What are some customer-focused strategies for building a deal sourcing process?

Here are some additional points I could contribute to the article; Build genuine relationships with entrepreneurs through mentorship and advice. Don't just view them as potential deals. Provide value by sharing your expertise even before any investment conversation occurs. Be transparent about your firm's investment criteria, processes and expectations. Ensure founders clearly understand what you look for in an investment opportunity. Make the investment process smooth and founder-friendly. Minimize extra work for entrepreneurs by having clear communication, efficient diligence, and responsive internal processes. Promote portfolio companies and entrepreneurs. Amplify their successes through your network.

Building a customer-focused deal sourcing process involves several key strategies. Firstly, establish strong relationships with existing customers, understanding their pain points and needs. Leverage customer feedback and testimonials to attract potential deals. Secondly, create a referral program that incentivizes satisfied customers to refer potential deals or startups. Thirdly, utilize online communities and forums where customers discuss their challenges and aspirations, providing insights into potential investment opportunities. Additionally, actively participate in industry events and conferences, where networking with customers can lead to deal referrals.

In building a customer-focused deal sourcing process, prioritize understanding your target market’s needs and preferences. Engage directly with potential customers through surveys, focus groups, or interviews to gather insights. Leverage social media and online platforms to monitor trends and customer feedback. Collaborate with industry partners who have direct customer contact for referrals and insights. Also, attend industry events and conferences to stay informed about emerging customer needs. Tailoring your deal sourcing strategy to customer-driven data ensures you target investments that truly meet market demands, enhancing the potential for success.

Utilize tools to export, curate, and manage your LinkedIn network alongside team members, ensuring a dynamic and relevant contact base. Apply social network analysis to identify high-value relationship entry points, leveraging these for strategic introductions and referrals. Maintain 'always on' engagement to stay top of mind within your network. Additionally, employ 'surprise and delight' tactics to build meaningful relationships with community leaders and influencers, enhancing your visibility and reputation in the startup ecosystem. Use personal inquiry and social media monitoring to seek and share 'behind the scenes' success stories in your network that are not getting properly spotlighted.

Think of sharing your content as starting good conversations. It's not just about telling people you're good at something, but it's about sharing stories and ideas that matter to them. You could write helpful articles, make interesting podcasts, send easy-to-read emails, host fun online talks, share success stories, or give tips and guides. This helps you teach and excite people about what you can do for them. When you share these things, it's like showing you're a friend who understands and can help with their needs and dreams. Plus, as you keep sharing, people start seeing you as the go-to person for good advice. This makes you stand out and people come to you naturally, wanting your help

Think of gathering clues to solve the mystery of what works best. Keep an eye on important signs, like how many deals you're making, how good they are, and whether they're really paying off. Also, really listen to what your customers, friends, and team say about what you're doing. This work helps you figure out what you're really good at and what needs a bit of fixing. Plus, you can try out new things based on what the clues are telling you. Maybe it's changing how you talk to people or tweaking your plans. And don't forget to keep adjusting the picture of your ideal customer and how you connect with your network. It's all about learning, growing, and getting better at what you do by paying attention to the clues around you.

Leveraging no-code tools (like ClickUp) is tremendously helpful in sharing business intelligence and enforcing best-practice in your team. Scale relies on standardization, which can later be automated.