Developing a Systematic Approach to Dealing with Investor Inquiries

1. Developing a Systematic Approach to Dealing with Investor Inquiries Kathy KhuuSydney, AustraliaOctober 2010

2. What Do Top 25 Performers Have in Common? • 1. Inquiries are taken very seriously • 79% have key account management: a single person to handle each lead • 86% screen and prioritize inquiries according to potential value of investment and sector priority • 2. Internal systems are robust and processes are clear • 92% use Client Tracking Systems • 92% have written staff guidelines on how to respond to inquiries • 57% establish fixed time parameters for responding to inquiries • 86% have periodic staff meetings to update the pipeline • 3. The right staff at the right pay • 76% of staff has private sector experience • 71% of successful IPIs pays staff at over public sector levels • 76% staff stays a maximum of 5 years on the job

3. Investor Inquiry Handling

4. Components of Inquiry System: 5 Steps Reception Screening Processing Response Follow up

5. 1. Reception: Making Sure Inquiries Get To Us Inquiry reception must be handled under the principles of Availability and Contactability • Ensures that 1st impression of your IPI is positive, professional, and capable • Covers all possible channels for reception • Accounts for all likely situations, including: • Unanswered calls • Different languages • Staff absence • Ensures time limits for acknowledgement of inquiry receipts and promised response times • Display clearly IPI contacts • Display contacts from the investors’ need perspective: by topic or sector Web site • Ensure telephone works at all times! • Staff should have own phone line • Voice Mail for prompt call-back Telephone • Working emails with adequate spam filters • Individual emails for each promoter • Automatic replies. Email

6. 2. Screening and Setting Up Priorities • Inquiry screening should be done promptly, fairly and following established qualification criteria • Determines priority level of inquiries and ensures that high-priority inquiries get special attention • Updates investor-tracking system • Takes steps to ensure that IPI fully understands information requested, by carefully analyzing request and getting clarification from investor • Sector • Value • Number of jobs • Type of investor • Source • Although all inquiries should be attended to, those inquiries that match the IPIs strategic areas (ex. priority sectors, high employment projects) should be given special attention and handling

7. 3. Processing: Allocating Resources Based on Type of Inquiry Inquiry processing, with timely responsiveness and staff guidelines of response • Applies in-house resources to generate response: • Information on file • Standard format, branding, promotional language • Allows for research to fill information gaps • Provides for coordination with public or private partners in the sharing of leads and responses • Includes quality check of response, using • Managerial review, and/or • Response checklist 7

8. 4. Response: Ensuring Quality Drafting: Consistent, Accurate and Making a Business Case Quality Control Client Tracking System KM • Delivers relevant, timely, and complete response to the right person, through their preferred channel • Updates investor-tracking system

9. 5. Follow-Up: Converting Inquiries into Leads By providing ongoing customer care to the interested investor, according to their timeline and process Follow up and Build the Relationship with the Company • Confirms receipt of inquiry response • After some days, checks with recipient to check: • All information was clear and complete • If any other information can be provided • To gauge level of interest in IPI’s location • As possible, what other locations are being considered • Whether the investor would be interested in a meeting or site visit • Follows up periodically until investor has chosen a location or cancelled the project • Updates investor-tracking system

10. Last but not Least - Monitoring & Evaluation: What Gets Measured Gets done • Track the whole investment generation process: Responding to inquiries is the entry point of the lead pipeline, the IPI as a whole should measure its effectiveness in generating investment from this point on until establishment. • Performance Targets for Staff: converting X inquiries into Y actual leads (site visit) Objective: follow up to develop relationship with investor with a view to influencing the investment decision • Management Oversight is important to ensure quality control • Survey client satisfaction some weeks after inquiry reply submitted

11. What will set your IPI apart from other IPIs? Timeliness Quality Professionalism Follow-Up Monitoring and Evaluation Improvement ! Questions ?