Many syndicators begin raising capital primarily through their friends and family.

It’s a win-win … They gain valuable experience and help the people they care about gain access to opportunities they might not otherwise even know existed.

But if you’re like most people who set out to start a career in syndication, friends and family alone won’t be enough to reach those big hairy audacious goals for your business.

If you don’t continue to grow your investor base, before you know it you’ll find yourself tapped out, just as if you were investing on your own with your own money.

So while your warm network can be a great place to start, if you really want to scale your business, it’s critical that you think ahead and build a brand to attract more investors.

Deals come in all shapes and sizes, and so do people. You don’t want to attract just any investor, you want the right one.

To save yourself wasted time and effort trying to fit square pegs into round holes, identifying your ideal investor is one of the first (and most important) steps in the Architect phase of building your business.

Once you know who your target audience is … You can get to work building a brand that helps them overcome their obstacles and reach their goals! And in turn, help your syndication business grow and flourish!

So how do you identify your ideal investor?

First, take a look at the types of investments you typically (or plan to) offer and take inventory of their highlights …

Do they provide cash flow?

Equity growth?

Asset protection?

Privacy?

Maybe they offer great tax benefits or help fight inflation and preserve wealth …

Based on your answers, who are the people who would benefit most from the highlights your investments offer?

What are their pain points? Are they high earning employees who are tired of giving their hard-earned dollars to Uncle Sam?

Maybe they’re in a specific profession … For example, doctors or lawyers who make a lot of money, but work long hours and pay a lot of taxes. Passive investments with great tax benefits could be a great fit!

What are their investment goals? Are they looking for cash flow? Appreciation? Maybe they want to make an impact and are looking for socially responsible investments.

If your investments are community focused, maybe your ideal investor lives or has interest in a specific location.

Age and experience can be a factor to consider too since an investor closer to retirement might be more risk averse than their younger counterparts.

The more information you’re able to collect about your investor avatar, the more accurately and precisely you’ll be able to target them through your communications and offerings.

So to get even more intel you might even consider going straight to the source … The investors who already know and love what you’re doing!

Don’t hesitate to survey your existing investors or start conversations about what exactly it was about investing with you that piqued their interest, what they’re looking for, how much risk they’re comfortable with, etc.

Not only is it a great way to gain insight, identify points of alignment, and to grow and nurture your investor base, but it also builds trust and shows that you value their input. Plus, you can use the information they provide to pair them with new investment opportunities.

Building a robust real estate investor database is a process, but it’s a solid investment that pays big dividends.

If you want a long list of investors eager and ready to put their funds into your next deal, getting to know them is your first step.