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Today on the podcast we are going to explore what to do when reaching out to tech Bros because you want to ask them for investments in your company. Now, if you've been listening to the podcast for the last 2-3 weeks, then of course this is the continuation of the series. You know the conversations with the tech pro, which was an event in Lagos, Nigeria where one of the bigger bosses in Nigeria gave a talk about what people should expect, what people should expect those who are entering into the Niger startup space newly.
So he gave he gave a lecture about what to expect from a sales and marketing perspective. And I'm running some commentaries about what he got right, what he could have said better. And also to flesh out in more detail what to do if you're in a tech space, you're coming up with a start up and you've been listening to some tech bro or tech system on stage who said do this, do that. Like for instance, they talk about networking, but they don't ever tell you how to network.
Or they say build relationships, but they don't tell you that this is how you go about building relationships. So this is me fleshing out some of some things in details. So today, how to reach out to a tech bro to ask for investments. Now, if you love these sorts of things, then subscribe to the podcast because these are the kind of things we talk about every single day. Well, every other day. So subscribe on Spotify, on YouTube, Apple, or any player of your choice.
And if you'd love to connect with me, my name is Tavishima Ayede. I'm the host of the podcast and you can call, send me a text message or a WhatsApp message on 08064662140. So again today reaching out to tech Bros asking for investments. So the tech bro now, by the way, I'm not going to disclose his name and I'm not going to say the name of the event. So the tech bro was on stage now and he told people that because he has a personal website, lots of people just assume that the guy has plenty money and people reach out to him for investment opportunities.
I repeat, the guy has a personal website. Of course, you know, he has successfully launched, you know, one or two companies. So the guy profiled on the increase his profile is, you know, he's enlarging. God has enlarged his cost. So when people see the guy online, you see the website, you see the skin, you see his face guy, they look fresh. They just assume that he has plenty of money. And so people reach out to say how far you get one investment opportunity, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, and they start flooding his inbox. In fact, there's something I can relate to because as the podcast grows, because, you know, I've been saying for the last month that we have 3500 subscribers on Spotify. I checked it today. It's actually now up to 3007. And yeah, so for those of you who joined, the 200 or so subscribers who joined in the last couple of weeks, welcome on board. Unfortunately, there's no way for me to verify how many subscribers I have on Apple and on other platforms.
That's just because I host my podcast through Spotify. So what this guy is complaining about now, this tech bro, I'm feeling it first hand because me too, as my profile don't increase, small people are coming out of the woodworks. People assume I have money, financial assistance, investment opportunity, blah, blah, blah, things like that. And to be honest, I don't mind people reaching out to me. That's why I give my phone number at the beginning and at the end of every single podcast episode.
And I love to talk to people who have questions, comments, queries, or people who want to collaborate on something. So yeah, if there's anything and money can come out of it, sure, no problem, hit me up. Let's talk. But sure, I understand what this Bros is going through. People assume that he has money, so they reach out to him. Now, it's not a good thing. That is what I want us to consider. Is that good? In a way it's good because at least if you're looking for investment opportunities, you're looking for people to drop money for your app, for your business opportunity, it is good.
They're not just sitting at home and doing nothing. It's good they're reaching out to people. But there's something I've said on the podcast that I want to repeat again, the problem with this kind of strategy. Oh, OK, this guy is outside. This woman is outside. Therefore, let me approach her. The problem with that is people like that, they're, they're swamped. All of you have the same assumptions and you never really bother to check whether this person might be perfectly suited for this, your investment opportunity, and for this, your business.
So in a way, it's good that you're not just sitting down doing nothing or the problem is the way you're picking your prospects, the way you're picking your targets is not a very good idea. Don't wait until you see somebody with a public profile and say, let me try this guy. No, that's not what guarantees whether you get good investment opportunities or not. It's not based on who is public, OK, the babe, the public, the guy profile is on a high level.
