CASL – 3 Months to Full Enforcement
How to Find Accredited Investors Online
Finding Accredited Investors Interested in Your Investment Opportunity
If you are raising money, it is important to find accredited investors that are interested in your opportunity. There are several ways to make your opportunity more appealing, and it is important to start with a well-crafted private placement and executive summary. Without these documents in hand, you will not be ready to pitch your deal. You can create it yourself or work with a lawyer or private placement company to have one created. The latter is less expensive than an attorney and will still help to craft your message. With a killer PPM in hand, you can start to reach out to investors.
There are several traditional ways of finding SEC Accredited Investors. This has typically been done by speaking at angel investment forums and networking within the local community. These are still viable options that should be explored, however, this is a modern era. Almost everything that was once done in person can now be started online. Companies like www.AccreditedInvestorLeads.com and www.SalesLeads.com now have an online site you can visit to secure an accredited investor lead list.
Here are some other sites that can help you on how to find accredited investors online:
LinkedIn. This is a social networking site that is geared towards professionals. You can build a network of people throughout the world and use them as online referral sources. Instead of strictly relying on local attorneys, bankers, and CPAs to refer investors to you, these online connections can become remote referral sources. While it takes time to sift through your connections, it is still a faster way to connect with more referral sources.
GoBigNetwork. This is a place for investors and entrepreneurs to connect. It is primarily geared towards the tech industry, but anyone can participate. Simply create a profile and post your opportunity to be viewed by investors at their convenience. You never know who you will meet through a platform like this.
Gust.com. This is another online platform that allows start-ups to post about their company and investment opportunity to be reviewed by the investment community. Consider it as your online pitch, instead of the in person one. When people become interested, they will reach out for more information.
Angel.co. Companies and entrepreneurs can connect through this platform so that businesses can raise money, and investors have access to additional deals. The investments start at $1,000 which enables a larger group of investors to participate.
These sites represent an excellent opportunity to expose your private offering to a wider audience. The challenge is that you are not in control. If you need to find accredited investors, these sites turn the table so that they can find you. By posting your opportunity, investors can view your information and the details but you are typically unable to reach out to them directly. It is a good strategy to implement in combination with traditional methods like calling leads from an accredited investor list. This way you can be proactive with your activities while marketing your offering to a larger audience.
What is a Reg D Accredited Investor?
If you are looking to raise money or sell investments, it is important to know what a Reg D Accredited Investor is and how to find them. This is a select group of individuals with a high-income earning and a high net worth. You can’t tell who is accredited simply by looking at them. Rather, there are set guidelines that have been created by the SEC as to who can be considered accredited.
Guidelines for Being a Reg D Accredited Investor
The SEC has created these guidelines, and each investor must pass them continuously in order to be accredited. Just because someone was accredited in the past, does not mean they are today.
1) They have made $200,000 or more as an individual over the past two years and are likely to do so again in the current year, or they make $300,000 a year combined with their spouse and are likely to do so again OR
2) They have a net worth of $1 million or more, excluding their primary residence.
The income calculation is fairly simplistic except for individuals that own a business. Many business owners make this amount of money but by deducting things like depreciation and amortization, their tax returns do not indicate this level of income. The net worth qualification is fairly straightforward with one exception. If someone owes more money than their house is worth, the negative equity needs to be deducted from their total net worth. This does not apply to positive equity.
Becoming Certified as a Reg D Accredited Investor
Most investors self-certify, meaning that they sign a document stating how much they make or what their net worth is and sign it. This works perfectly well when companies are raising money using Reg D Rule 504, 505, or 505b. If, however, the company is raising funds using Reg D Rule 506c, a third party must provide the certification after reviewing financial documents. This can be a member of the company, an attorney, licensed broker-dealer, or CPA.
Why Working with a Reg D Accredited Investor is Smart
These investors are more likely to have disposable income to invest. Their income is high and has been so for a period of time, or they have significant assets already, sometimes both. This makes them the ideal prospect for investing in private placements, starting a brokerage account, buying property, etc.
