How to Assemble a World-Class Advisory Team (part 2) - The Ask

This is part 2 of a 3 part series on building your advisory team.

The first post was about identifying skill gaps in your business as a way to prepare your ideal advisor shortlist.

Today's post is about how to reach out and engage these all-star candidates so they'll want to use their precious time to support your growth.

Next post will be about how to structure the relationship to make it maximally beneficial for you, for them and for the business.

Please share your feedback. Building an advisory team is an art, not a science, so I'm always looking for ways to improve my process!

How to Reach Out?

So you've got yourself a shortlist? Now the hard part...

You’re going to need to go out and convince these people, who are often extremely accomplished & busy, that it’s in their best interest to join you for the ride.

How do you do that??

Problem. Passion. Praise.

Problem

Similar to an investor deck, no one will want to work with you if they don't see you're making a big impact on a big problem they care about. Advisors tend to be very accomplished people with high demands on their time. On top of that, they are often at a later stage in life where they are optimizing for family & non-profit commitments. They are only looking to work on real big opportunities... which are usually found solving real big problem.

Do not be afraid to declare in outrageous terms how big of a problem you're solving. Or how big of a positive impact you can make for the world if they help you solve it. I see a lot of founders try to be humble about the problem. It's a huge mistake. If you really care about this, share it wide openly. It's the only way to find out if the advisor aligns on how important this problem is. If they do, you have a major head start in working together. And if they don't... well, good to know now before you got hitched working half ass on something that wasnt that important to them.

Passion

Half the battle is having a big problem you both care about... but it isn't enough. Now you have to convince the advisor YOU are the person who will solve it. And nothing tells this story like a true, demonstrable passion.

Be incredibly transparent about how excited you are about the problem. Show how much energy you’re bringing to the table. Show how hard you’re working. Show that you’re driven to find a solution. Show that you’re committed to getting something done and have a track record of getting things done in the past.?

Show your work to date. Show schematics. Show code. Show your pitch deck. Whatever you have. Even if you don’t think it’s good. Who cares. Don’t be embarrassed. Show them whatever proof you have that you have the passion and commitment to solve this problem they care about. That will fire them up that helping you is worth their precious time.

Even if the advisor is an expert in something your a novice at - they will likely appreciate that you're getting your hands dirty and trying. And your vulnerability will open their imagination for how much you could level up if they shared their expertise with you.

Praise

Honest praise, that is. If you followed post 1, you have identified this advisor for a reason. They are an expert in something your startup lacks. So tell them you know this!

I recommend finishing every advisor introduction with a very clear:

"This is a huge problem. I'm insanely passionate to solve it. But I don't think I can do it without someone like you in my corner. Because of your unique experience doing: ______"

You should have a very clear perspective on why this particular person is uniquely positioned to help you. You're not just after them for money or a name on a slide.

Advisors are constantly getting hit up because they have money or a network someone wants access to. This is a hollow ask. They're accomplished human beings who are proud of their work and their impact. So you have show them that you value them for this. Show them you've done your research. Read their articles or their books. Watch their talks, their podcast appearances, whatever they’ve got. Do enough research to have a perspective on their area of expertise. Start forming opinions of your own. Share them! They’ll appreciate that you’ve gone deep enough to develop an appreciation and understanding of the value they have to offer.?And they'll have a lot more confidence you know WHY they can be helpful to you beyond just money or friends.

Reciprocity is the critical input to any long term meaningful advisory relationship. You need to kick it off with genuine, clear praise for their unique ability to accelerate your growth.

What's in it for them?

The final question... what's in it for them?

I don't mean financially... we will get to that in the next post.

Advisory relationships truly are reciprocal - advisors don't often need the money. They are often looking for something more meaningful. Maybe that’s your energy. Maybe it’s reliving a bit of their own journey and helping you avoid some of the dumb mistakes they made when they were younger. Maybe it’s getting a chance to win again and contribute to another company’s success. Maybe it’s about staying on the cutting edge of things and encountering novel insights. These are the things great entrepreneurs and great advisors live for.?

So be sure to end any advisory opening call asking about this. What can you do FOR THEM. And be sure you believe you can deliver it.

Conclusion

I've had a lot of success with this approach. But it really has to be genuine. If you don't already believe in solving a big problem, if you don't already have a deep passion and work ethic toward it, and if you don't already know the praise you'd give an advisor candidate when telling them why they're uniquely positioned to help... take a step back. Even if you can trick someone into working with you... a few months in and you'll be out of energy (and some valuable equity) and the relationship will fizzle.

Next post we will talk about how to engage to avoid this... and some mistakes I've made in the past that led to less successful advisor engagements.