Market Like You Invest
When you think about your investment process, which of the following best describes why your value proposition is more attractive than a similar performing peer? Put another way – what makes an investor focus his time diligencing your fund over someone else’s?
In the simplest terms, there really can only be a few reasons:
You do it “better” because you have more experience…or a smarter approach…or a more effective process
You do it differently than others – or leverage something that others cannot - such as a proprietary model or technology, research, sourcing, or relationships
Your investment focus is particularly specialized or niche in some way
Maybe you have a more established, institutional infrastructure or “check more boxes”
Whatever it is – either you are better at it, you do it in a smarter way, do it differently, or just make investors feel like they are taking less career risk – your strategy and platform are perceived to offer something that others do not.
Now ask yourself, which of the above can you apply to your marketing process?
Seriously – growth doesn’t happen through performance alone. A $100mm fund compounding at 20% over 5 years ‘only’ grows to $250mm. It’s the marketing that gets it beyond there. And a good marketing process can get it far beyond there.
So – which is it? Are you more experienced at marketing? Do you do something smarter or differently? Are you just naturally better at it?
Chances are that the answer to all of those questions is “no.” But really…why not? Fundraising is a time consuming, mind-sucking process. But in a high margin, highly competitive industry like ours, it’s also a necessity.
You know that pretty much everyone else is doing the exact same thing as you. Why wouldn’t you want to do it “smarter” or "better.”
