How to Overcome Funding Rejections
As an entrepreneur, you may be heavily reliant on others to invest in your business. You may spend time and money just to convince people to invest in your business. But it may not always work out, there are many times when you will hear a negative answer. Don’t take this as rejection or give up on your business and dreams. This article will provide you with 4 ways to overcome funding rejection and give you advice on how to turn a negative answer into a positive future outcome.
1. Act Like a Pro and Get in the Know
Even when rejection is disheartening, you should never lose your cool. Remain calm, collected and professional. Even if the investor said ‘no’ it may be that you caught them at the wrong, and possibly reaching out to them in the future may result in a better outcome. Furthermore, it may be that they are not a good match for you. It is still beneficial for you to add keep them in your network as well as to ask them if they know a better suited investor to provide you with funding.
2. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome
If you do get a ‘no’ you might want to probe your investor as to why they decided not to provide you with funding. They may give you useful feedback that will allow you to review and revise your business idea, model and team. Treating your potential investors as mentors, not just money on legs, should allow you to adapt and overcome the hurdles in the way, so as to adjust your strategy and model to something that future investors would consider tempting.
3. Work on Your Pitch
It may be that your business pitch is letting you down. You may have a great business idea but notice that investors appear bored and uninterested by your pitch and therefore reluctant to give you funding. It may be that you need to work on your presentation skills. Perhaps you’re lacking in confidence or your slides are dull. You should test out your pitch and practice until perfect so that you can capture the attention of your potential investor.
You have a minute or two to pitch your idea in a neat, concise manner. Within this timeframe you should be able to describe your business idea in an enticing and exciting manner .
4. Play the field
You may encounter issues seeking funds from angel investors and find you are not advancing with acquiring funding. Remember to play the field; you can raise funds from more than one source. You should look into private lending companies, apply for grants from regional and national government programs or inquire with small business banks. You should also use online crowdfunding platforms like kickstarter or gofundme. The wider you spread your net the more likely that you will acquire funds.
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