Finding Investors
If you are looking to work with accredited investors, you will need help finding them. Unlike traditional sales leads, these leads must be qualified and full of people that meet the SEC standards. They are difficult to locate and can take years of networking in order to build a solid lead base. Fortunately, you can purchase a lead list of accredited investors from both www.salesleads.tv and www.accreditedinvestorleads.com. This enables you to spend the majority of your time pitching deals and walking people through closing, rather than wasting time looking for names and phone numbers.
Accredited Investor Lists Help Raise Money
An Accredited Investor List Can Help You to Raise Money
If you are raising capital, an accredited investor list can help you to reach more investors that are qualified and able to put money into your deal. When raising money using a Reg D offering, it is important to work with accredited investors to stay in compliance with the SEC. The challenge is that there is no way to tell if someone meets the qualification standards when you meet them. A list will help to save you time by sending you directly to the people that meet the SEC standards.
The SEC has set criteria for what makes a person an accredited investor. This includes:
Income. The investor needs to make $200,000 a year by themselves for the past two years or $300,000 per year with their spouse. They must also believe that their income will continue at that level or greater.
Assets. An investor may qualify if their net worth is over $1 million, excluding their primary residence. In order to calculate net worth, review their assets and liabilities. Once their debts, minus their first mortgage, have been deducted from their total assets you get their net worth.
Even when people have good jobs and a big house, they may fall short of the SEC’s standards for what makes an accredited investor. This is why purchasing an accredited investor list can save you a lot of time. You won’t have to wonder or guess if someone meets the criteria. All you need to do is pick up the phone and start calling.
The accredited investor list can be broken down by several areas including demographics, geographic location, and even industry niche. For example, you can purchase oil and gas leads to raise money for a private placement in that industry. The more you narrow down your lead list; the better your chances of success are. This means you will spend less time on research and trying to make connections and more time actually pitching your deal.
You can purchase an accredited investor list from either www.salesleads.tv or www.accreditedinvestorleads.com. When speaking with a representative let them know if you are looking for leads in a certain geographic area or any other qualifiers you need.
Before you call, make sure that your private placement is ready to go. It should be prepared in compliance with Regulation D and include an executive summary, financial information, a business plan, market analysis, competitive analysis, information on leaders and a term sheet. Be sure also to include disclosures and risk factors. It is impossible for every deal to go exactly as planned and market conditions can change with the wind so leaving out risk factors is unwise. When making calls, your pitch should be a summarized version of what is in your private placement. Give enough information for them to want to learn more, but not too much to bore them or give an information overload. Keep track of everyone you speak with and who gets copies of your private placement. Follow up with your accredited investor list and start to raise capital.
Learn What Makes a Qualified Investor
Whether raising money for a private placement or building your portfolio of investment clients, working with a qualified investor will help to improve your success. By working with a premier group of investors, you will be able to accomplish more in less time. The key is understanding what makes a qualified investor and how to find them.
The definition of a qualified investor is determined by the type of investment vehicle they are investing in. For example, anyone can invest in the stock market where accredited investors can invest in private offerings. If you are targeting investors to expand your client portfolio, the key is to look at how much they have to invest and what their future earning potential looks like. As a general rule of thumb, most investment brokers prefer to work with people that have at least $50,000 available to invest.
The best qualified investor is one that is an accredited investor with cash to invest. An accredited investor is someone that makes $200,000 a year as an individual or $300,000 with their spouse. They are required to have made this amount in the previous two years and be likely to continue earning at that level. Investors can also qualify using their total net worth, which must be greater than $1 million, excluding their primary residence. These are excellent investors to work with because they are able to participate in private offerings by investing in private placement memorandums. Since they make a higher than average amount, they are likely to have capital they can invest on an annual basis. Once you have a pool of investors to work with, you will be able to present them with opportunities that are tailored to their investment appetite.
