How to Start Investor Presentations

Can your investor presentations have more impact with a stronger start?

In his bestselling book Thinking Fast Thinking Slow, Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman analyses how our brains make decisions.

The first part of decision making (thinking fast) is instant, efficient and completely unconscious. Ie your brain makes a decision before you do.  For example, if you meet someone in your company reception, within milliseconds you will judge whether they are selling or buying; if you like them or not and what attitude you will show to them.  And all this is done unconsciously by your brain.

When you are presenting to investors you want to make a positive first impression.  If you start well, you are more likely to have a successful meeting.

Here are five powerful ideas to start your next investor presentation:

1. Show something – too many investor presentations are more about the theory than the practise.  If you have a product, a video or a sample, use that to start the conversation. For example, we helped a gold mining company we worked with present to city analysts by showing a gold nugget and then describing how it was mined.

2. Make a bold statement – grab attention at the start with a big idea.  For example: The secret to good communications is to listen.  One mouth, two ears:  use them in that ratio.

3. Reveal something new and interesting – Help your audience see the world in a new way.    For example, did you know that Warren Buffett used to be scared of public speaking?  He was coached to overcome that fear because he knew how important public speaking was for his career.

4. Refer to the last meeting/the past – That means you have listened and you show that you care what they think.

5. Ask a question – One of my favourite starts to an investor meeting.  For example, imagine asking:  So what was it about our presentation that made you want to meet us?

When we work with our clients preparing them for investor meetings, we probably spend more time polishing the start of the meeting than any other part.  When your start works, you will find the rest of the meeting much easier.