Don’t Wait for Your Next Fundraise: Strengthen Investor Loyalty Today!

Hi, everyone, and welcome to today's webinar. Don't wait for your next fundraise, strengthen investor loyalty today. We are so excited to speak with you all, and I am thrilled to announce our incredible panelists. I'm going to read their backgrounds because you don't wanna miss a thing. I promise. Amy Fisher is a commercial sales executive here at Grace Hill. She specializes in Kingsley surveys and has a track record of driving revenue growth through strategic sales and marketing. Amy's expertise spans commercial real estate, finance, and investments. She has a keen understanding of tenant retention strategies and is well versed in ESGR and GRES standards. We were literally just talking about that with a clear commitment to sustainability in the built environment. Amy's leadership skills and deep industry knowledge have enabled her to sustain long term client relationships and deliver exceptional results. Thank you so much for joining Amy. You were amazing, as I said, and all of those things. I'm thrilled to have you on. And I am also thrilled to have Becky Berriault on, who is our director of customer business services here at Grace Hill. Becky brings over two decades of operations management expertise. She excels in driving project success and building strong client relationships. She leads our interview team, motivating them to achieve project goals through data analysis and strategic decision making. Becky collaborates closely with the sales, customer success, and survey teams, ensuring seamless project execution. Before her current role, Becky led her customer success team to significant growth. She is dedicated to her customer successes and has a proven ability to resolve issues. All of these attributes make her a valuable leader here at Grace Hill. And again, I have to echo everything that I just read for you guys. Becky and Amy are amazing leaders here. You are in for a treat, as far as the gesture. We're blushing. Yes. Well, it's well deserved. Well deserved blushing. For those of you I haven't met yet, my name is Jen Tindall. I'm the VP of strategic insights here. Grace Hill is a PE backed software and solutions provider serving the multifamily and commercial industries. We have over nine products now in our performance management platform. You may know Grace Hill for our employee training on the multifamily side or for Kingsley surveys, which we're going to talk about today with our investor surveys. Or you may know us more recently for our acquisitions of Reelink and HelloData. My responsibilities here at Grace Hill include partnerships, strategy, and thought leadership, like moderating this webinar today. So with that, now that you know who we all are, I wanted to give you your top three takeaways from today before we even get started. And the first is of no surprise to any of you, I'm sure. Number one is that fundraising is tougher than ever. LPs are cautious and more selective than they have been in years. Which leads us to number two, you can't afford blind spots anymore. Knowing investor sentiment is essential. And number three, insights are your competitive edge. We're going to talk today about how you can turn investor feedback into loyalty and re upping those commitments. So if you wanna learn more about anything that we talk about today, just type no blind spots in the chat. Alright. Let's talk about everything we're going to cover. I'm so excited. Alright. This is our agenda. First, it will be market context, fundraising trends and challenges led by Amy. Why investor sentiment matters now, especially now. Then we will introduce investor surveys. We'll talk about recent insights from investors. Then we'll end with key takeaways and next steps. But at the very end we will save time for Q and A so if you have any questions please drop them in the chat or you can use Zoom's Q and A function I'll monitor them so we can make sure to ask Amy and Becky all of your burning questions And with that, I am going to pass the baton to Amy to tell us more about what's going on in the investor market. So, Amy, the floor is yours. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. So, like Jen said, this is gonna be a really exciting, webinar. I'm excited because we have so much good stuff to talk about today. And let's start with expanding upon fundraising trends and challenges. So being in the industry that we're in, all of us watch the news. I'm pretty sure of that. We all know interest rates are a little bit higher than normal, though the Fed did just give us a bit of relief. I think it was last week. We know politics are very unpredictable at the moment, and we know this leads to investors using the wait and see approach. They're a little bit more cautious than they have been in past years. Investors are waiting so long, in fact, that fundraising cycles have doubled. They've doubled from twelve months in twenty twenty to twenty four months today. You know, being in sales, there's nothing I dislike more than when I'm trying to close a sale and someone says, you know, check with me next quarter, or let's push this to twenty twenty six. So I completely understand all of your frustration. And did you know, which you probably did, twenty twenty four was the lowest fundraising year since twenty twelve. So, you know, a lot of negative news. We're we're all set. But then here comes twenty twenty five. We're hopeful things are gonna look up, and you know what? On paper, they absolutely did. The first half of twenty twenty five ended with a sixteen percent gain year over year. However, that was mostly due to two Blackstone deals. So we all know it's nice to be Blackstone, but, you know, what's the good news for us in that? Many private real estate funds are just struggling to return cash to