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When an allocator says "We only work with established managers," it can feel like a door closing in your face.

And the natural instinct is to pry it back open by explaining yourself, defending your track record, and making a case for your fund.

Stacy Havener's advice: don't go there.

Because handling objections to close deals is a thing. It's just not the right thing in this moment.

That’s why, in this episode, Stacy’s breaking down what to do instead when you keep hitting the same wall in meetings.

Listen in to learn:

Why "too small" or "too new" is usually a timing mismatch, not a hard no
The three words that change the whole vibe: "Tell me more."
The questions that uncover real requirements around AUM, allocation size, and track record
How to capture their language so your follow-up actually lands when the timing is right

This is Story Snacks, a bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in under 20 minutes a week.

TRANSCRIPT

Below is an AI-generated transcript and therefore it may contain errors.

[00:00:00] Stacy Havener: Craving more knowledge, but don't always have time to sit down for a five-course meal? Take a quick snack break with Story Snacks, bite-sized content to feed your funnel. Each short episode features Stacey digging into one question. This series has her talking stories, sales, and so much more. Oh, yeah. It's time for Story Snacks

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[00:01:57] I'm answering some [00:02:00] pre-submitted questions today for Story Snacks. I'm gonna read you the question and share my thoughts. Okay, here we go. This is like the mailbag. Remember that? Like on the radio? Am I dating myself? Okay, moving on. "I keep hearing the same three objections. 'You're too small,' 'Your track record is too short,' and 'We only work with established managers.'

[00:02:22] I never know how to respond without sounding defensive. What works?" Okay, this is a great, very real question. Let's talk about it. So I'm going to answer the question, but before I answer the question, I'm gonna tell you something that might sting, and it's okay, and I'm saying it with peace and love, which is this person or firm that is saying this to you is not right for you right now.

[00:02:56] So the fact that these three objections are coming your [00:03:00] way, what it really should tell you is not that something's wrong with you or that it's even an objection. It's just that this is not the right fit between where you are in your evolution as a, as an investment shop and where this allocator is and the types of managers that they partner with, and this goes back to the Rogers adoption curve.

[00:03:22] And also, this is something that happens to a lot of fund managers. When we set up our shop and we don't have the track record, we don't have the assets or whatever, but we have a great story, our inclination is to do some math. Our inclination is to do some math and say, "Well, if I go to the really big allocators, even like previous clients of mine, and they just give me a little bit Their little bit is super meaningful to me, and so that's gonna be my target market.

[00:03:57] But there's a problem with it. It's right, the [00:04:00] math maths. The problem is that that allocator is not in a place to allocate to you. They were when you were large, they're not when you're now at your new co as a startup or emerging manager. Which means we just have to sort of instead of pointing our energy at the back half of the Rogers adoption curve, we need to reorient it towards the front.

[00:04:27] And the front of that curve is innovators, that's like family, friends, colleagues, you know, sort of like your, your people, your founders network, plus firms that actually like to be first. Early adopters, typically family offices, RIAs, independent shops that can make independent decisions that don't necessarily have to, you know, justify them to a board or, you know, something more complex and layered.

[00:04:57] So that's point number one is [00:05:00] I want you to not take that as an objection and more approach it that this is not necessarily the right fit for where you are now. So not the right fit right now. So with that preamble, now let's talk about what you can say if you hear these objections, which is to ask questions.

[00:05:22] Tell me more Favorite three words here at Haven or Capital, tell me more. Because what I want you to walk away with is not a rebuttal, it is information that can guide your actions in the future. So if you say, "Tell me more," and remember the objections were you're too small, "Tell me more about that. Like, what's an asset size that you feel more comfortable with?

[00:05:46] Or, you know, w- what are you thinking about there?" And they may say something like, "Well, because our typical allocation is, uh, I don't know, $20 million, like we would need you to be 200 million to [00:06:00] feel comfortable coming in at that level." And you could ask more questions. Um, do you ever, you know, come in at, let's say, 100 million with 10 million and then grow with us up to 200 million?

[00:06:12] And they may say yes or no. So that's the you're too small. And you basically repeat that pattern of question and answer for each of these ob- objectives. So same thing, your track record is too short. Tell me more. Do you have requirements around track record? Like maybe it's in their, um, investment policy statement that they can't allocate to somebody unless their track record is over a certain amount of time.

[00:06:36] Tell me more. So questions, is there ever a time when you are, you know, sort of break your own rules, so to speak, and what does that look like? And the last one of we only work with established managers, I mean, that's just like straight up honesty. If you get that out of an allocator, that's actually great intel.

[00:06:55] It's not an objection, it's a fact. The allocator's facting here, [00:07:00] and they're telling you like, "We don't take this type of an allocation with an emerging manager." And again, tell me more. What does established manager mean? Just so I can know, and so I can keep you posted when I hit all these, you know, milestones and threshold, 'cause I will, and then I'll call you.

[00:07:19] Right? So you're kind of like getting feedback from them that you can then use to come back into the conversation when it is potentially more right for the allocator. And I'm really serious when I say that when you come back into the conversation, I want you to give them their words back. This is one of-- Again, this is behavioral.

[00:07:43] You know that's one of our pillars here at Havener. Sometimes when we receive information, such as these comments or the further comments after tell me more, we want to then process those and say them differently. And the real [00:08:00] magic from a human behavior perspective is to give them their words back exactly how they gave them to you.

[00:08:06] And you can do this without being a jerk about it. It is like you say something like, "Hey, you know, remember when we had that coffee? You shared XYZ." You give them their words right back, and you say, "I'm there. I've hit it. Would it make sense to grab another cup of coffee?" So that language and actual diction is super important here from a behavioral perspective because it's kind of like you told me this, and I've done it, and I'm back, and what say you now?

[00:08:35] So I hope that's helpful. Let's be real. No one wakes up and says, "I can't wait to build some operational infrastructure today." You're here to manage money, to build something that lights you up, not chase down reports across five systems and 15 service providers. That's where Ultimus Fund Solutions comes in.

[00:08:56] They're your ops dream team, consolidating all your middle and [00:09:00] back-office chaos into one clean, scalable setup. Registered funds, private funds, SMAs, all integrated. One team, one tech platform, one rock-solid source of data. But here's the real differentiator: service. I know that fund in a box sounds convenient.

[00:09:22] It's also a box. Know what you can't put in a box? A human who picks up the phone when you call and need help. Real-life people who know your name and your fund, and they care about getting it right. Ultimus was built on people doing business with people. You get institutional strength combined with boutique-level service without getting stuck in a phone tree of doom.

[00:09:47] If you're ready to simplify, scale, and start working with a team that feels like an extension of yours, check out billiondollarbackstory.com/ultimus. That's [00:10:00] U-L-T-I-M-U-S. You've got the investment strategy, the vision, the track record. Now it's time to upgrade the engine behind it all with Ultimus This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.

[00:10:19] The information is not an offer, solicitation, or recommendation of any of the funds, services, or products, or to adopt any investment strategy. Investment values may fluctuate, and past performance is not a guide to future performance. All opinions expressed by guests on the show are solely their own opinion and do not necessarily reflect those at their firm.

[00:10:39] Managers' appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement by Stacy Havener or Havener Capital Partners.

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