Follow Up Calls Pave Road to Allocations
In today’s convoluted and noisy marketplace, connecting with an investor can seem like an impossible task. Calls and e-mails can go unreturned week after week, and sometimes month after month. Fund marketers are often discouraged by this initial hurdle, but getting past this obstacle is what leads to success and ultimately allocation dollars. And that takes persistence. As stated in the well-received book on selling, The Peddler’s Prerogative, “It’s your peddler’s prerogative to believe that it’s not IF you’ll get the deal, but WHEN.” This is the mentality that every marketing and sales professional in the alternatives industry must have.
Every week, Brighton House analysts have check-in calls with fund manager clients to gauge their progress, and to discuss upcoming trips and projects. Often they tell us how much more receptive investors become on the second, third, fourth-sometimes even the fifth-attempt at contact. One large long/short equity fund manager was particularly surprised at his increased hit rate from follow up calls and e-mails. This is not surprising. Investors are simply overwhelmed by the number of calls and amount of fund information they receive. Institutional investors report receiving more than 100 unsolicited calls and 100 unsolicited e-mails every week.
Before the recent market turmoil, most successful investor relations departments fielded incoming calls and did not have to launch outbound marketing campaigns. The script has been flipped and marketers must now make calls and send e-mails in order to attract allocation dollars.
Additionally, the allocation timeline is constantly being extended. What once was a three-to-six month investment cycle now takes nine to twelve months. Persistent follow-up has become an absolute necessity.