HOW TO GET TO NO (OR YES) QUICKLY, WHEN MAKING YOUR VENTURE CAPITAL PRESENTATION

In the early 1980s Roger Fisher and William Ury authored what would become one of the best-selling business books of all time on negotiations, Getting to Yes. The book's theme was how to gain mutual agreement between parties in an objective non-adversarial manner. The core assumption behind the book (and most articles on the topic of selling or negotiations) is that both parties want a "yes." This post focuses on the importance of the "no."

I received an email from venture capitalist and popular blogger Larry Cheng, describing an investment opportunity and ending with a great phrase: "as always a fast no is better than a long maybe." I have since borrowed that sentence many times over. Too often people are not sure if they want a yes and instead create prolonged discussions because they are either: a) too embarrassed to say no, or b) just want option value.

My firm Cue Ball was recently raising capital during one of the most economically challenged periods ever to do so, and I found myself on the receiving end of "no" in more languages than I knew. As the economy improved and our portfolio held strong ground, there were suddenly many yeses and also many maybes. I found myself missing that fast no, because every maybe inevitably involved follow-up meetings, additional information, and by definition an uncertain outcome. A long maybe takes us away from the day jobs we should be doing.

I came to realize that the person delaying a decision is often not the decision-maker, but the person making the pitch. In our own desire to preserve the possibility that an investor could be swayed and cultivated, we create false hopes and become masters of inefficiency. Because of our relationship focus and soft-sell process, we sometimes forget the need to push for the "ask" and more importantly, for a definitive decision. For prospective investors on the other side of the table, there's little downside to delaying a definitive no. Time allows one to see more information and make a more informed decision. How can you blame them?

So if you are on the pitching or selling side of an opportunity, what can you do to drive a prospect to decision? Here are four things that can help:

1. Be clear on the "ask". I have seen people pitch us with brilliant clarity of ideas, but a cloud of ambiguity on what they want from an investment partner in terms of both capabilities and dollars
2. Set a firm deadline and sense of urgency. When meeting any prospective investor, customer, or buyer, set a clear deadline for a decision. In most cases you can get to a definitive yes or no just by being clear about a close date.
3. Agree to and adhere to a post-pitch process. Outline next steps for the follow-up. What additional documents or meetings are required for a decision? When will these occur and will there be sufficient time given the deadline at hand? If nothing is required, agree to the next follow-up date and the form of the follow-up. Make the follow-up timing shorter than your gut tells you: if you think you should follow up in two weeks, say a week. A follow-up in two weeks often means that the person is revisiting the issue in 13 days (the day before follow-up) versus six days for a follow-up in a week.
4. Affirm the silent no and provide an out. Become better at trying to confirm the silent no. Schedules change, people ask for more time, and other priorities take over. Know how to escalate to the no. Prolonged silence or indecision requires a forcing mechanism. Something along the lines of "I want to thank you again for your time considering this and realize that now may not be optimal timing. Can I assume a pass for now?" Human nature is more conditioned to a yes or maybe, rather than a no. Politely providing an out is usually appreciated by the other side, and it is a good way to elicit a definitive decision or gain clarity on the best next step.

A yes is obviously the answer you always hope to get, but the ability to get a no, especially if it is a quick one, is critical to maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. The sooner you get a no, the faster you'll be able to look for that next yes.

COMMENTARY:  If you want to get to NO really, really fast, do what a client of mine recently did.  Screw up the pitch while on a conference call.  The VC and his possee, unnamed to protect the innocent, asked one question after another in machine gun-like fashion, as is typical of most VC's.  My client, one of the co-founders, hesitated, garbled his words, sounded disoriented, then referred the answer to a question to one of the members of his team.

To make a long story short, after 15 minutes, the VC said very coldly, "This is not the kind of deal I am looking for. Doesn't fit with out business model, Thank you for your time, but I have to go."  Click went the phone.  Later that day I spoke with my client and he admitted that he screwed up the pitch.  So people, practice your pitch.  You only get one chance at this. 

I have learned over time that if the VC listens for more than 15 minutes, they are is somewhat interested, but need more convincing.  If the presentation lasts 30 minutes, you are getting closer to a YES, but not quite there.  If the things goes for 45 minutes, you are on third base.  If it lasts one hour, you just scored a homerun.  I have not had a lot of those happy moments, but when they happen, you never forget them.

Courtesy of an article dated April 21, 2010 entitled "How To Get To No" appearing in the Harvard Business Review