Therefore, let me approach him. No, it's not like that. Quite frankly, I think for those of you who are looking for people to drop money for investment opportunities, I think you're better off looking for targeted introductions for people who are in your space or people who are in your field. So you're on the tech space. You're better off asking around in networks. This is my idea. This is my idea. This is what I'm trying to do.
I'm looking for investments. Boss, I beg who do you think I should talk to? And then they call one or two names. Now even though the names that you hear they don't have public profile is not big. I really think you stand a better chance this way because you might be getting some targeted introductions. So it's not always that when you see somebody's profile outside, you now shoot your shot. Everybody is shooting their shot precisely because this guy or this girl has a public profile,
but they may not be best suited to be an investor in your opportunity, in your app, in your business idea. Then the tech bro also said that people assume that he wants to invest or they assume that he knows how to invest. I hope you guys can now hear the Coco of what I'm trying to say because somebody's profile is outside. You see that people are writing about her a lot. Her Instagram profile is big. Or maybe you see how on NTN news or you see how on DSTV you say,
OK, let me try and raise investment for her. You're assuming that he or she wants to invest or that they know how to invest. Now for this tech bro, that is not the case. Yes, the guys build some companies and yes, the guy's profile is on the increase right now. He doesn't want to drop money on nothing because he doesn't even know how to drop money on anything. He built a successful company does not mean he knows how to invest in companies.
It's not the case. And now for those of you who've been listening for a while, I hope you see the rationale behind what I teach, which is when you approach people, instead of assuming, how about asking First, ask some questions. Ask so that if the person is interested, good, Continue to yarn. If the person is not, exit yourself. In fact, I had to put that in practice today. Did some outreach, wanted to know if the person wanted to have a chat about how they could improve their sales and marketing efforts.
The person responded with two letters. NO, guess what I did? I didn't try to convince them. I responded immediately. I said thank you very much for your honesty. I understand perfectly. I will remove you from my contact list and I'm not going to be in touch again. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a wonderful weekend. Bam, just like that. And then she responds thank you, see everything done. As in, I'm not giving myself stress, She's not going to Ding me, she's not going to block me,
she's not going to spam me. So deliverability for my future campaigns is not going to All I put it, the effectiveness of my future campaigns is not going to go down. So that's how you do it. Question first. If they're interested, we move. If they're not interested, you turn straight. If there's no chance, just move, leave. But instead of assuming, be asking people. So when you're reaching out to tech brothers or tech sisters because you want them to drop money for your app, for your fintech, for your business idea,
for your whatever, don't assume. Ask them. Now, for those of you who have been listening to the podcast for a long time, you already know the simple conversation outline that I talk about a lot. And today you see how and why I said that this simple conversation outline is, is not as if it's perfect, but it can't work in it can't work in any, any context, any scenario. And this is 1 case. And that's why I keep talking about it over and over and over again.
And by the way, it's not original. I think it's something I heard from Grant Cardone, but I can't remember. I think it's Uncle G Yeah. So first greeting you will give appropriate greeting #2 intention. You will state your intention #3 you will ask questions because questions will give you the information that you use for the next stage which is proposal. Proposal is when you suggest something then after that you will 5 close.
Close is when you get the other person to take action on what it is that you have proposed. Again, the simple conversation framework that I tell people is OK, it's fine. You can use it to help you in anything. I mean, so long. I mean, how do I put it like you're brand new, you don't know anything. Again, this simple conversation outline is good greeting, appropriate greeting intention. State your intention question. You don't ask one or two questions.
