted in case studies in industry publicaDons, who’s the right person to talk to within an organisaDon, who’s open to receiving pitches
• find the right investors by researching who’s invesDng in your sector and at your funding level, who’s interested in the countries you operate in, who runs office hours, who speaks at conferences, who’s well regarded etc etc…
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Finding people - journalists
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Finding people - influencers
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Finding people - investors
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Finding people - sales leads
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What to learn
• Learn • what are your target journalists wriDng about? What’s their TwiKer/Instagram handle? Have they talked about how they prefer to be contacted? What Dme zone are they in (you’d be surprised how important this is)? Have they wriKen anything relevant to you or your business recently?
• who’s who within your target client company? Who runs the department you want to talk to? Who seem to be the key decision makers? Who are the people regularly quoted in trade media or who regularly speaks at conferences? Are they premium members on LinkedIn? Do they use TwiKer?
• which investors engage on social media? Who offers office hours or makes themselves available? Who’s talking to people in your part of the world? Who are you connected to through friends on LinkedIn? Who follows your friends on TwiKer etc etc…
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Be smart. Be nice. Be engaging.
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Engaging with people - quick tips
• FlaKer people’s egos -‐ reply to tweets, retweets, like and more -‐ it’s a quick and easy way to get on people’s radar
• Be personal when you’re sending your first email • Hi x, loved your arDcle on adblocking last week. We’re working on something similar at company Y. Would love to get your input on it’
• Hi Y, thanks for upvoDng company Y on Product Hunt, Would love to share more info if you have five minutes…’
• DO NOT USE MAIL MERGE AND TEMPLATED MAILS
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Short, personal, to the point
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Don’t be annoying…
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Spellcheck
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Pitching to journalists
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http://mbites.com/2015/07/01/the-press-release-is-dead/
https://www.blonde20.com/howtopitchme/
Keep it simple. Really simple.
• I always aim for less than 150 words in a pitch mail • If it’s a totally cold mail -‐ I aim for 100 words or less • Include links -‐ don’t use aKachments • Link to your media kit, videos about the product, case studies and other relevant stuff
• Have a clear ask or next step -‐ set up a call, follow up email, meet in person etc etc…
• Don’t put mulDple asks into early emails
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Have a clear ask
• We’re launching on the 12th of December, I’d love to give you the exclusive
• I’d love to buy you a coffe. I’m going to be in Dubai on the 5th of January, maybe you’d have 15 minutes to meet in person then?
• Do you have five or ten minutes to chat on the phone later this week -‐ I’ll be quick and hopefully give you some insight into exactly what we’re doing.
• Can you introduce me to the relevant person in your organisaDon who deals with x
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Remove friction
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Engaging with investors - quick tips
• DO NOT USE MAIL MERGE AND TEMPLATED MAILS • Don’t talk about your valuaDon straight away -‐ talk about the company and what you’re raising first
• As with all emails -‐ keep it short and to the point -‐ Dme is a preKy precious commodity and the best investors will see dozens of pitches per day, and maybe hundreds on a bad day
• When conversaDons get serious, ask about soj circling -‐ gekng that first commitment is key
• If they pass, don’t be afraid to ask for intros to others in their network (only do this if you’ve built a liKle bit of rapport)
• Don’t be a dick -‐ the investor community is a small one and they gossip…
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Flattery -> funding
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Soft circle
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Final thoughts…
• Make it easy for me to understand who you are, what you’re doing and what you want me to do for you
• With journalists and media -‐ think tacDcally about where you need to be -‐ trade press, tech blogs or mainstream media -‐ and target accordingly -‐ it’s not a one size fits all approach
• With business partners and sales -‐ be personal, parDcularly in the early stages. The first few deals you do can define the future of your business -‐ make sure they’re good, solid and can yield revenue, case studies and more
• With investors -‐ don’t assume that everyone who has money will spend it -‐ you want smart money that (at least parDally) understands your product and the market you’re in. Remember, investors are for life….
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AMA
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@eamonncarey
