Would they let you list their name and experience on your investment proposal? Th is shows investors that you can attract networked people to your team once the money arrives. Advisory boards with recognizable industry names can add strength to your bench of talent even if you only meet twice a year. Four Brutal Questions and Why You Need to Answer Them 153 Can You Carry the Ball? Mr. Deep Pockets says, “I look for the guy who gets in the game, runs full blast, and takes the ball down the fi eld. If there’s a bump-which there always is-will you be stricken with terror and freeze?” It’s an interesting question that is at the core of strategy: the ability to get the big dream done. Your goal is to score a goal! How are you going to move your team down the playing fi eld? What are the milestones towards the goal? Th ere are triedandtrue methods to make sure your team sets checks and balances so that the business does not go off halfcocked. Prepare your own report cards. Do you have the last few years’ budget and plans? Can you use these to demonstrate that you have already set clear goals and achieved them? Th is is a very big clue to your character and whether you do what you say you will do. Th e proposal you will be presenting says you will do many things. How confi dent can the investor be that you will keep your word? Past plans with results will give the investor comfort. Can you organize a team? Many owners have not set up basic communication systems and routines, such as scheduled meetings for marketing or even for the board, nor have they drawn out the activities that make up the business model or shared the company strategy. Th ese management activities enable staff to take on decisionmaking activities. Without them-you will draw a big negative. If your CEO is still writing all your press releases, you need a plan to delegate. Eff ective owners know that the business can speed up and grow because there are systems and management to handle the increasingly complex webs of work. Can you communicate complex ideas? Th e investor knows that how you present your investment proposal demonstrates exactly the way you will sell your product. Ouch! Get a oneortwo sentence catch phrase that rolls off your tongue to explain what your business or widget does. What need in the market does your company fi ll? Can you get it into two lines? Wordsmithing those few sentences will be worth it, as you will use it in your next trade show presentation, your executive summary of your business plan, the fi rst page of your sales 154 CHAPTER 8 presentation, and it will be the fi rst communication with your investors. How about if you simply communicate? Seriously. An extraordinary number of deals get done by chance chats watching a tennis match, for example. Be open to new people. Go to industry events and schmooze. Don’t hang around the back of the room; get in front of the people you want to know.