investors, which leads to hesitations in providing capital. And if you're a movie buff like me, I think we could say fundraising is like the new hunger games. May the commitments be ever in your favor. So What does this mean for your relationship with your investors? High uncertainty, liquidity concerns, elevated redemptions are all causing them to second guess who they should trust with their capital. The first half of twenty twenty five, there was a market shift, and I don't think any of us really predicted this shift. Investors favored riskier growth oriented funds versus less risky core investments. And, actually, just this morning, I read that infrastructure fundraising has already started making gains this fall. So, again, leaving CRA core behind. The combination of liquidity concerns and elevated redemptions have also stalled growth. Seems like investors are being like a finicky cat. They don't want their usual food. Give me lasagna, they say. So that leads us to our next discussion. Which of these data points are concerning your investors? Do you know? What did they wish that your company would do differently to alleviate some of their worries? They won't tell you unless they're asked, and that's why surveys matter now. Studies consistently show that people are more truthful in conversation when discussing sentiment. So here's a great example. Your kid plays football. You're not happy with the coach, as many parents are. You probably keep it to yourself because you don't wanna make waves. But if you find yourself talking to another parent on the team, some of those frustration will probably come out in conversation. It's human nature. It's the same whether you're a parent, an employee, a team mess team member, or an investor. We all don't don't relay our our feelings very well unless someone, you know, directly asks us. So knowing that, will your investors commit to your next fund launch? What objections prevent them from investing? Do they even trust you? So that's where Becky is gonna take over next to elaborate on how Grace Hills KingsleySurveys can help you get them to talk. So, Becky, can you tell us a little bit about that? Absolutely. Thank you, Amy. Great tee up for me. So let's dive into investor surveys. What we do is give firms deeper visibility into investor sentiment, helping you translate insight into action. That's why we don't rely on web based surveys only. Although they're great, we can actually conduct interviews with investors. Because these are interviews and conversations, investors share much more. To put it in perspective, interview surveys generate a median of seven hundred and forty eight words per survey response or fourteen times more compared to web based surveys. That means you're not only hearing what your investors think, but also why they think it. We also benchmark your results through the Kingsley Index. That way, you're not only hearing what your investors think, you're also seeing how you compare against competitors. Yeah. And I think to what Amy was saying earlier, people just want to avoid conflict. Right? And if you have an impartial third party, if you have something a difficult Hundred percent. And here's what makes that approach different. We combine quantitative and qualitative data through unbiased interviews conducted by specialists. So as Jen said, that third party unbiased person. You can find out which investors are happy versus which ones would currently lean against investing in your next round. And because we customize surveys with open ended questions, you get richer insights into what's really working and where there are opportunities to improve. In short, it's about giving you clarity, not just data. And this isn't a one size fits all tool. It's built for people who need these insights the most. From heads of asset management, to investor relations leads, to owners and operators, Anyone who interacts with investors can benefit from a clearer line of sight into how they're really feeling. I think most real estate firms too, they are interacting across the spectrum with investors. I know, Becky, in your role, you would echo this from when you worked on the REIT side. Hundred percent. Yes. All of these people are are involved. So finally, let's take a look at what investors themselves are saying through these interviews. The feedback ranges from strong praise, like calling teams far ahead of any other manager. Don't you wish you were whoever that company is? To constructive notes about areas like turnover or risk return profiles. What's powerful is that these interviews give you context behind the feedback. You're not just hearing what investors think, but why they feel that way. That depth helps you build trust, act on feedback, and strengthen relationships in today's competitive environment. And that brings us to the bigger picture. How do these insights translate directly into stronger fundraising outcomes? That's the goal. So I'm gonna turn it back to Amy, and she's gonna unpack that. Yep. Thanks, Becky. I have a couple thoughts on that. So my first thought is a lot of customers come to me and say, well, I just send an NPS. So I'm I I would assume most of you know that's net promoter score. So that's kind of a general score across any industry, zero to ten. Would you recommend my business? And with the net promoter score, sure, that gives you an idea of, you you know, general sentiment. They kinda like you. But it doesn't really give you the depth of why they like you, why they don't like you. You have absolutely no direction to go with just a net promoter score just getting that from your from your investors. So that's one thing I mentioned. The other thing, you know, as I was listening to Becky talk about, you know, interviewing people, is I kind of reflect on myself when I get a survey. So, obviously, I