Clarify your assumption, know who this person is, understand what's going on. From there, you will now make proposal. If they agree, close. And so you get them to take a step to take action. So let's explore in this case, greeting. Let's just say greeting is high. So greeting is high. Hello, good morning, good afternoon, whatever. So, so, so, so from there you slide into intention. The reason why I'm reaching out to you is because of your expertise in blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah matters. And because of that, I'm assuming that you would be interested in seeking investment opportunities in a BCXYZ. You understand, see that's now that's greeting into intention. Hello. Hi, good morning, Sir, Good afternoon. Whatever the reason why I'm reaching out is because of your expertise in these, these, these and because of that, I assumed you would be interested in or keeping an eye out for investment opportunities in so,
so, so and so sectors. But that is it greeting and intention. Then from there, you will slide into question because what a lot of you do now is you will after greeting and intention, you don't start making your pitch. I'm doing a so, so and so app. The app is coming into the so, so, so, so space. The time, the total addressable market in Nigeria is 550 billion naira. If we can capture 2% of that market base, that will mean that we're looking at the total market size that is equal to so,
so, so, so, so, and so as you've already started pitching, begin the pitch, pitch, pitch, pitch. Like why are you pitching? Do you know whether this person is interested or not? If you don't believe me because I'm saying it and you're on the text space here, your tech bro, this is one of your tech Bros saying it on stage. Excuse me, that because people see him that the skin day fresh, they just assume that he has money.
And so people are sending him messages, sending him DM, sending him e-mail comma invest, comma invest, comma invest. And your tech bro has said it on stage that all of you are assuming that he wants to invest or that he knows how to invest. And it is not the case, which is why Step 3 after greeting and intention, we'll move straight into questions. Ask them now, you've already stated that you're reaching out because of the expertise in this field, in this line of work, in this, you know, sector, in this,
whatever. Ask them are they interested or are they looking for investing opportunities in the XYZ sector? Ask, then wait and hear what that person has to say. Now if in my own case the person responds with that NO, then U tone, stop, revise. There's no room for progress there. Do the same thing I did, which is thank you very much for your honesty. What did I say? Again, thank you very much for your honesty. I understand perfectly well.
I'll take you off my contact list. Enjoy the rest of your day and have a wonderful weekend. The reason why I put that have a wonderful weekend is because you know my outreach, I did this today, Friday, tomorrow night, weekend. So it's OK to say have a wonderful weekend and just free it. If they say yes, they're interested, OK, there's room. You ask more questions. Some people will say it depends. Good. You will still ask more questions, but Sha, instead of assuming, you will ask whether they're interested in investing in XYZ opportunities or investments in the so, so, so and so sector.
From there, you will ask them questions about their investment history. You want to know the kind of things that they have dropped money for before. You will ask them questions about the investment portfolio. You want to know what they currently have money in now or what they are interested in investing in now. You will also ask them questions about the kind of returns that they want or the investments that they hold.
All these kinds of questions that you're asking them, you will serve 2 purposes. OK, two or three. Number one, you're getting all the information to know whether this is a good, truly what you have is a good investment opportunity or not. Because based on the answers that they will give you, you will now know whether this thing is a fit or not. It is they be able to say, oh, if you know what, based on what we've spoken about so far, I
really don't think it's going to be a good investment opportunity. And I don't want to take up your time anymore because you've been investing in these kinds of sectors. Your portfolio is made-up of this and you're seeking these kinds of returns. But Chief, you know, what I have in mind actually is this kind of sector and I don't think we can match the kind of returns that you're looking for, at least not in the near term.
And trust me, if you're talking to a tech bro or a tech sister, they will appreciate that level of sincerity and that level of maturity. They are not wasting their time. So that is one of the reasons why you will ask these questions, whether they're interested. You talk a little bit about their history, talk about their portfolio, talk about the kind of returns that they're looking for, amongst other things. Another reason some of you don't know, don't appreciate this,
another reason why you'll be asking them question is one way that we can build rapport when we're talking with people is when we get them to talk about themselves. You're talking with somebody, the other person is talking about themselves. They will feel as if you are a very mature somebody, as if you're a very good conversationalist. You come across as a reasonable somebody, anybody who shows up to a conversation and starts talking me, me, me, me, me.
