It takes more than just courage and a giant leap of faith to be a successful entrepreneur! You’ve got to learn the art of pitching. Entrepreneurs these days have some amazing ideas, but fail miserably when they have to relay them to prospective investors. The root cause? Lack of a medium that can foster good communication between the entrepreneur and the investor. Irrespective of how ‘cutting edge’ your business idea is, if you can’t pitch it, you can’t win it!
1. Scan your audience
This assumes primary importance. Do some research on your investors, whom you’re trying to pitch to. You’ve got to work on their trigger points, for instance, what drives their interest, how exactly they function etc. Pick out the perfect strategy that aligns your business ideas with their mode of operation and voila!
2. Form a story
Get over boring statistics-driven business pitches! The idea is to impress your investor. You need a business pitch that will immediately stir their interest and loading it exclusively with statistical data would kill it! Instead, you should develop your business pitch in the style of an engaging story. The best way to come up with a story is to craft a visually compelling PowerPoint presentation.
3. Don’t read out of your presentations
Reading every line out of your presentations forms a poor first impression on your investors. Focus on key points and elaborate upon them. Mention one key point in every slide and talk about it, while pitching to the investor.
4. Do your study prior to the meeting
You’ve got to know your investors before you pitch to them. Read their blogs, follow them on the internet, get to know of their achievements etc. You need to show to your investor that you’ve done prior research and that you’re worthy of their funding.
5. Simplify
Your objective is to tell them your business story in a simple, easy-to-grasp format and not confuse them with fancy jargon and topsy-turvy logic! It is therefore important to pitch your ideas in a language that is easily understandable and is capable of communicating even the slightest details without any hassle.
Always remember that good communication is what builds long-time relations!
