172 | HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
How to Ask for the Money You Need
Once your business plan has been polished
to perfection, you’re ready to use it as part
of your campaign to get financing. If you
haven’t done so already, you must decide
where you’d ideally like to get the money
you need. You should know whether you
prefer to get financing from a lender or an
investor. (This is discussed in Chapter 4.)
Before you call people and make
appointments, give some thought to a few
preliminaries. Like it or not, you’re now a
salesperson. Your task is to sell your plan.
Don’t let this discourage you, even if your
experience with selling has been negative.
There are all sorts of good ways to sell
things, most of which depend on a good
product and an honest, straightforward
presentation. I can’t tell you exactly how to
sell yourself and your plan, but I can make
a number of suggestions.
Write a Telephone Pitch
Since some of your preliminary selling will
be done over the telephone, you’ll want
to be prepared. Write a short statement
of what you’re doing and why. Simply
list your two or three major reasons for
entering or expanding this particular
business. Then write down how much
money you need and how much you’ll
pay the lenders or investors for using their
money.
Telephone for Appointments
Avoid lengthy telephone discussions when
making the call; you simply want to set
up a personal appointment to discuss all
the details and ask for the money. If you’re
not sure what to say, read the sample
telephone script below. You can adapt it to
suit your style and needs.
“Hello, Jack? This is Antoinette. How are
you today? How’s the family? Say, Jack, the
reason I’m calling is that I have a great idea
for a new business and I’d like to meet
with you and show you my business plan
to see what you think of it.
“Can we get together next Thursday
morning in your office? Oh, you’d like to
hear a little more about my ideas before
we meet.” (Antoinette briefly explains why
she wants to open her business—she can
read her list of reasons if she’s nervous.)
“Well Jack, I’m glad to hear that you like
my ideas.”
(Before she discusses the loan she
wants, she asks Jack for an appointment. If
she can personally meet with him, she will
wait until then to discuss money.)
“What about next Thursday? Oh,
how much money do I need? I need a
good-sized loan that I can pay back in
three years. So we can get together next
Thursday morning in your office? Good.
I’ll see you at 10: 00 in the morning. Bye,
Jack.”