People who think you are immature, they'll think you're a small boy, that you don't know what's up, that yourself absorbed. So you show up for this meeting, for this phone call or in this e-mail and then you're saying me, me, me. I've graduated from Harvard, me and my Co founder. This, this, this, this is our vision. The total addressable market is this blah blah blah. Seeking for three as in you, you, you, you, you, you, you,
you. You're not building rapport, but you show up and you're interested in the other person. You are building rapport, whether in business or in personal relationship. That's the dynamic. So we're asking questions for two reasons. Number one, who let us know whether it is a perfect fit #2 you will help us to build some rapport. The people who feel as if this is a mature somebody that I'm talking to. In fact, as the more people talk, they start dropping.
Oh, sorry about that. I set the alarm on my watch. That's the beeping noise. So this episode doesn't last too long because it's already 20 minutes. So where was I? So the more you ask them questions about themselves, some personal details will come out and that is where you'll be able to now build rapport by dropping some commonalities that both of you have. So on this podcast, I say it a lot. So you guys already know that.
For me, it's like my default. I always use name and I use university. I use name because this is Nigeria. We all have interesting names. Our names mean something. So I always ask about people's names always. That's an interesting name. What does that mean or which tribe are you from? As in we just get talking like that. I always use names and I always use school. So from asking somebody about the investing history, the portfolio, the returns, you know, asking questions like that, eventually the person will mention something about, oh,
when I finish uni, is there our chipping or which school do you go to say I went to unit like is so I used to respect you, but this one that I say you went to unit like. So what do you mean? So no, I, I went to the greatest university in, in Africa. I went to a bathroom at Wallowa University because actually that's where I graduated from. You know, that whole OAU UNILAG thing, you know, never fails. Nice friendly banter.
You see you and her connecting your buildings from Mabur. It is because you're asking somebody questions about himself or about herself that personal nogets can drop. And then you can now say things like that too, like, oh really? My wife also likes to watch Real Housewives of Atlanta. And people are bonding on high level. So questions, questions. After that is proposal, assuming you had the right kind of things at the questioning stage,
assuming number one, you're able to build rapport #2 the investment history, it kind of makes sense. The portfolio you see where you can slotting the returns is something that you can work with. It is now you can now make a proposal, which in this case would be also that if you'd like to hear some more, my Co founders and I are willing to come to your office on Lagos Island, or we set up a Zoom meeting or we set up a phone call or this, or you know,
whatever it is. That is the next step You will now propose that, Sir, I think is what we should do next. Abby, how do you see it now? If Chief says yes or if Madame says yes, good. That is where you now try to close. Closing in this case, is getting them to take action. In other words, you're trying to put down a date on the calendar, a date for the Zoom meeting and a date for the time, a date for the whatever. Now, of course, you know, Niger factor, some of you be like, ah,
I don't want to be too forward. I don't want to be too rude because I'm talking to a bigger somebody. I'm talking to a big boy, I'm talking to a big girl. I can't be too forward. I understand perfectly well. So what I do is whenever I'm talking to a big somebody, as in the person is bigger than me. By the way, whenever I talk like this, you know, I'm not saying that some people are more important than others because we are all equal.
We all have equal dignity, and we're all children of God. So everybody has equal dignity. Whether you have one couple or whether you have 1 billion, all of us were equal. We're all the same. I'm just recognizing that there are, you know, power dynamics and status dynamics is just a normal part of human life. So we have to navigate these things, but I'm not saying that the person that has 1 billion naira is greater than the person that has two Coburn.
I'm not saying that. So when I'm dealing with somebody who has a bigger stature, I mean, it's not a problem. Chief has said he's OK, that he's ready to move forward. My proposal always is, oh, that's fantastic. So can I get Cami's phone number in this case? You know, Chemi's the PA and the PA is sitting right there and they say, OK, in that case, can I get Kemi's phone number so we can have a chat about your calendar and see the best time to hook up a meeting in that kind of situation?
Or guy will say, Oh yeah, sure, no problem. So maybe there are other ways, but for me, that's how I deal with it. The person has the bigger stature is not a problem. You don't want to be too forward and start pressing him for a time next week. It's not a problem. Collect the PS number. Whenever I'm dealing with big men in court, I always collect the PA's number. Always, always because that's how we close mark the situation.
