VC firms are shortening sales cycles for their portfolio companies by surfacing opportunities to make warm intros at scale.
June 23, 2022
It’s Tuesday, and you get an email from one of your portfolio companies. They’re trying to break into a named account that could lead to a dramatic boost in ARR. You’re a well connected investor with an invaluable network. Surely you can help.
The named account is already using their competitor’s product but for limited use cases. All your portfolio company needs is an introduction to the right stakeholder, and then they’ll take care of the rest.
Multiply this ask by the number of portfolio companies you have and the number of prospects they’re targeting, and you are quite busy making intros, my friend.
If you’re constantly referencing your modern-day rolodex (think: spreadsheets, your CRM, your most recent text messages, or your brain), you’re missing out on opportunities to help your portfolio companies grow faster at scale. Plus, despite investing in tech that changes the way people work, many VC firms use old-school processes that can slow down their day-to-day efforts.
That’s why VC firms use Crossbeam to pinpoint exactly when they can help each of their portfolio companies get an intro to a new customer and accelerate their deals. Using Crossbeam, you could make introductions for all of your portfolio companies at scale — and increase your value add to your portfolio companies and generate better returns for your fund. In fact, VC firms with a high amount of portfolio companies on Crossbeam include the top nine VC firms with the highest investment to exit ratios.
(Check how other portfolio companies are using Crossbeam and which investors have the most portfolio companies on Crossbeam already.)
Below, we’ll share how VC firms are boosting growth rates for their portfolio companies.
#1: Make introductions for all of your portfolio companies at scale
Many of your portfolio companies are already using Crossbeam to map accounts with their partners. You can sign up for Crossbeam to compare your network and relationships to your portfolio companies’ sales pipelines. The resulting overlaps will reveal which accounts you can provide intros into for your portfolio companies.
Think about it: instead of reacting to intro requests. You can proactively find ways to add value.
To get started, reach out to us. Many of your portfolio companies are already using Crossbeam. Once we create a profile for you on Crossbeam, you can start connecting with your portfolio companies. Then, you can use your network and connections to map with your portfolio companies’ prospects and open opportunities.
Your portfolio support team can determine which contacts have the most influence for each of your portfolio companies’ sales pipelines and can facilitate an introduction. Using Crossbeam, you can dramatically increase the number of deals you influence for your entire portfolio. More ecosystem qualified leads (EQLs) and ARR for your portfolio companies, higher valuations, and better exits for your fund.
Using a partner ecosystem platform (PEP) like Crossbeam will help you keep up with the fast growth of your portfolio companies. As your portfolio companies’ pipelines continue to grow, you’ll save hours each day knowing exactly where to focus your efforts. And as your portfolio grows, your network will continue to grow, too.
#2: Identify partnership opportunities among your portfolio companies for co-selling
Crossbeam can also provide visibility into which of your portfolio companies can help your other portfolio companies grow. For example: Perhaps a customer uses your portfolio company Hextall & Co.’s project management software. Your other portfolio company Imaaga is looking for an introduction to Hextall & Co.’s customer, but they don’t have a relationship with Hextall & Co. or the customer.
By mapping your network with Imaaga’s prospects and Hextall & Co.’s customers, you’ll learn that Hextall & Co. could influence the deal for Imaaga. You could make a warm intro between Imaaga and the customer if you have a relationship with them, or you could introduce your portfolio companies to each other to initiate a co-selling motion.
Additionally, Hextall & Co. could help Imaaga cross-sell or expand their accounts if they have influence in particular regions or internal departments (like if the customer’s sales team uses Hextall & Co.’s software, and Imaaga typically targets marketing teams but wants to expand to sales teams).
If Hextall & Co. and Imaaga have a high amount of overlapping customers and prospects, they should consider developing an integration or selling their joint solution to more of their mutual prospects and respective customers. Crossbeam can help you understand which of your portfolio companies should team up to expand their reach in their respective markets and generate partner-sourced and partner-influenced revenue. Catching these opportunities for your portfolio companies early on would have a significant impact on their growth rates.
It’s a rare win-win-win.
Deal origination: Use data to show how you can help your companies post investment
It’s not just about your proven track record. It’s also about real data that shows the impact you could have for potential portfolio companies. Map your network with your potential portfolio company’s prospects, and show them the breadth of introductions you could make for them if they sign your term sheet. Map your portfolio companies with their prospects, and leverage the resulting overlaps to produce:
- Shorter deal cycles (Your introduction to the stakeholders with the most buying power can happen faster than their sales reps can make contact via cold emails)
- Ecosystem growth (More tech and channel partners to accelerate sales and prevent churn).
Have this data on hand at your next partners’ meeting. Win competitive deals, help your portfolio companies, and better leverage your existing network.
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Start mapping your network with your portfolio companies on Crossbeam. Register for Crossbeam here.
