How to maximize Request response rates from your Portfolio Companies

Getting the most out of Requests

Requests are an easy and streamlined way to collect information from your portfolio companies. Below we walk you through best practices to ensure a high response rate.

1. Ensure the name is specific to the Request and not too generic. Avoid naming the Request something like "Data Request". Instead, try naming it something like "[Name of fund] Quarterly KPI Request". Given that this Request will be used multiple times, we also suggest not including a specific time period -- e.g. Q3 -- in the name so that it can be reused without making additional edits. While it may seem small, we have seen that a clear and concise Request name goes a long way in getting a company's attention.  
2. Don't ask for too many metrics. We have data that shows 5-15 metrics is the sweet spot for the number of metrics to include in a Request. Asking for too many metrics may overwhelm a company, while asking for too little may not be comprehensive enough for your data collection purposes.
   1. Resource: How to create a portfolio metric
3. Make sure your Request email reminder notifcations are set. We've designed the platform to make it easy to notify your companies when they have a Request due. We recommend at least two notifications go out before and after the Request is due. Note: alerts stop going out as soon as a company completes the Request.
   1. Resource: How to build a Request (skip to the Schedule section)
4. Personalize your Request email reminder notifications. After you've set-up the appropriate reminder notification cadence, we suggest adding a more personalized message to the email body. We provide you with a default message that accompanies the request reminder email, but adding a customized email body adds a personal touch that stands out to companies.
   1. Resource: How to build a Request (skip to the Schedule section)
5. Organize the content blocks to make the Request clear to your portfolio companies. When creating metrics in the metric library, we allow you to create a category name for the metric. Once this is set-up, you can pull in metrics to a Request using the same category name. Appropriately grouping the metrics in this way and organizing them in a logical manner will make the Request easier to understand for portfolio companies.
   1. Resources: How to reorder Request blocks and How to create a portfolio metric
6. Ensure metric descriptions are clear and concise. When setting-up your metric, we allow you to add a description. These descriptions will be brought into the Request by default, but we also allow you to create a custom description in the Request editor. As an example, when asking for a metric like Cash Burn -- clarify in the description (either in the metric library or on the Request) if this is an average over the quarter, for the last month of the quarter, and whether you would like it reported as a positive or a negative value. 
   1. Resource: How to build a Request (skip to the Content section)
7. Add points of contact other than the founder to receive the Request. We understand that no company is the same and that many are likely to be at different maturity levels; however, where possible, we suggest adding other team members -- e.g. a member of the finance or accounting team -- as a recipient of the Request. This decreases the likelihood the Request slips through the cracks.
   1. Resource: How to send a Request to multiple contacts
8. Make the Request due date be on a Monday. Our Investors have sent thousands of Requests using Visible, and through our data we have seen that Mondays receive the highest response rate.
9. Set-up a custom sending domain. By default, Requests will come from a Visible email address. We've designed this email to be streamlined and visually appealing, but we understand that sometimes people don't pay as close attention to emails from one-off senders. To make the email more personal, we enable you to create a custom sending domain so that the email comes from your Fund's email address.
   1. Resource: How to create a custom sending domain
      
      

Please let us know if you have additional questions!