How can you navigate difficult conversations with potential donors or investors?

It is important to know what your donor and or investor's desires are beforehand. Younger investors and donors want to have a hands-on experience with their investments or donations and want to make an impact. Some may only be interested in the end-of-the-year tax deduction.

When it comes to pitching to investors, you got to be prepared for what you can deliver and what you can't. It's not going to be a walk in the park, you know clearly what is currently lacking and hence the need for funding to achieve the next level development. Your investors will know it as soon as they ask. What I do is to prepare in advance, ready to share numbers if necessary to help the investor understand better and to address their concerns. It helps tremendously if you can explain your USP in simple terms because every investor wants to invest but why is it on you?

Be prepared. If you know your idea/business in detail, and you are building with a purpose, it will show. Remember that is not a matter of solely convincing investors to give you their money, is a matter of convincing the right investors. Not all investors are a good fit to your business and this is a good thing. The wrong people and even the wrong amount of money (too much money breaks startups too!) may cause you problems way beyond the problems you should have (production, traction, scaling, hiring, etc.). So, be prepared to pitch and be prepared to assess. This is the closest to a marriage as it can get, so please prepare to answer hard questions, but be prepared to ask them too.

Before you sit down with any investor or donor you need to "Know something about their values, philanthropy interest and if they desire to make a one-time investment or donation or ongoing contributions. If they are newbies, I want to know where the money comes from and how important it is for them to preserve it or to spend it for worthy causes. Before I meet with them I would request some preliminary information on investment risk tolerance and or appetite for yearly philanthropy. With that information, I would set-up a wealth management plan that shows how Philanthropy could lower their overall risk of investment dollars spent because of the deductions and by lowering the risk in their portfolio overall.

If presenting a special program or project, I would want to present the problems first, and some empirical data that there does not exist any solution, What I am showing them is innovative and inclusive and does meet the market's needs. I also want to share the qualifications of the team that will implement this plan, project or creation. Discuss budget and revenues and ROI.

Generally from the time you meet with an investor or even a donor, it may take upwards of 6 months before a final decision, will be made. If I am at the end of the year, I would stay in touch with articles or testimonies of people who have use our program, project or device and end results one a week,. It it projected that they are interested but want to wait,I will tell them that we plan to work with any investor that want to invest, We will keep them posted. Some time you have to take it away.

It is important that you "know yur investor," and you donor before you make any proposals because you might miss the one that wants to invest with you every month or like to trade all the time.

The level of difficulty in conversations will increase exponentially if you don't know your potential donor or investors prior to the actual meeting. Knowing what their purpose is, what is their passion, what do they care for. If you think your business will help them achieve these things, you're on a good path. If your business ir far from helping them achieve what they believe in, think twice before meeting them.