The SEC has another classification of investors, “sophisticated investors”. Qualified investors with this designation may participate in Regulation D Rule 506b offerings. This has been the most common type of private placement. In order to be considered sophisticated an investor must have outside knowledge of financial matters that make them qualified to evaluate investment opportunities and to make informed decisions about them. A good example would be a business banker, investment broker, CPA, attorney, or someone with a degree in finance. Their education and on the job experience gives them valuable information and resources without necessarily paying them the amount required to be considered accredited. This rule is slightly ambiguous so before working with sophisticated investors you should create a checklist or policy document that clarifies your internal standards. This way, when you say someone is a qualified investor because they are sophisticated, you can prove how you arrived at that conclusion.
When raising capital for a Reg D private offering make sure to work with qualified investors and to document what makes them qualified. For Regulation D Rule 504, 505, and 506b, investors can self-certify. This means that if you give them a document, they can check the applicable boxes, write in their income and net worth, and sign the form stating they are accredited. If you are raising money for a Reg D Rule 506c offering, you must have outside verification of their accreditation status. Keep track of how you arrived at your conclusions for compliance purposes.
To start raising money today purchase your own list of qualified investors from www.accreditedinvestorleads.com or www.salesleads.com.
Help to Reach More Investors
Now is an excellent time to raise capital using a Reg D private offering.
The SEC has created Regulation D Rule 506c which lifts the ban on general solicitation and enables companies to reach more investors. This creates an opportunity to reach an additional group of investors, yet they still need to be accredited. Private placement leads are accredited investors, the exact group of people that can participate in your private offering.
It can be challenging to locate private placement leads unless you purchase a leads list.
You can buy one from www.salesleads.tv or www.accreditedinvestorleadscom. These lists will include people that have made either $200,000 individually or $300,000 jointly with their spouse over the past two years and are likely to do so again in the current year. Those that don’t meet the income requirements may be included if their net worth, excluding their primary residence, is over $1 million. Companies armed with a private placement lead list can confidently reach out to investors without worrying about violating general solicitation rules.
Regulation D Rule 506c lifted the ban on general solicitation, but it may not be the best offering type for every company.
It enables advertising of an offering to the general public, so long as only accredited investors actually participate in the offering. Companies that have local, non-accredited investors that want to participate cannot use this offering type. For example, if your business banker, lawyer, or CPA want to participate but do not meet the income requirements, they can under Rule 506b. This enables companies to raise capital from people in their sphere of influence then target accredited investors for the remaining capital raise.
Taking Private Placement Leads into Consideration
When using Regulation D Rule 504 or Rule 505, it is also important to obtain private placement leads to call on. These rules do not allow for advertising or general solicitation so companies that call on non-accredited investors can be in violation and lose their exemption if they start calling or marketing to them. A scrubbed list is extremely important for avoiding these types of incidents.
Companies can also locate accredited investors by establishing a referral base with local professionals. People like lawyers, CPA’s, bankers, and investment reps are excellent sources of leads. They work with people that have a higher net worth on a daily basis and may be aware of who is looking to invest. The trick is that these relationships take time to build as you need to establish a level of trust. For example, a lawyer is not going to refer one of their clients to someone they just met. The relationship needs to be established first. If you plan on issuing a private offering in the future, start building the relationships now. If you are ready to launch, this is a long term strategy that likely won’t produce results within a short time frame.
You can also attend investment group meetings and ask to present your deal. These groups have local accredited investors in them, many of which actively invest. Make sure to follow up with everyone you meet to take the deal all the way through closing.
If you want to hit the ground running and raise capital quickly, the best way to do so is to purchase a list of private placement leads from www.salesleads.tv or www.accreditedinvestorleads.com.
How to Work Precious Metal Leads
In a booming industry, precious metal leads are a key way to attract investors. Creating an investor profile is an important step in the process. First, consider the type of investor you are trying to target and what you think they may be interested in. For example, many people that invest in hard assets like precious metals do so as a way to protect themselves against inflation or the dollar losing value. By understanding their key motivations, you will be better equipped to close the sale.
