Communication and Persuasion in Finance

My interest in Finance grew this past summer when my husband and I were in San Francisco doing internships.  I was working at a local, organic food start up and my husband was doing an investment banking internship.  Throughout the summer we shared our experiences, and I became fascinated with the cool projects that my husband was doing at his work.  I loved hearing about the life cycles of businesses, capital markets, the IPO process, and how companies are bought and sold. I have found most of my information from connecting with people I know who work in Finance, but I have also begun reading the Wall Street Journal as well as Bloomberg Businessweek.

Case Study: Pitching your firm's services to a company that is seeking an advisor for their purchase of another company.

Initially, there will be some communication between the management of the company and the director and vice presidents at the bank.  At this stage, the company lets the bank know that they are looking for a bank to advise them on this purchase.  This will most likely happen over the phone to avoid an electronic or paper trail of these conversations, so that the fact that the company is planning to buy another company remains confidential.

Next, the bank has the chance to prepare a pitch book, which is a written document compiled with graphics and charts about the bank's prior success and expertise.  It will include a plan for the company's purchase, financial information, and an explanation of potential target companies for purchase. The main purpose of this book is to provide the company with a summary of why the bank is going to be a great advisor, and recommendations for the company's purchase.  This is a very important opportunity for effective communication and PERSUASION!  The managers of the bank are trying to persuade the company to hire the bank for advisement!  The financial information cannot be altered, but the way that the bankers talk about the potential deal is very important.  They can exaggerate how positively they view the deal and their plans for success.

This whole process can happen very fast, so within the bank, between the higher level managing

directors and vice presidents and lower level associates and analysts, communication needs to happen very quickly, accurately, and succinctly.  Emails are short and to the point.  There is not a lot of time to chat or gossip in the office because everyone is very focused on their work as they communicate.  Within the bank, the communication is concise and respectful, so that everyone is able to keep working as effectively and efficiently as possible.