The Tech M&A market is vibrant. Buyers sit in countless web-based (Webex, Go-to-Meeting, Join Me) meetings with Software CEO/Founders each day.
I expect we’d all agree that meeting face-to-face is communication at its best-- but a web-based discussion has been a qualifying event in every M&A process I’ve been involved in the last decade. Just this week I participated in a dozen really top notch meetings with buyers/sellers via web conferencing.
I decided to jot down 5 simple things that set them apart in quality and clarity.
- Great audio & crisp visuals - test your speaker, microphone and connection ahead of time; set-up surprises can cut into valuable time.
- Introductions & initial comments DO matter and often set the tone for the content and conversation to follow.
- Buyers ask great questions if you let them and all appreciate succinct answers.
- Slides bring visualization to your conversation, 10-15 is usually plenty, too many and we are on-line readers, not engaged listeners.
- Your past successes are the history, your future successes the mystery - clarity on the road ahead engages everyone.