As a financier, I get inundated with e-mails from writers, directors, and producers that I don't know who are looking for investment and asking me to read their script or review their project. This is the same for most investors.
These are known as "cold queries", and while there is nothing wrong with trying this in principle, it rarely leads to the positive response that most filmmakers are hoping for.
Cold Queries
When approaching potential investors and financiers for their next film or TV project, many filmmakers and producers will shoot off a cold query e-mail full of hope and expectation, and then sit back and wait for a response.
Unfortunately, in many cases, no response will be forthcoming. This is incredibly frustrating for filmmakers, but remember this: there are far more projects than there are investors, and those investors are inundated with queries every day. They simply won’t have time to go through them all or study most of them in any great detail.
While I can’t speak for every investor, nor every situation or circumstance, one thing holds true across pretty much every business: wherever possible, do your very best to get a “warm intro”.
The film industry is no different. Getting a warm intro to an investor (or producer, fund, or any other filmmaker) can make all the difference between whether your project gets taken seriously or not, so it is worth putting some time and effort into this endeavor.
What Is A Warm Intro?
A warm intro refers to some kind of personal introduction where you are connected to the investor by a mutual acquaintance that you have in common.
This almost always works better than simply sending an investor a cold query, even if you quote someone else’s name as a reference.
This may sound obvious to some people, but you’d be surprised how many filmmakers don’t think about this or, more likely, don’t work hard enough to find that warm intro if it is not immediately apparent to them.
Needing a warm intro is not a reflection on the strength or weakness of your script or package in general. Even if you feel extremely confident in your project, a warm intro is still well worth fighting for.
It’s a simple reality that most investors won’t make the time to read your script or review your project unless they have some kind of recommendation or validation from a trusted source.
Indeed, many investors, production companies, or production funds will actually refuse to review or consider unsolicited submissions for legal reasons.
A personal introduction to an investor will always get you further in this (and pretty much every other) business. Work hard to determine whether you can get one before you shoot off that cold e-mail. It will increase your chances of getting noticed immeasurably.
Establishing Trust
Having a personal connection to someone also helps you to establish trust with the investor.
If you can find a mutual acquaintance who can vouch for you, and if the investor trusts that mutual acquaintance as well, this speaks volumes for you and your reputation.
This immediately puts you ahead of all the other filmmakers who are likely competing for the investor’s attention. As capable and impressive as those other filmmakers may be, the investor simply doesn’t have a personal connection to them, and therefore has to start from zero when building a relationship.
By having a trustworthy mutual acquaintance connecting you, there is an immediate validation that signals to the investor that they should take you seriously.
Additional Advantages
This can work both ways.
An additional advantage of a warm intro is that you can also get a sense of whether an investor is reliable and easy to work with.
Hearing someone else’s personal experience of working with an investor can be invaluable. However enticing their financing might seem, if an investor is going to be a nightmare to work with, or is likely to screw you over or take advantage of you, it is great to get that warning beforehand from a trustworthy source.
Unfortunately, this does sometimes happen, so this information could help you avoid a nasty experience later on.
When A Cold Query Is Necessary...
If I'm making this sound easy, it's not. We all know that. And sometimes, once you've exhausted all available options, you will have to send that cold e-mail.
If that's the case, then make sure you give it all you’ve got, and figure out some way to stand out from your competitors. This can work! You've got nothing to lose by going for it.
Just be aware that, as mentioned earlier, many places don’t like to accept unsolicited submissions. Check their website (if they have one). If they explicitly say that they will not accept unsolicited scripts or projects, then you probably shouldn’t send them one.
Even if they do accept these, you will probably need to have an eye-catching package in place rather than just a script if it’s going to get their attention. Everyone is looking for money, so these investors will likely receive many projects similar to yours. Do whatever you can to grab their attention.
Cold queries do work occasionally if you handle them in the right way. Just know that you will increase your chances greatly if you can find that all-important warm intro, so work hard to create one wherever possible.
Not sure how to go about getting a warm intro? In our next post, we'll take a closer look at where to start...
This post has been adapted from our book HOW THE HELL… Do I Get My Film Financed: Book Three: Equity Financing by Ricky Margolis. To learn more about Equity Financing, and how to raise, invest, spend and return it, check out this book and other books in this series on film and TV financing and production by clicking here.
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