How to Host a Successful Private Lender Luncheon by Jay Conner

If you’ve heard me speak, you’ve heard me talk about the importance of holding a private lender luncheon as part of your strategy to attract more money to fund your deals. On more than one occasion, I have presented private lender luncheons and received $1 million in Private Lender Funding. These numbers aren’t out of the ordinary and you need the right plan in place in order for your luncheon to be a success.

Planning the Luncheon

• Step 1: Set the date. This is your deadline, and it should be no more than 30 days from today. I know you don’t even know where you’re going to have the luncheon, but setting the date should always be your first step. I do this with everything in my business. I might not know how I’m going to pull it off, but I have a self-imposed deadline, and that drives me to start planning. The best time to hold your luncheon is a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday at 12 noon. I know you may have a day job, but 30 days out is plenty of time to give your employer notice that you’ll need extra time for lunch that day.

• Step 2: Choose the place. You want the nicest venue you can find. The best place is a country club. If you’re not a member of a country club, perhaps you have a friend or a relative who is a member and can help you. If you cannot book a country club, the next best venue is a nice hotel. I don’t mean a Motel 6. Look for a Marriott, Hilton, or some other classy hotel that can feed you and your guests. Very nice restaurants also work well. Be sure to book a private room so there are no distractions.

• Step 3: Plan a preset meal. You need to work with your venue to have a preset meal arranged. You can include options, like a vegetarian plate, but your guests will not be ordering off a menu.

• Step 4: Put your guest list together. You will invite people from your personal list of contacts. A private lender luncheon isn’t effective for people you don’t know. Now, the people you invite can bring guests whom you haven’t met yet. Make a list of 40 people in your area whom you can invite. If you are a member of a Business Networking International or any civic organization such as the Rotary Club, they should be on your list.

• Step 5: Pick up the phone and call your list. This is not a task you should delegate out or automate with fancy, printed invitations. Two weeks before your event, pick up the phone and start calling people yourself. Don’t discuss private lending or private lenders, your conversation should be similar to the opening scripts I teach for offering my 16-minute CD, titled “Stress Free Investing”.
  • “Hey, this is [your name]. I wanted to call you and let you know I’m hosting a very nice luncheon at the [name of venue] on May 8, 2024. I’d love for you to attend if you can. I’ll be presenting how people can get higher rates of return on their investment capital and their retirement accounts than they can get anywhere else, safely and securely. There’s absolutely no obligation for you to engage after the luncheon, but I would really like for you to attend and support me in this effort. I promise to have you in and out within one hour and 15 minutes. It would be great to get your feedback on my talk and hear how I can do it better in the future.”

If you think of someone a week before the luncheon or run into a prospective lender the day before the luncheon, you should definitely invite them. I have received pledges from people I invited to a luncheon at the last minute. But the best strategy for inviting people is to give them two weeks’ notice. Keep inviting people until you have 25 yeses.

• Step 6: Invite your team members. In addition to prospective lenders, you should also invite your team members. This includes your assistant, accountant, business partner, real estate attorney, Realtors, the sellers of a property you purchased, buyers, and private lenders who pledged you money in the past. All of these team members will add credibility to you in the eyes of your prospective lenders.

• Step 7: Call the “yeses” 48 hours prior to the luncheon. You or your assistant need to call and confirm your guests are attending. Tell your guests that you need to confirm they are coming. That way, you can give a count to the venue so they can be prepared to serve the food, and of course, you will pay for everyone’s meals.

• Step 8: Practice the presentation. I have a PowerPoint Presentation titled The Private Lender Presentation, which is a available to download from my student area at JayConner.com. A few days before the event, make time to practice the presentation with a small audience of family or friends who can give you feedback. Get the flow down, because it’s best if you are the one who gives the presentation.

• Step 9: Get your resources together. Have extra copies of my private-lender brochures, and the interest-level form. The interest-level form is one guests fill out with their information before they leave. If you don’t have this form, call my office at 252-808-2927 and we’ll email a copy to you.

At the Luncheon

• 12–12:15 p.m.: Network. As guests arrive, give them the first 10–15 minutes to mingle. Provide a cheese plate or soft drinks for them to enjoy as they mill around.

• 12:15–12:45 p.m.: Lunch. Have your guests sit down as the venue staff brings out lunch. Give your guests 30 minutes to eat their food and talk with one another.

• 12:45 p.m.: Presentation begins. Not everyone will be done eating, but that’s okay. Start the presentation and use the Private-Lender Presentation PowerPoint provided on my website. In 20–25 minutes, go through the whole presentation with no interruptions.

• 1:05 p.m.: Ask your team questions. After the presentation, go around the room and ask your team questions. For example, I like to ask my real estate attorney, “Are there any concerns a private lender should have?” At which point, my real estate attorney is able to say there shouldn’t be any concerns because private lenders are getting the mortgage, deed of trust, promissory note, and all the documents are recorded. And I ask my accountant, “Are there any concerns a private lender should have from a tax standpoint?” and my other private lenders, “What has your experience been like working with me?” This is how you have third-party endorsements reinforcing the information that your guests have already heard in the presentation.

• 1:10 p.m.: Pass out resources. Have your assistant pass out the private-lender brochure and the interest level form. Instruct them to fill out the form and hand it to you as they leave.

• 1:15 p.m.: End the event. You don’t want to field questions in front of an audience. Instead, let everyone know that you want to make sure they get out on time like you promised and offer to stick around and answer questions one-on-one.

After the Luncheon

• Follow Up. Within 24–48 hours of the luncheon, call every prospective lender who attended the event, regardless of the level of interest they expressed on their forms. This call has to be from you, not your assistant. There are three things to discuss on this call:

1. Thank them for attending and supporting you at the luncheon.
2. Ask for their feedback: “How do you think I did? Was the information clear? Do you have any suggestions about what I could do better?”
3. Get the form and say, “I see here your level of interest is [what they indicated on their form]. What questions can I answer for you about my program? Are there any clarifications I can give you? Would you like to go to lunch and talk more about it one-on-one?”

That’s the overview of hosting your first private-lender luncheon. The best way to become good at something is to jump in, be as prepared as possible, and just do it. I recommend videotaping your luncheon so you can look back, see how you did from the audience’s perspective, and look for things to do better next time.

Now here’s your homework: Set a date on your calendar for when you’ll to host your private-lender luncheon. And once you have your deadline set, follow these steps and jump right in to make your Private Lender Luncheon a success.