Change is inevitable in any business, but it can also create uncertainty and anxiety among your investors. How can you communicate effectively, reassure them of your vision, and maintain their trust and support? Here are some tips to help you manage the impact of change on your investors using creative problem solving skills.
The first step is to clearly define the problem that you are trying to solve with the change. What are the goals, challenges, and opportunities that you are facing? How does the change align with your mission, values, and strategy? How will it benefit your investors in the long term? By identifying the problem, you can frame the change as a positive and necessary solution, rather than a random or risky decision.
Talk to the investors to understand their problems. A lot of people try to assume the problem but it is always wise to get the real perspective from the investor. Identify the goals, risk appetite, framework to follow, what value add can be brought by you and then chalk out a proper problem statement.
The next step is to understand your investors' perspectives, needs, and concerns. Who are they, what are their motivations, and what are their expectations? How do they prefer to receive information, and how often? What are their main questions or objections about the change? By understanding your investors, you can tailor your communication and engagement strategies to suit their preferences and address their issues.
In my experience having open communication with investors is the key. Let them know of the changes giving right logic of why this change? And how this improves the business? This builds trust and as well as open rapport with the investors.
To understand the investors, they need to open up you. You need to know about their current situation, their background and professional situation and professional being faced. Also has there been a similar issue in the past with them or is it the first instance? So try to create a friendly and open environment with the client and make him comfortable, talking about the confidentiality and privacy clause.
The third step is to generate possible solutions to the problem and the investors' concerns. How can you communicate the change in a clear, concise, and compelling way? How can you demonstrate the value and feasibility of the change with evidence and examples? How can you involve your investors in the change process and solicit their feedback and input? By generating solutions, you can explore different ways to convey your message and build your credibility and rapport with your investors.
To manage solution impact on investors, clearly explain the solution, its benefits, and align it with the company's vision. Use data to support your points, invite investor feedback, and involve them through interactive sessions. Show quick wins and maintain open communication, turning challenges into opportunities for growth and collaboration.
Traditional investors would want you to come ready with solutions. These should be reasonably thought out and means tested in order to maintain their confidence. More hands on investors would want to understand the problem a bit more and venture guesses into how perhaps this idea has not been trialled this way compared to what has been presented to them. Both types represent two ends of a spectrum and ensuring we know what makes our investors remain confident to stay vested, is crucial. Traditional types want to know you can offer solutions they like/know/think it can work. Hands on type want to critique - so knowing how they think will help you generate a solution they will eventually come to like.
The fourth step is to evaluate the solutions and select the best ones. How effective, efficient, and feasible are the solutions? How well do they address the problem and the investors' concerns? How do they compare with each other in terms of costs, benefits, and risks? By evaluating solutions, you can weigh the pros and cons and choose the most suitable ones for your situation and goals.
The fifth step is to implement the solutions and monitor the results. How will you execute the communication and engagement plan? What resources, tools, and timelines will you need? How will you measure the impact and outcomes of the change and the solutions? How will you adjust and improve your plan if needed? By implementing solutions, you can put your plan into action and track your progress and performance.
Once the client gives a go-ahead and you are good to go, create an implementation plan, with timelines, get it approved by the bank and then start with the implementation, step by step. Keep justifiable timelines with a little buffer to take care of emergencies. - Trying to jump the queue and implementing it too fast may compromise on quality. - At the same time, keeping very long timelines might irritate the client and increase costs. After successful implementation, create a monitoring team and frequency to monitor and measure the effectiveness of the plan. The client would expect timely updates about their investments. In case of any need for changes, be prompt in ensuring the changes are immediately effected instead of waiting ??
The final step is to learn from the feedback and improve your practice. How did your investors react to the change and the solutions? What worked well and what didn't? What did you learn from the experience and what can you do better next time? How can you maintain and strengthen your relationship with your investors after the change? By learning from feedback, you can refine your skills and enhance your reputation as a creative problem solver.
Lastly, leaving and improve based on feedback. It is an ever-learning practice and one needs to be up to date. There might be situations where you might have conflicting views with the client. It is important to listen and understand the client's point of view instead of being adamant on your view only. Try and take it as a feedback for improvement, identify the gap and fix it. This will enhance your reputation as a problem solver and create a positive mindset in the minds of the investor!
1. Explain the macro situation 2. Articulate the narratives 3. Assess the investors sentiment 4. Share a what-if step by step tactics 5. Align it all to the overall strategy and defined goals