Supporting management to tell and defend the equity story
Investors evaluate people as much as numbers
In every transaction, there is a moment when investors stop interrogating spreadsheets and begin evaluating the people who run the business. They want to understand whether management can articulate not only what the company does, but why it is valuable and where that value will grow. This is why the ability to tell and defend the equity story becomes critical. Advisors can shape narrative structure. Only management can give it life. Only management can provide the depth, nuance and conviction that help investors see the business as more than a set of financials. In our experience, this is often the moment where bidders begin forming their real view of the business.
Confidence rooted in competence is a valuation lever
Confident management teams who understand their domain, their economics and their competitive environment create comfort for bidders. It is not about theatrics. It is about competence expressed clearly and calmly under pressure. When leadership can speak with authority about the engine of the business, investors feel it. They sense that the people in front of them genuinely run the organisation, understand its levers, respect its risks and believe in its trajectory. That feeling of credibility is not a soft impression. It is a pricing factor. In our experience, buyers consistently differentiate between management teams who “know the slides” and those who know the business.
Critical inflection points demand narrative fluency
Critical inflection points require management to show their full command of the equity story. Whether the business is raising capital, preparing for internationalisation, navigating a strategic shift or entering a sale process, investors want to see leadership who can think and speak with clarity. They want to witness chemistry within the team, not choreography. They want explanations that only insiders can give. They want to see that the path forward is understood in a way the IM or VDD can never fully capture. The equity story provides the logic. Management provides the belief.
How management should be prepared to own the equity story
Management must be authors, not recipients
Preparing management begins with a simple principle: the equity story must be something they co-author, not something handed to them. Narratives created solely by external advisors, without management’s fingerprints, rarely land with conviction. In our experience, the most compelling stories emerge when management actively shapes the logic, challenges the assumptions and contributes to the tone and direction. This co-ownership translates into fluency. Fluency becomes confidence. Confidence becomes value.
Support management in the format that serves them best
Every executive communicates differently. Some feel strongest with detailed slides that outline every assumption. Others perform better with sparse visual cues that give them room to speak naturally. Some teams project far more credibility presenting in the headquarters or operation sites, surrounded by the machinery and people that give substance to their story. These decisions are not cosmetic. They directly influence how confidently a team communicates in the room. Management should be asked what environment and format make them feel most in command.
Rehearsal creates rhythm, not rehearsed soundbites
Multiple dry runs allow management to refine pacing, transitions and the natural flow of the narrative. These sessions are about fluency, not memorisation. They help strip away jargon, clarify language and ensure the story feels consistent no matter who is speaking. Presentation coaching can sharpen delivery, but the aim is never to over-polish. Investors respond to authenticity and coherence, not performance.
Mock Q&A prepares teams for bidder crossfire
Mock bidder Q&A is where management learns to hold the equity story under pressure. It is where tough questions surface, inconsistencies are resolved and executives learn to respond with clarity and composure. Real bidder sessions are faster and more intense than most expect. In our experience, teams who have practiced under realistic pressure enter the room with far more authority and control. They know how to defend the logic without becoming defensive, and how to handle uncertainty without losing confidence.
Only management can provide the depth that buyers value
The purpose of a management presentation is not to repeat the IM or restate the VDD. It is to deliver the perspectives only management can. Investors want to understand how the leadership team thinks. They want to see ownership over the numbers, coherence in the narrative and chemistry within the group. They want insight into the judgements and instincts that spreadsheets cannot capture. They are assessing whether the people leading the business can take it into its next chapter.
A strong equity story may define the logic of the investment case. A strong management team makes that logic believable. Together, they form the foundation of conviction. And conviction is what turns interest into bids and bids into value.