Solidify your investment opportunity by writing a memo executive summary and private placement memorandum, if necessary. Creating your investment documents and materials prior to calling will help you to stay organized and on point when speaking with prospective investors. It is also wise to write down some key talking points and statistics prior to calling your precious metal leads. These investors are likely to be already familiar with the industry, so it is important for you to deliver key information that is backed up by data and research. Be prepared to site your sources and explain where your data has come from in case they have read something that contradicts it. Becoming an expert in the industry is important when calling educated investors.
Precious metal leads are typically comprised of investors that have researched the industry enough to know that investing in precious metals and other hard assets can be a way to protect their financial future from market volatility. When speaking with them, you can reference this common understanding and use it as a discussion tool for establishing common ground. Many investors prefer to work with companies and brokers that they can connect with. Creating that personal relationship can help you to establish an opportunity to direct their investments in the long-term.
Plan out the steps you will take to close the sale. This should start with how you will get precious metal leads to what you will do once you contact them and the steps to close. Consider what information you will provide, when and how you will deliver it, and what questions investors may ask. You need to be able to answer them, overcome objections, and create enough interest that an investor wants to move to the next step. Create a combination of marketing and educational material that works for a variety of investors.
Once prepared, you can purchase precious metal leads from SalesLeads.tv. As a leads broker, we are able to secure targeted leads for you to contact. Instead, of calling a wide variety of people that may or may not be interested in the industry, we can provide a list of people that have expressed interested and would be best suited to your opportunity. The ability to narrow down your lead list will save you time and money while increasing your closing ratio. Our team of experts can help to identify exactly what you need, so call 1-800-590-5323 to get started.
Oil and Gas Sales Leads & A Booming Industry
The oil and gas industry has continued to grow in spite of the recession.
This is an excellent industry to be in, and investors are making money on a product whose demand is not waning. As an entrepreneur or company, participating in this industry can yield amazing results. If you want to get in on the action, find the right opportunity and create a private placement memorandum to raise capital. Once you do, oil and gas sales leads can point you towards investors that are interested in this specific industry type.
A private placement is an excellent way to raise capital. When you use Regulation D or Regulation A, you can be exempt from officially registering with the SEC, which decreases the amount of paperwork you have to file. It can also limit the amount of time it takes to draft the offering and start presenting your deal. If you want to avoid additional compliance issues caused by Blue Sky Laws, use Rule 506 of Regulation D to issue your offering.
If you elect to use Regulation D, you need to work with accredited investors.
These are investors that make enough money or have enough assets that the SEC deems them to be more knowledgeable and able to handle the risk associated with investing. Accredited investors are defined as people that have made over $200,000 a year for the past two years as an individual, or $300,000 a year for the past two years with their spouse. The investor can also use their net worth to qualify, as long as it is over $1 million without including their primary residence.
Working with Accredited Investors
When working with accredited investors, the challenge becomes locating them. It is impossible to know how much money someone makes without asking, and this is not normally accepted dinner conversation. Instead, it is much easier to purchase oil and gas sales leads that are comprised of accredited investors that have expressed interest in this type of offering or the industry as a whole. This is a very narrowly focused list and gives you the best opportunity for securing investors. Since you already know that they are accredited and that they like oil and gas, you only need to sell them on why your opportunity is a wise investment.
Before you call from your oil and gas sales leads list, make sure that you have your facts in order and a compelling reason for why they should invest with you. Keep in mind that these investors are probably well versed in the industry, have read up on current trends, and will ask you more difficult questions. This is a good thing because it means they have enough knowledge to know that they like the business. It can also catch you flat-footed if you don’t have your facts in order. Do your homework and write down key pieces of information before you pick up the phone.
To order your oil and gas sales leads, visit www.salesleads.tv today.
Financial Sales Leads to Grow Your Business
If you are in the financial services industry, financial sales leads can help you to close more deals and grow your business.
