Posts Tagged ‘building trust’

Building Trust

Monday, November 12th, 2018

When you rush to “sign up” a prospect as a client, an adviser, an investor and so on, counterintuitively you lessen the prospects of profitable business. Why? This is the relationship business. Foregoing time taken to properly build a trusting relationship gnaws away at the benefit of doubt the other party gives you, their accuracy in helping you make smart decisions and their commitment to help you prosper (reciprocity). Take a pause, invest quality time and keep offering reciprocal value. 

Minority Investment Sense

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018

Smart Search

If you are a F1 or NASCAR motor racing team forced into a line-up change, by a key team member wanting “out”, your logical thought process is find, pick and win with an ideal replacement. It is not how much the replacement might pay us for the role unless you are so poorly funded that you have surrendered power and control over your team’s future (witness the “also rans” on the F1 grid).

The same logic applies when a seller seeks to realise a minority investment in a private company investment. Yet a great many advisors and investors, particularly with highly ambiguous and moderate growth businesses, insist on a flawed logic, secure a symbolic price before entering meaningful discussions with the key constituents. Perhaps that polishes their “ego” but it is rarely meaningful or immediately useful to the seller (quick and impressive exit).

In the absence of peer-level trusting partner, you are looking at pseudo sale success. 

Warning Light!

Friday, September 22nd, 2017

 

When an entrepreneur or his/her Adviser overlook or cannot clearly articulate in 3 or 4 sentences, the greatest anticipated weaknesses in their business growth plans (markets, products, technology and relationships) given competitive market trends, you have a plan that won’t survive serious investor scrutiny. To pretend otherwise is to start driving a car where the wheel nuts lie strewn on the ground.

© James Berkeley 2017. All Rights Reserved.