Because you can agree with Chief for Monday at 2:30. And of course, because Chief has big stature, it's nice if you can be, you know, buzzing him. Anyhow, that Chief, I hope you haven't forgotten and they now call him again. That Chief, I'm on my way they now calling we can achieve. I'm at the gate, you know somehow because you know, it's a bigger Bros. So you understand how it is in Nigeria now. So that's the reason why I
collect PS number because PA is the kind of person that you can chat with like that. So if you guys agree Wednesday next week, 2:30 in the afternoon, you've collected chemist number chemist the PA or cooler cooler is the PA. That's not a problem on Monday your boss currently say what's up? Are you there? The guy that was at the meeting with Chief, you know, say Oh my God, how you doing now? Nothing much. I'm good. I'll work now, you know, just shoot the breeze like that.
I say I just I remind you, you know, that is Wednesday next week. I'll be sure, sure, no problem. So at the office, I'll be cool then as you got the call. Then Tuesday we send him a reminder according what's up show us a long course tomorrow 2:30 because it's possible that maybe chief got one or join call maybe to Nobu call chief that he should report to us Rock it is then that cameo Kunle replied that oh sorry, oh this came up you will now be rescheduling with the PA.
So how did I get to this PA? Things of closing. So closing basically is you just try to get them to take action to commit, to put something down on the calendar. If you're worried about being too forward because Madame is a big woman, you know, she's a minister or she's a perm sex is whatever. You don't want to be too forward. No problem. Collect the PA's phone number. So is the PA that you'd be following up, you know, Bah Bah,
Bah to make sure that meetings are on track. So this is how you should reach out to tech Bros or tech sisters. They ask for investments in your app, in your fintech, in your business idea, in your whatever. Stop assuming that everybody who has a big profile is a suitable target. In my own opinion, try and look for targeted introductions so that people will introduce you to somebody who is an ideal fit, whether the person has a visible public profile or not.
Then when you reach out to people, instead of assuming that they know how to invest, that they want to invest, that they are ready to invest, ask them some questions. The simple conversation outline, I think from Grant Cardone, I can't remember because look, this has been many years been I've been using this for over a decade. A simple conversation outlined is greeting. After the greeting states your intention. After that, ask questions.
After the questions, you will get information that you need to make a proposal. After you propose, get them to close, which is to take action. This is a simple outline and it has never failed me. Oh, by the way, because I listed it out like this, it doesn't mean that's how it always flows up. Sometimes some things go up, sometimes some things go down. Sometimes you want to do appropriate greeting, but then some people cut you short.
They're like, look, young man, why are you calling me? In that case, greeting has, you know, gone down. You're now starting at intention somewhere during the phone call, of course, the guy will ask you some questions about yourself or you talk about yourself. You see that intentional started first greeting now went down. So the fact that I put it like this, greeting, intention, question, proposal close does not mean it will always happen in that order.
But sure, always have that thing in your mind that these are the stages we must be flowing through. 1 stage that is non negotiable is close. close. Try and get them to agree to some next step. If The thing is making sense. Don't end this meeting by either of you, you or the other person saying I'll be in touch. I'll be in touch is the easiest way to enter into ghosting. I'll be in touch. What else? Let me think about it.
Let me discuss with Madam, Let me discuss with Olga. You know all those kind of responses. From there you enter into ghosting so close that one is non negotiable. What is the next step? What is the next meeting? What is the next? Whatever. Don't end this meeting without attempting to secure the next step, without attempting to close. In complex sales scenarios, we call this advancements. That is how business deals are,
closed advancements. One step at a time. OK, it's been 30 minutes, so let me bring this to a close. If this is your first time listening, I hope you're getting value from this. Please subscribe on Spotify, YouTube, Apple, any player of your choice so that you can get all this juicy goodness on all things related to business, especially things from a sales and marketing perspective. Now when you subscribe, don't be overwhelmed.
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