It is a competitive industry, and in order to stay on top you have to continue reaching more and more prospects then turning them into clients. This can take a lot of time and effort. Many people within the industry focus on networking and building a solid referral group. This has been proven to work, but it takes time, even years to fully develop.
The question is, what do you do in the meantime? You can’t wait for a referral network to flourish when you have bills to pay and goals to meet. Instead of sitting around and hoping that the phone will ring, go after customers and proactively grow your business with financial sales leads.
This type of lead can be designed to check all of the demographic boxes for your ideal customer. Before you can begin, you need to understand what that ideal customer looks like. How old are they? How much money do they make? Are they working or retired? Does gender, zip code, or income level impact their buying decisions? The more you know about your target customer, the better leads you will be able to buy. With a firm customer profile in place, www.salesleads.tv, can help you to locate the financial sales leads you need in order to reach more prospects. A quality lead will save you a lot of time by directing you to the people that are most likely to engage your services.
Start with a Cold Calling Plan
Start by creating a plan on how you want to reach these prospects. Cold calling takes persistence and dedication. You may need to call a single prospect five times before you get an answer. By creating a calling schedule, you can be sure to have time allocated to follow up on leads and to make the initial calls. It is important to know what you are going to say in advance of the call. While you don’t want to come across scripted, you do need to sound convincing, and writing down a few lines, or bullet points will help you to stay on track. Remember to tell people how meeting with you or working with you will improve their lives. These calls are not about you. They are about them and how you can help. Convince them of this, and they will take an appointment.
When creating your strategy, consider how you will track your phone calls and your hot leads. This includes note keeping so that when you follow up with someone you can easily recall where your conversation left off. They will remember and if you don’t, you will come across uncaring and robotic. There are many sales tracking software solutions that can be used without investing a lot of money. If you are unable to purchase one, use an excel spreadsheet. While more rudimentary, it will allow you to create as many fields as you need to identify and remember important information.
To start closing more deals, purchase your financial sales leads from SalesLeads.tv today.
How to Get a Quality Lead List
If you’re in sales, a quality lead list is the first step to closing more deals
If you’re working from an old or stale lead list, you could be wasting time by calling numbers that have been disconnected or asking for people that no longer live at that address or work there. You can increase your closing ratio before you ever pick up the phone by doing some research and narrowing down your leads first.
In Order to Secure a Quality Lead List, You Need to First Determine What Type of Leads You’re Looking For
Leads can be sorted in several ways. If you are calling on business prospects start by selecting the appropriate NAICS codes. These are the codes that are assigned to each industry type. For example, if you want to call on retailers you can find the main retail code then narrow it down by the sub-industry within that industry. That way you can call on clothing retailers instead of mom and pop convenience stores. This can all be done by selecting the appropriate code and a full list can be found online.
If You’re Calling Consumers, Your Lead List Can Be Broken Down By Demographic Data
Demographics refers to the characteristics of a person. For example, their gender, age, income level, educational level, and more. If you are working on a political campaign, you can have your list sorted by their party affiliation, as well. By determining the demographics of your ideal customer, you can increase your closing ratio.
You should also request a specific geographical area when obtaining your lead list. This is important for several factors. When you are calling on a set region you can tailor your sales pitch based on local community events and how people in that part of the country like to communicate. For example, when calling southern states you should employ good manners and be more friendly and casual in your tone. When calling on northern states you may want to get to the point faster and be more direct. You can refine this through experience but in general it is not wise to switch back and forth between regions. Instead, cover one region at a time or focus on one per day so that you can get into a groove.
At times, there may be ways to obtain a lead list that comes from people applying online, entering contest, or looking into specific products and services. This is the most expensive type of leads you can purchase as they indicate that a consumer may have an immediate need and be willing to make a purchase in the near future.
If you want to run an email campaign, in addition to your calling efforts, you can have a list broker get you a quality lead list with emails on it. This can help you to improve your closing ratio by giving you multiple ways to reach a specific prospect. To learn more or to order your own lead list, contact SaleLeads.tv at 800-590-5323.