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09 The Importance of Presentation by Mark Carmichael

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TheImportanceofPresentation

byMarkCarmichael

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©2017MarkCarmichael–TheIntelligentEXIT Disclaimer:Thisdocumentisproducedforinformationonlyingeneraltermsanditsapplicationinspecificcircumstanceswilldependontheparticularfacts.Wealwaysstronglyrecommendthatyouseekyourownadvicefromaqualifiedadvisorandwhenappropriate,fromyourlawyer,accountantorotherprofessionaladvisorasappropriate.ThecontentandopinionsexpressedinthisreportdonotconstituteadvicewhatsoeverandTheIntelligentExitnoranyofitsaffiliatedbusinesses,stafforotherrepresentativeswillnotbeliableforanylossarisingfromyourrelianceonanyoftheinformationcontainedinit.

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First impressionsmatter.When conducting investoroutreach,thismeansstartingwiththeteaser,aone-totwo-pageoverviewoftheopportunitydesignedtoelicit a favorable response from the reader(essentially, “tellmemore”). The teaser—aswell asthe accompanying introduction email—is the firstimpression and is your and your advisor’s firstopportunitytoputyourbestfootforward.Doingthismeanscraftingawell-written,professionalemailthatis personalized to the recipient and their company,encouraging them to open the attached teaserdocument.Ourteasersareseldomlongerthanoneortwo pages, aswe know thatmany investors reviewdozensofopportunitiespermonth.Ourobjectiveistoattracttheirattention—period.

ThatinitialemailismostoftenaccompaniedbyaNon-Disclosure/ConfidentialityAgreement.Thistooshouldbe professionally written, free from any typos andwithin the general expectations for such a legaldocument.Thereafter,theoutreachteamfollowsupdirectly with the recipient by phone to assess theparty’sinterestandtodetermineiftheywouldliketodiscover more information about the target (your)company. Here it is important to ensure that theperson doing the investor outreach is well-spoken,confident but not pushy, and possesses a likeablevoice and phone personality. (Many advisors takeshortcuts here by following up by email. We havefound that the personal touch of following up byphoneisfarmoreeffective.)

With the NDA eventually agreed, executed andreturned, the Information Memorandum (“IM”, or“Book”)isreleasedtotheinvestor.Itisessentialthatyour advisor present a professionally designed,visually appealing and well-written documentcontaining as much of the practical information aspossiblethataninvestorwouldwanttosee.Thisisnot

the occasion to cut corners. This documentrepresentsthelife’sworkyounowwishtosellforthehighest price. It introduces your company’spersonalityaswellasitsprofessionalism.Itspeakstowhat people can expect from you. It speaks to thequality of the product and service you offer. Therecipient likely sees multiple investmentopportunitiesperweek;itcan’thurtforyourstostandabovetherestinitspresentation.

I’mabigbelieverincreatingsupplementaldocumentsthat can be sent to interested parties after the IM.They not only allow us to showcase a particularfeatureofourclient’scompany(thinkIP,awardswon,interestinginfographics,customertestimonials,etc.),but also provide us a reason to increasecommunication with the prospective buyer. At theendof theday,anydeal isbasedonpeopledealingwith people—and we know that the stronger therelationship between the buyer and ourselves/ourclient,themorelikelywearetoadvanceintothelaterstagesoftheprocesswiththatparty.

All marketing documents should be professionallydesigned and carefully written and proofread. Suchmaterialsprojectsincerityandtrustworthiness,whilea poorly produceddocument achieves precisely theopposite effect. In our firm, we triple-check everydocument going out the door. That doesn’tmean Ipersonally read everything three times; rather, wehave three different people read each document,looking for typos, grammatical correctness,consistencyandoverall toneand flow.Anyof theseparties, whether they are directors, outreach teammembersorresearchers,isallowedtochallengetheauthorsandproposerevisions.Oftenadebateensues,but in the end the document is all the better. Itconveysthematerialfactsandavoidsoverstatements

TheImportanceofPresentation

Trustisessentialtogettingadealdone.Oneoftheeasiestwaystoerodetrustandconfidenceisbybeingsloppyorsimplyunprofessional.Whatisyourresponseifyoureceiveacoverletterwithyournamemisspelled,orlookataresumethatincludesatypographicalerrororfeelslikeitwasdesignedin1993?You’reprobablyskeptical,ifnotdownrightdismissive.

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Page 3: Website #9 The Importance of Presentation finaltheintelligentexit.com/wp-content/uploads/... · Title: Microsoft Word - Website #9 The Importance of Presentation_final.docx Created

©2017MarkCarmichael–TheIntelligentEXIT Disclaimer:Thisdocumentisproducedforinformationonlyingeneraltermsanditsapplicationinspecificcircumstanceswilldependontheparticularfacts.Wealwaysstronglyrecommendthatyouseekyourownadvicefromaqualifiedadvisorandwhenappropriate,fromyourlawyer,accountantorotherprofessionaladvisorasappropriate.ThecontentandopinionsexpressedinthisreportdonotconstituteadvicewhatsoeverandTheIntelligentExitnoranyofitsaffiliatedbusinesses,stafforotherrepresentativeswillnotbeliableforanylossarisingfromyourrelianceonanyoftheinformationcontainedinit.

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andmarketingnonsense suchas “once ina lifetimeopportunity,”“future-prooftechnology”or“actnow.”

Standing out in a crowdedM&Amarketplace is thefirst step in generating increased investor interest.That interest, in turn, should lead to a competitivebidding scenario and higher probability for asuccessful transaction. When you create yourmarketingmaterialsyouare, ineffect,gettingreadyfor a first (and second, third…) date. So, dress up,standtall,beintriguing,andshowsomethingtomakethemwantmore.

For a deeper discussion on this or any other -matterrelatedtothesaleofyourbusiness,-pleasefeel free to contact The Intelligent Exit team [email protected].

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