5 Steps to the Perfect Business Pitch

Planning to start your own business? 

Getting ready to pitch your ideas to an investor for raising capital? 

Do you know exactly how to go about doing it? 

Pitching ideas to an investor is a very crucial and important part of having your own startup. The following are some steps that can help you prepare your perfect pitch.

 

1. Know who you are pitching to and tailor your pitch accordingly: Even though you are pitching the same service or product every time, you can’t repeat the same lines. Each opportunity is different so it is important to tailor your pitch according to the situation and his/her level of understanding and interest. It should be tailor-made for that person, but with a solid backing of thought and attention based on your experience.

 

2. Tell a story: No one likes to be bored into submission and it can help if you can present your idea interestingly and entertainingly. One of the best ways is to tell a story. It will make it more engaging as well as help you underline what you can deliver. The story should focus on a problem and how you can solve the issue with minimum disruption. However, you should also note that your pitch shouldn’t stretch unnecessarily. Give them an overview of your proposition quickly and you’re more likely to capture and hold your listener’s attention at the crucial start of your pitch.

 

3. Go deep into what challenges your audience faces: Once you understand your audience’s needs and motivations, you need to go a step further and look at the real challenges they face on a daily basis. Don’t just get a surface-level understanding of this. You need to be boots on the ground when it comes to truly understanding these challenges. Because once you are, you’ll be able to talk with confidence about how you can solve them.

 

4. Do not use too many slides but make each slide self-contained: Do not use more than 10-15 slides to prepare your presentation. The investors need to see the quality of your presentation and not the quantity of the slides. Use fewer slides but make each of them digestible on its own. Every slide in your deck is an opportunity to make the audience experience extraordinary. Build each slide so that it’s easily understood at a glance and helps advance your story from slide to slide.

 

5. Show, don’t tell: There are few things worse than a slide full of dense paragraphs, so turn to visuals whenever possible. Telling your story effectively requires you to paint a picture that helps your audience visualize how you can make them more successful. A slide with a bullet point about your company’s rapid expansion won’t have the same impact as a bar graph showing year-over-year growth. Ensure your slides illustrate a story and that you can match the illustration with supporting anecdotes.

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