The Protocols of Selling a Story

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Everyone is selling something.  It doesn’t matter if you’re in business, education, or politics, we’re all trying to sell a widget, a way of thinking, a party affiliation.  The difference is the method in which something is sold.

For example, are solid facts used to back up a thesis about why a consumer should buy something?  Does an educator emote and use theatrics to explain a concept to students?  How authentic is a politician when she or he attempts to relate to the needs and wants of constituents?

The IR world is no different in that most public companies are creating investor theses to sell a company’s story.  There are a lot of variables that influence the efficacy of a pitch to investors.  But in the spirit of writing a pithy blog post in 500 words or less, following is an abridged guide to what’s hot and what’s not when selling a company’s story in today’s market:

What’s Hot

  • Financial Performance – Nothing beats a solid track record of financial performance when trying to attract investors
  • Transparency – The easier it is for investors to understand a company’s model, P&L, and balance sheet, the more likely an investor will be inclined to take a calculated risk and invest
  • Management Relevance – There is a distinction between relevance and years of experience. Relevance is demonstrating why an executive is the best person for the job today, not a decade ago
  • Long-Term Competitive Advantage – The company must present a compelling thesis in terms of why it has built one of the greatest mouse traps that goes the distance when up against competitors
  • Consistent Communication – Somewhat self-serving here, but if all of the aforementioned items are firing on all cylinders and there is no communication … <insert that sucking sound>

What’s Not

  • Hyperbole – Adjectives such as “leading,” “best,” “greatest,” often instill more skepticism than confidence
  • Homogenous Board – In the age of activism, boards of directors are easy targets, especially if they lack independence and diversity
  • Compensation that Isn’t Tied to Performance – Speaks for itself
  • Press Release Overload – Some companies are prolific and have an endless stream of news to relay to investors, although it becomes rather obvious when companies are simply issuing press releases for the sake of “looking” productive
  • Revolving Door in C-Suite – Too much turnover at the top doesn’t curry favor with most investors

— Evan Pondel, epondel@pondel.com