Follow these 5 Golden Rules on how to pitch an idea and get investors on board.
Just about anyone is capable of coming up with a good idea. Whether you’re singing in the shower and it hits you, or you spend months looking for inspiration. However, the tricky part comes when you need to pitch this idea to a businessman or a group of investors. For this, it takes a true entrepreneur and a game plan with great pitch and slides.
You don’t have to be a real entrepreneur to pitch like one, however in your meeting with investors they will expect you to act like one. Of course your idea is the main thing that you’re trying to pitch here, but also the way you pitch yourself and your presentation as a whole has a big impact on your idea being sold. In order to embody your inner entrepreneur follow these five golden rules for a perfect pitch.
Pitch Rule No.1: KISS (no not smooching)
In the case of your pitch this can take on multiple different meanings, at your business meeting you definitely want to make sure and keep it short while delivering an impressive proposal. As for the second ‘S’ keep it simple, keep it sexy, keep it sweet, of course all of the above would be delectable.
Keep your pitch under two minutes. use simple strong language, condense your business plan into a presentation of the right business template consisting of no more than 20 slides (here’s an example). Investors love it when your ideas are presented short, concise and to the point. Don’t beat around the bush get straight to the stuff they want to hear, cover due diligence and what’s in it for them first thing.
Pitch Rule No.2: Know the ask
What do you want? Let’s be honest, in our business pitch as entrepreneurs, we have a plan. Our plan inevitably beyond scoring the initial meeting with an investor, business partner, or boss is to get something from them. Whether it be financial backing, their support on a new venture, or even a new job you have to be upfront about what exactly it is you want.
Before your meeting for pitching be honest with yourself, think about the best possible case situation and the worst case situation. Do your research. 82% of pitches aren’t aligned with the needs of whom their proposing to. You shouldn’t have just one universal pitch that presents your idea to everyone you propose it to. Use your research to change your ask appropriately according to the respective needs of those whom you’re presenting to. Be assertive and show them you know what you’re looking for and exactly what you want from them, ask upfront to be sure not to waste their time or yours and remind them again toward the end with your real call to action.
Pitch Rule No.3: Address the problem
When you get to the meat of your pitch phrase the problem that your idea is aiming to solve in one sentence. Once again keep in mind your audience and the research you’ve done on the industry and competitors of the investors or business you’re pitching to. For instance, imagine you’re pitching to someone who’s concerned with health care or the health and wellbeing of children.
You have to take into account the context, people, place and urgency the problem is affecting, and bring it all into one simple sentence that reveals all of this and present it to the audience. Something like “last year over 300,000 hospital visits were because of life threatening allergies, of children under the age of 18 alone. Here is my solution…”
Pitch Rule No.4: Why is your approach unique?
Now that you’ve presented your audience the meat of your pitch, why it’s a serious problem and how your solution can prevent it, it’s time to set your solution apart from the rest. Certainly, if there’s as big of a problem as children’s allergies you’re not the only one coming up with solutions to fix it.
Let the people know why your approach is unique. What is your unique selling proposition? Once you’ve identified your USP you’ve got the heart and soul of your whole pitch. When investors or businessmen of any sort are listening to their pitch, of course they’re listening to what’s in it for them. They’re also very attentive to how you’re working differently than everyone else. Instead of just pointing out all of your unique features, try and show them in a storytelling fashion to further engage the potential investors or audience member.
Pitch Rule No.5: Leave with a memorable and repeatable story
Effective pitches do more than just recite their idea and get everyone on board. They listen to whomever they’re pitching and actively use their responses to make the pitch as personal to the investors as can be. Entrepreneurs are able to tune into what their receivers are saying and scope out the rest of their pitch.
At the end of your short pitch leave the potential investors or businessmen with something they can and will want to share. Have a few stories on call in your repertoire and use the pain points they’ve spoken about throughout to guide your decision. Make it a positive story about how your solution is effectively helping people, if you use humor and make it personal to your audience they’re more likely to share it far after your idea has been pitched.
The hardest part of your pitch is getting yourself in the same room with your potential investors, boss, or businessman. Now that you’ve got them there don’t waste their time or your own time with a pitch that isn’t well thought out. Put on your entrepreneur hat and think smart when creating your pitch and in the execution and you’re likely to stay caught up on your game plan? You don’t have to be an entrepreneurial or artistic to create beautiful and simple designs to present your pitch. emaze will help guide you through the process in making presentations so easy to make that will make your pitch even more irresistible.
In a nut nutshell, your pitch will be a successful one if you:
1. Keep your pitch under 2 minutes, condense into a visually appealing presentation with less than 20 slides.
2. Know who you are pitching to.
3. Point out the current problem clearly and then present your solution.
4. Highlight your unique selling proposition.
5. Tell your story to touch audience’s heart so that they can remember you.
