How to Actually Attract Investors

We're live. Good morning, property club. A little bit late than our scheduled time, had a few techie issues, I had to reboot my laptop.

But are we live?

Because I'm excited to be joined by Heidi again.

I'm still in preview mode on mine.

Oh, is it catching up? I don't know. Oh, Christian, thank you very much for joining us again and Just like to obviously reiterate our thanks for your support in promoting the Secret Property Club.

Yes, thank you very much. I, I'm still in preview mode on mine, so I'm freaked out, but here we are live. Um, so today we're going to talk about how to attract investors without being salesy. So it does my head in when you're on Facebook and people explicitly put, I'm raising whatever grand for whatever interest on a deal, and people respond. And I'm like, this is baffling how they've managed to get it. And then I also know that for the FCA regulations, which is the Financial Conduct Authority, you're not actually allowed to do that. So you're breaking some rules there if you got caught. So today we're going to go over how to attract investors, um, and yeah, raise other people's money without looking like a turd. So, yeah, that's a good point.

Yeah, it's not about pitching deals, it's about building trust. As you say, most people lead with, I've got a great deal and I've got a great percentage offer on. Investors hear that all the time. What they want is to build, like, for doing it consistently and build credibility.

Yeah. So I, I'll just give you a little bit of a journey background with some tips on what I've done. So 5 years ago, I set up my property business. Prior to that, I wasn't really on Facebook. I didn't have any friends on Facebook because I worked in the prison sector. And that's why I'm still called Heidi Louise to this day, because I didn't want prisoners finding me on Facebook. Book. So I, I documented the journey, the highs, the lows, the shit bits, the good bits. Most of it shit. And I, I documented it, what I was doing from day one. I also ran a networking event, which was great, and it positioned me well. However, those who attended knew I was brand new, so I was very transparent with that. So I've joined a networking event as well. So I've run one, but I also join other people's because at my own I never really got a chance to network. So I've joined other people's networking events. Yes, I've done property training, however, and that's given me a community I can tap into and there's already trust and credibility there so I can tap into that to, to use money. However, You still got to know, like, and trust somebody. So you don't have to do property training to get a community. You can build your own. So what I'd say is definitely attend networking events, definitely build relationships and trust, and document the journey. So for example, I didn't raise money, I think, for the first 4 years because that wasn't my aim. I was just showing people what I was doing and building some trust. Then what happened is I bought a property with someone else's SaaS pension. That's documented to them that I'm trustworthy. Now we haven't lost that investor. We've gone back to back to back to back with them, um, because we're trustworthy with him. I also put a little bit of a— it's a little bit of a sly message on Facebook the other day, but it was asking people whether it, it was basically, would you put £50 grand in an investment for 3 years at 12%. That got a lot of engagement, but it also got me a direct message from somebody saying, 'Are you looking at raising money?' I went, 'Yeah.' He went, 'Well, I've got some to give you.' And I was like, 'Oh,' because they know, like, and trust me, and I've built up a relationship with them through networking events and supporting them and vice versa for over a year and a half now. I've also spoken about deals with people Um, I know loads of people with money that won't necessarily give me— it's family and friends as well. So you've got to build up relationships with other people and speak about it. So I say, oh, I've got a deal, I'm raising money for this, I'm gonna buy this block of flats, etc. This is what I'm doing. And they go, how are you paying for it? Well, actually, I'm raising money. Well, I've got someone to give you. So it's about constantly talking about what you're doing Demonstrating trust and credibility, but being consistent as well. Yes, you can ask other people for money, but sometimes it's not always the right time. I've got a couple of investors who will lend me money. They've told me they'll lend me money, but every time I need money for a deal, they've lent it to somebody else first. So timing is, is a good tip as well. So always put yourself out there, always be consistent, tell people what you're doing, have highs and lows as well. And don't do that shitty thing on Facebook where you're explicitly asking strangers for money. I think that's like quite distasteful.

Mm, yeah. And also become known for something specific and don't, like, sort of rather than be vague, if you're clear, then they tend to sort of navigate towards you. As an example, I help investors get hands-off returns for like from supported living HMOs, or I specialise in BMV flips in the Midlands. The clearer that your message is, the more they'll understand what you're trying to achieve.

Yeah, and also what I found as well is, um, my mind's gone blank. What am I saying? Oh yeah, tell them about what goes wrong as well. So when people borrow money off you, I explicitly always say it's not going to go wrong, you will get your money back. However, it could be longer than you expected, there could be delays on a project. So for example, an investor lent me some money last year, um, some of it is stuck in a house some of it we're using for another house, and that house I think took 5 months to go through. It should have took 4 weeks, it took 5 months to go through. Then we've got to renovate it, then we've got to sell it to get that money back out. So it's getting them to understand the process. So for example, if they're gonna lend you £100 grand and you're gonna use that £100 grand for a house and give them first charge, nice one. But if you're not and it's on a loan agreement, you've then got to be explicit with what you're going to do with that money and how are you going to give it back to him. So for example, if it's going to be for a refurb cost, we've got to buy the house, refurb it, sell it first, or refinance it. That takes a little bit of time. If you can do it in 12 weeks, nice one, but it's not always perfect. And you've got to communicate with that person and say, this is what's going on. However, you'll get more money at the end of it. Because if we do 12% per annum and it goes over, you then get an extra 1%, 2%, whatever, and it rolls up. So again, it's still beneficial for them if you explain it and put it in the contract. We've also borrowed money and that person got a weekly update. This is what we're doing, this is what we're doing, this is what we're doing. The second house, they're not arsed now. They're like, yeah, get on with it, don't care, just pay me when you can. Yeah, they're not bothered now. They see it on Facebook. Anything wrong, they'll watch what I'm doing on Facebook. But they don't need that level of assurance anymore because they know we're trustworthy. So yeah, just— it's all about relationships. There's good, there's bad bits, there's delays. But just be honest, be transparent. And I always do worst-case scenario and then just reaffirm it and reassure them with that.

