If buyers aren’t responding to your assembly requests, that is in all probability the rationale.
A founder I used to be chatting with at a startup networking occasion requested if I’d be prepared to satisfy with him and focus on his enterprise in additional element. “After all,” I advised him. “Ship me an e-mail and we’ll schedule a time to speak.”
A number of hours later, I acquired his e-mail:
Hello, Aaron! I’m following up on our dialog on the occasion tonight the place you mentioned you’d be prepared to satisfy with me to debate my startup. You requested me to e-mail you to schedule the assembly. Thanks!
As quickly as I learn the e-mail, I sighed and rolled my eyes. He made the identical mistake I used to make again once I first began fundraising for my startups and was making an attempt to get conferences. It’s the best approach to screw up an e-mail to buyers as a result of it makes you appear like an inexperienced novice who doesn’t perceive the fundraising course of.
The issue with the e-mail I’ve described from the founder I met at an area networking occasion — and the issue with so many emails similar to his to people who find themselves a lot greater startup buyers than me — is that he was creating further work. To be clear, I don’t imply he was creating further work by asking for a gathering. In spite of everything, I’d already agreed to satisfy with him. Nevertheless, I didn’t comply with spend tons of time sending scheduling emails backwards and forwards with him. Sadly, that’s precisely what he was making me do by not proposing a selected assembly time.
Merely put, once you ship an e-mail asking to satisfy with somebody and don’t suggest particular occasions to satisfy, you’re creating further emails, and additional emails create a number of work. To know what I imply, take into consideration what wanted to occur to ensure that me to answer to the e-mail from the founder I’d met at my startup networking occasion. Listed here are the probably steps:
Step #1: I needed to verify my calendar and discover availability.
Step #2: I needed to ship an e-mail proposing occasions.
Step #3: I needed to block the proposed occasions on my calendar so no person else crammed them
These steps are already pointless and annoying for the reason that founder may have merely proposed occasions in his authentic e-mail. However let’s think about I acquired fortunate and one of many occasions I proposed labored. Right here’s what would occur subsequent:
Step #4: He’d ship a response e-mail agreeing to one of many occasions I proposed.
Step #5: I’d must create a calendar reminder for myself.
Step #6: I’d must delete any calendar holds I’d made
Step #7: I’d must ship an e-mail response confirming our assembly
None of these steps are notably onerous, however they’re actually annoying. Even worse, these are the issues I’d must do if I used to be fortunate. However what if I wasn’t fortunate? What if the occasions I proposed didn’t work for him? Right here’s what must occur subsequent:
Step #4: The particular person I emailed would reply saying these occasions don’t work.
Step #6: I’d must delete any earlier holds I’d positioned on my calendar.
Step #7: I’d have to seek out new occasions and create new holds on my calendar.
Step #8: I’d must ship an e-mail proposing new occasions.
Step #9: If the particular person may make one in all my newly proposed occasions, I’d nonetheless must do all of the steps I’ve described above to substantiate the assembly. If not, I’d must undergo this complete course of once more.
Are you beginning to see the issue? A easy scheduling e-mail can result in dozens extra emails, and that doesn’t even account for the truth that we didn’t select a spot to satisfy, which, in itself, might be a completely completely different kind of nuisance.
Regardless, the purpose I’m making an attempt to make is that, if not executed correctly, a easy “can we meet?” e-mail will create heaps extra emails, and all these extra emails are annoying.
Being annoying is never an excellent factor, however you undoubtedly don’t need to annoy somebody you’re making an attempt to boost a number of cash from, do you?
Within the case of the entrepreneur who needed to satisfy with me, I’d already talked with him for some time and constructed a robust sufficient reference to him that, regardless of his poor e-mail, I felt obligated to schedule a time to satisfy with him. In different phrases, the frustration his e-mail created wasn’t sufficient friction to stop the assembly from occurring.
However what occurs once you e-mail somebody with a number of calls for on their time who doesn’t care about you? What occurs once you chilly e-mail an investor who doesn’t even know you?
In that case, the very last thing you need to do is ship an e-mail that frustrates or annoys the particular person or creates some type of friction that stops the particular person from responding. Fortunately, avoiding this downside is easy. All you should do is ship assembly requests that embody potential assembly occasions.
For instance, the entrepreneur who emailed me ought to have edited his e-mail to learn extra like this:
Hello, Aaron! I’m following up on our dialog on the occasion tonight the place you mentioned you’d be prepared to satisfy with me to debate my startup. How does subsequent Thursday at 2:00 pm or Friday at 10:00 am be just right for you? We are able to meet on the espresso store close to your workplace if that’s handy for you. Thanks!
Do you see how a lot simpler that e-mail is to reply to? All it took was together with assembly occasions within the e-mail itself.
It’s a easy tactic that I assure will make your emails higher and make you appear as if a way more competent entrepreneur. Even when the particular person can’t meet on the occasions you’re proposing, simply by together with occasions you’re signaling to recipients that you just perceive the calls for on their time and making an attempt to be as delicate to these calls for as doable.
I promise, the VCs receiving your emails will recognize your consciousness of their schedules, they’ll be extra more likely to reply, and, extra importantly, they’ll be extra excited concerning the potential of investing in somebody who understands the significance and worth of time.