The holiday season can be a wonderful time to communicate with existing and potential investors EVEN IF you have nothing to sell. Or rather, ESPECIALLY when you have nothing to sell.

And just like all year-round, the challenge we see many capital-raisers face is … What do you say when you have nothing to sell?!

We know building and scaling a business is about developing and nurturing meaningful relationships. Still, at times we experience writer’s block or get tongue-tied.

So, how do we solve this?! Let’s break it down …

• Building relationships is about finding points of alignment
• Finding points of alignment is about sharing ideas
• Sharing ideas is about revealing our thoughts, values, and convictions
• A person’s thoughts, values and convictions drive their actions
• Actions create results in our individual lives

As Russell Gray says, “What you think and believe affects what you do. And what you do affects the results you get.”

We’ve seen throughout history the power of ideas and how they move people into action. Think Martin Luther King, Steve Jobs, Tony Robbins …

As Visionaries of our businesses, our pioneering mission is to share our ideas in such a compelling way it moves those around us towards action.

Whether we’re communicating with our list via email or over a cocktail, the premise is the same … It’s about sharing our ideas and uncovering points of alignment so we can be of service when the time comes.

And guess what?! When building a business, you get to put the idea on the table first …

Ask yourself … What topic would you like to find points of alignment on with your list?!

As syndicators, some common topics are wealth-building, tax strategy, real estate, passive income, economics, diversification, investment timing, and the list goes on.

Weaving your perspective into communication around these topics allows your list to say … “YES, that’s what I think and believe too!” or “Interesting, I hadn’t thought of it that way — I want to know more” or “Nope, we’re not aligned.”

Being thought-provoking and polarizing is a healthy thing when building meaningful relationships within your business. We want to attract those who are aligned and gently repel those who aren’t.

If you’ve been in business any length of time, misalignment is painful … It slows growth, kills morale, spikes expenses, and delays execution.

The faster we build meaningful relationships based on aligned thoughts, beliefs, and convictions, the faster we generate our desired results for our businesses, ourselves, and those we serve.

So, as you’re planning the next few months of communication with your list, consider weaving in your unique perspective – it’s valuable! Some ideas are …

The principles that drive your decision-making …

When faced with this investment or that one … this market or another … this partner or someone new – how do you decide? Share insights on how you think, feel, and behave …

By sharing case studies or real-world scenarios including wins and lessons learned allows your audience to trust your decision-making process.

And we know people do business with people they like, trust and know are in the business.

Your investment thesis …

What types of investments are you pursuing? Short or long term … local or international … prioritizing tax benefits or social impact initiatives … high-yield or high-growth …

By sharing your criteria for sourcing and vetting investment vehicles that help achieve your investors financial goals gives your audience visibility into options that may be a fit for them.

Your economic perspective on what’s happening in the news …

We never recommend getting political, but when something big is happening in the media – like policy changes, macroeconomic issues, etc, share your thoughts on it and how you’re navigating it to continue building and protecting your wealth and your investors money.

Your tax strategy …

Everyone wants to save money on taxes. If your business operates in a niche that has great tax incentives, educate your investors about it!

When nurturing our list we can share case studies and stories on how we are applying our values/strategies to achieve our purpose in business and serve our “ideal investor.”

If you’re still not crystal clear on your values, target audience, and customer journey, it might be helpful to revisit the architect phase of the 3-Step Process for Building a Business.

Here’s to building a rock solid foundation for your success!