Yeah. And when you're trying to obviously attract an investor actually talk with them, not at them.

Yeah.

So that you're not going out instead of, I'm trying to raise £100K for a deal, and you could try something like, out of curiosity, what kind of returns are you currently seeing on your money? Then that gives them an expectation of what they're trying to achieve as well, and you know what they're looking for as well.

Yeah, absolutely.

As well, define their needs as well.

And if, and if someone had said to me 5 years ago, you would turn people's money away, I wouldn't have believed them. Because again, some investors, if they are an investor and they act like an investor, you'll have a better relationship with them. If you're borrowing money from family friends or family or neighbours or friends that are not— haven't got an investor mindset you'll have no fucking end of trouble because they don't understand. They don't understand the process, they don't understand the returns, they don't understand the contracts, they don't understand. So I would say proceed with caution with, with that if you're going to borrow money on that level and they're not an investor.

Yeah, yeah. And obviously make it easy to understand you as well. If, if someone can't quickly get what you do, they're not going to invest. You just need a simple sort of explanation like, I find refurbish and refinance properties to create long-term income and partner with investors who want fixed returns secured against property.

Yeah, that's it.

There's no jargon, there's no waffle. Just be upfront and tell it how it is and obviously what you're looking for.

Yeah, and just on a couple of side notes, I did a presentation about the difference between using SASS and using this money. So if you're going to use someone's SASS pension, there's very strict stipulate— stipulations around that. So it has to be first charge. It depends on the SASS pension, but the ones we use has to be first charge, has to be 12% interest as well, has to be within a fixed time frame. So there's stipulations. If you're going to do a loan agreement with somebody, which is I'm going to lend you £100,000, and there's no stipulations, you use it whatever you like refurbs, buying houses or whatever. Again, that is a different— there's a lot of different expectations around that. So again, I wouldn't also do it on a handshake, even if you're borrowing from your family. Get a contract in there as well. Just make sure everybody's safe and there's expectations.

Yeah, and the real secret, sort of, I was— most people don't really get this, but they The investors aren't just buying deals, they aren't investing in a deal, they're investing in you. Yeah, your decision-making, your communication, and your reliability.

Yeah, that's a good point, actually. That's a really good point. And even if you're not raising money and you're doing a service for somebody, or you're working with them in partnership or whatever, again, communication's a big thing. Even if you have nothing to update them with, just keep a toe in. Just, just, you know, communicate with them, keep it consistent, even if it's a weekly update. I've— I'm doing— this is sort of relevant, but I'm setting up a property for someone at the minute, and they said, oh, is it, is it going to be done by April? I went, no, it's not even going to start by the end of April because we've got this, got the electricians, then we've got the decorator, then we've got the furniture, then we've got this. And I said, like, I— as much as the trades work really hard for us, they've also got jobs on, so they can't just stop doing that. So again, just communicate. It will be done, but it'll be done in this time frame, and it'll be done to the best of my ability, but we have to wait because of this. So just communicate and be up to date with people.

Yeah, be honest and be natural, not awkward. And you don't need to do a hard pitch, you just need that door to open to let you in. The chats. It's like, if you ever want to see how I like to look at deals, happy to walk you through one, rather than, this is the deal that I've got.

Yeah, I am as well. And this is me being a bit judgy, but not perfect. There's somebody I've seen on Facebook, Raising Finance, who has gone from this to fuck all to this amount of portfolio in a certain time frame, and they're looking for investors. And I'm like, well, if you've done that that quickly, why are they not going back to back with you? I think it's a bit of an alarm bell if you've attracted an investor and they're not willing to keep going back to back with you. I think that— what have you done wrong there?

Yeah, because the natural journey would be that they invest in one deal.

Yeah.

Then you've finished that, pay them back, and then they'll go again. And if they're not going again, why aren't they going again?

Yeah, exactly. That's a little alarm bell for me. So yeah, I thought those tips would be helpful today. Just be authentic, have a clear ask, and if anyone's got any questions or they want any help with anything, feel free to ask away, you know how to find us. Um, comment under the video, um, on messages, whatever. Yeah, so hopefully that's been helpful to everyone today.

Yeah, and me and Heidi are both looking at deals, so if you're an investor watching this, obviously feel free to reach out. Would love to have a chat with you.

We might not be authentic enough.

We might not be, but yeah, look, That's obviously there if you'd be interested. So yeah, that's been great. Anything else you'd like to add? I think we've sort of gone over the 10 minutes. Yeah, but we can see that we've got a couple of people watching this live, so if you've got any questions, anything, drop them in the chat, or if you're on the screen, we can invite you on to ask Any questions live?

I can't see the chat still. I'm still in preview mode, weirdly.

Are you still in preview?

Yeah, so I don't know anything. So if there's a good question, let me know.

How bizarre. According to 15 minutes. Oh yeah, well, if you want to follow up with us afterwards, more than one happy to have a chat on a one-to-one.

Cool. Well, thank you. Thank you, everybody. And I will see you all soon.

Okay. Testing. Christian's just put in the chat, in the chat, even in the— Heidi's left the stream. Okay. Well, thank you very much for joining us. And we'll see you on the next one.