Asking for investment money in a meeting causes founders stress, taps into our insecurities and unexpected conversations can ruin the meeting.

After raising many rounds of funding, investing in 65+ startups and meeting with so many more, the prep work before the meeting will help you avoid most pitfalls.

Here's my list of what you need to do before you have your meeting.

Verify Details

Before the call, confirm these details to get comfortable and exceed expectations.

1. Ask who will be on the call / at the meeting.

2. Ask in advance of the meeting if they'd prefer a pitch or a discussion.

3. If virtual, ask if attendees be on their computers or dialing in.

4. Ask if they want to see the pitch deck before the meeting. I'll share specific strategies about emailed pitch decks in another post.

Time Management

A great pitch meeting is about preparing for the allotted time and adapting to how the meeting meanders.

1. Confirm how much time they have before you start the pitch. You must know if they have a hard stop.

2. Practice shorter versions of your pitch in case time runs out. You need to get this down to less than 5 minutes for unique situations.

3. Leave ample time after your pitch to answer questions. When you practice your pitch, get used to measuring your remaining time.

Research

Any great meeting starts with knowing your audience. You should spend equal time practicing your pitch as finding details to tailor the discussion.

1. Know the firm's recent and previous investments. Look for any conflicts and also any relevant correlation to your pitch.

2. Research attendees and the firm beyond just their website. You must review google search for press releases, social media accounts, Crunchbase and LinkedIn connections.

3. In your research, look for rapport building discussion points such as their alma mater, hometown, current city, previous firms/employers and any published articles or interviews.

Interactions Matter

What's commonly overlooked is how the discussion can easily take your meeting on the scenic tour. This isn't always bad and the back of forth conversation will affect your outcome.

1. Come prepared with questions for every meeting. I have a whole list I'll share in another post.

2. You will be asked how the raise is going. Don't say fundraising is a distraction and you just want to work on the business. It's not a chore. You are choosing to finance your company.

3. Admit you don't know something and offer to come back with an answer later. No one expects you to have all the answers.

4. Don't get frustrated if you get detoured from your talk track. Instead of pushing right back to the slides, just ask if they would like to stop and discuss more or go back to the pitch.

In summary, get comfortable and confident by doing the following:

• Know the expected format of the meeting

• Know how to adapt your pitch with different time constraints

• Know the background on the firm and attendees

• Know all pitch meetings require discussions and not just presentations.

This post is part of series called, Switch the Pitch where I offer my insights as both an entrepreneur and investor to reveal how each side of the table approaches pitching and deciding to invest.

If you want more great content about #fundraising, #investorpitch, #pitchdeck and #scalingstartups follow me at @earwood.