Strategies are just as vital as the money you may secure.

In my experience, having a plan is key to securing funding. But the ability to effectively ask for money is also key.

The strategies you use to secure and use funding is critical. Many entrepreneurs I’ve worked with around the globe have shared that it has taken them anywhere from three — 15 requests before they receive any money.

That insight is vital in a way, because it presents an opportunity you may want to consider. The opportunity is just like asking for the sale:

When you ask for a sale, as you may know from my book — The Power of Seven — as well as the program about it — it is clear that it takes many touches to make one sale.

You might ask 10, 20, or 100 people and depending on the number you ask, the number of sales could change.

As an example: For every 100 people I asked for a sale in my early days selling perfumes, I got somewhere between 7–10 people to buy.

Sometimes those 7 or 10 were the first people I talked to, and sometimes they purchased over a period of a few days or weeks.

The same is true when asking for money. Just because you may ask 1, 2, 3 or 4 people, it doesn’t mean you’ll get a sale. You may have to come up with a strategy that allows you to think about asking multiples to get that funding.

Of course, there are rules and regulations around that, meaning it can be asking 6 people for the same money at the same time and securing all of it, because that could get you in trouble!

But asking one or two at a time, being clear with them that you are asking others could allow you to understand that it is just like a sale — it may take asking 3 or 4 people, maybe even 10, to get one loan you need or one line of credit.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What strategies are you pursuing while seeking funding?

2. What organizations are a “fit “for you?

3. What other tools have you used to secure funding?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.