self survey. So, you know, I might be a little more apt to, send a survey in because I kinda feel sorry for them. Yeah. I get it. I do that. But I you know, before I sent surveys, I would always participate anyways because I know it's valuable feedback for that, particular organization. So I would always check the boxes, like, you know, zero to five, you know, like, dislike, etcetera. But I didn't really take the time to write in any comments because I'm busy. You know? So I felt like, you know, I was doing good enough for them by just checking the boxes. So knowing me, obviously, I like to talk. Y'all can tell I like to talk. So if I was interviewed personally or when I am interviewed personally, I, like, give my whole life story. And I think a lot of people are probably like that because we appreciate when someone is interested in us, and we appreciate when, you know, our opinion is valuable to them. So I think these interviews really provide a much, much easier way, for you all to communicate with your investors, especially using a third party, you know, things that they probably won't tell you in person, but they will tell us. So okay. Let's go on to the next slide and actually get on to how our process helps increase fundraising. So one of the greatest challenges when conducting any type of survey is analyzing the results. You have volumes of feedback. You have operational data. You have market signals. You have trends. But where do you start with all of this? Kingsley's team does this all for you. We always have. So we cut through the noise by highlighting the drivers that matter the most. I feel the most important person in this process is your project manager. So all of our customers have their own dedicated project manager that completely understands your goals, your needs, you the outcomes that you want, and how you want that data presented to you in the end. They will ask you, how do you look at your data so that when we do provide these deliverables, it will be conducted to your preference. So not only do we provide a comprehensive results analysis deck, so, you know, it could be anywhere from ten to fifty pages depending on how large of, survey group you you interviewed. It'll we'll also lead your teams through the results. So our project managers have a Zoom meeting with you. Usually, you're gonna wanna invite your executive team, and we're going to explain exactly what every page of that results analysis deck means. We're gonna point out correlations, and we're gonna point out the KPIs. This example, what are your company's strengths and weaknesses? Your perception is probably very different than what your investor's perception is. We can see in this particular, sample, this client, this client's investors really favor the company culture. Great company. Love the culture. But the ESG and sustainability are drastically lagging. So if we take a look at the next slide sample, another important KPI, what drives your investment performance. So rather than simply saying what the data says, the KingsleySurveys experts will focus on what the data means and, more importantly, what to do about it. So we will leave you with action points. This is gonna allow your leadership to make confident data backed decisions about investments without drowning in spreadsheets, and I, for one, absolutely despise spreadsheets. So I would rather someone just tell me what it is and tell me what to do, and that's what we do. So Kingsley's investor insights program takes the guesswork out of how your feeling. And, you know, I know my husband would actually appreciate this. His KingsleySurveys could do that for him, but, you know, we could do that for spouses. So Mine would too. Yeah. So our current clients are getting much, much more effective results using the KingsleySurveys interview program versus the way they used to do it. Remember what Becky said? She said interviews are providing fourteen times richer data. They have she actually left off a half percent. They have seven hundred and forty eight point five median words compared to web based surveys, and your team will lead the results analysis present results analysis presentation with the clarity, the confidence, and the immediate direction they need. This is gonna improve retentions. It's gonna improve revenue. It's gonna improve your reputation, all which leads to greater fundraising opportunities. So let's just reiterate. Let's read this as is. Stop guessing what your investors want. Like I said, that's like my husband guessing what mood I'm in. Start the conversation that sets your firm apart with that. So one last wrap up on this before I turn it back to Becky. If you haven't heard of Tingsley surveys before, we've been helping commercial real estate organizations increase renewals, reduce turnover costs, and improve NOI for forty years now. Eighty percent of the largest global investment managers use our product in one way or the other. We also offer surveys that can help with certification programs, such as GRES, FitWell, Well, BOMA Best, LEAD. Knowing that we do have these other surveys, I'm gonna let Becky talk about that. Becky, can you tell us about some of the other options they have with Kingsley? Absolutely. So before we wrap up, it's important to remember that our approach doesn't stop with investors. Grace Hill survey tool, again, as Amy said, we've been around for forty years, is designed to give you a three hundred and sixty degree view, whether it's tenant surveys, resident surveys, client surveys, and as we've been talking about investor surveys or employee engagement surveys. The real result is the real value is making sure there are no blind spots, again, across any of your stakeholder experiences. When you understand how each group is thinking and feeling, you can take action with confidence and strengthen relationships across the board. Amazing. Thank you for that, Becky, and thank you, Amy. Alright. I am just going to hop in the chat and look for some questions. Alright. We have first one DM to me. How long should I set aside for an investor survey program? So, basically, how long does this take? Amy, you wanna answer that? Yeah. Yep. I always say don't rush it. So a lot of folks don't quite understand, why you should maybe set apart four months for this. Now it's not gonna be four work four months of continuous work for your company. So how the process works is, you know, first, obviously, you're gonna work with me, and we're gonna get you the ideal program. Then you're gonna work with your implementation manager and project manager. You're going to take a look at our standard questions first. So we have standard questions for the purpose of indexing. You don't have to use them all, but we recommend they that you use them because that's how you're gonna be able to know how you're comparing to your competition. So once you, you know, say, okay. I wanna use those standard surveys or change a few things there, then you're gonna work to customize surveys. So here's an example. I had a third party property management company that wanted to grow their market. So their question was, you know, if you are happy with our services now, would you consider using us as a third party property manager in your other markets? So that would be, like, an example of some some things that would be custom to your organization. And why this was custom is because it was a certain market that they dealt in, like like, let's say, Ohio, for example. So so you do that. Then our team takes it over and builds your survey, and then you have some options. So we're gonna do these interviews. You're gonna give us this pool of folks to to call, and to try to set interviews via via Zoom. If they're not responding, we're gonna come to you weekly. Say, hey. Okay. Here's what's going on. We haven't got a hold of them, blah blah blah. If we need your help because they're really not responding when it gets into the interview program, which is open about five weeks, then, we're gonna ask you to make a call. We're gonna say, you know, can you help? Can can you get a hold of this person? And if at the end of five weeks, they absolutely just just won't respond, we have the option to send them a web interview. So that's something that you that is all decided and set up. Do you wanna do that web interview? Do you not wanna do it? How how often do you want us to communicate with you? Very customized program. So that first setup is probably about two weeks. Then you've got about five weeks in the field, and then it might take our team, two to four weeks to compile the results depending on on what, you know, how big of a portfolio you were having surveyed. So to to make this all make sense of this all since I've kinda been wandering, four months is what I've been satisfied for you. Got it. Thank you, Amy. Well, I think this next question, Amy, you may have already answered, but let me just ask it and and we could clarify for this person. So can I do a combination of interview insights, sounds like the interviews, and the online surveys? Becky, why don't you elaborate on this one? I think Amy already covered it, but since you Yep. Yes. So the answer to that is yes. You can do a combination of interviews with a particular pool of customers and send a a web survey with the same questions to a different pool. So that might be determined on their investment value with you, where you want to give more priority of of getting, interview insights and more feedback from those that invest with you more. And maybe, you know, just a web survey is fine for those that invest with you less. So we can definitely do a combination. That is not a problem. Perfect. Thank you for that, Becky. Alright. We just have one more question. So unless you guys have anything else, feel free to drop it in the chat. I'm monitoring it. But last question is who is the one actually asking the questions? So who's who's doing these interviews? Amy, why don't you take that one? Okay. So we don't just have everyday Joe off the street doing this. You know? It's not, who's that that ran for president one time, comments out Joe or something like that. But, anyway, these people all have specific real estate backgrounds. So they can speak the language. They understand, you know, the current states of real estate investments, and we give them guidance. So, honestly, Becky is probably better to kinda add to that. Becky, can you give, like, a little bit more on your guidance and and how you train them? Yes. So Amy is correct. These are all professionals with with some degree of real estate background and and knowledge, and and we do, set them up with proper training for your project. They understand your company. They understand your goals. They understand, you know, what they need to accomplish in these interviews. And so we we set them up for success right from the beginning. So it's not just here, talk to this person. They definitely they definitely know, how to approach it and and come into it with a lot of knowledge. Amazing. Thank you both so much. Alright. I don't think we have any other questions. So we're just going to close with those same three takeaways to make sure that you guys all have this as you're headed out today. First, fundraising is tougher than ever. Again, we all know this, but that means, number two, you cannot afford blind spots. No blind spots. Remember the hashtag, that we have in here. And then number three, insights are your competitive advantage. So those are the top three takeaways that we'll leave you with today. Thank you all so much for joining our webinar. We had a fantastic time hosting you. Have a great rest of your week. Bye.