Pitching an idea to an investor is considered as the most crucial step in the professional life of entrepreneurs. They must convince investors that their startup is worth taking the risk for in a short amount of time. That’s why you must give your pitch a lot of work as you develop it. Your pitch can either help or hurt your chances of getting capital for your business.
As the importance to prepare an effective elevator pitch can make all the difference as a startup entrepreneur, these five tips for taking a good pitch and making it great will help you craft the kind of pitch that stands out from your competitors.
Know what an investor is looking for.
Investors need to feel confident that your business will attract and retain customers. You need to inspire confidence with facts, not fiction. Any investor is looking for the lowest risk with the highest return, as quickly as possible. They want to know that five years from now, you can still be at the top and successfully guiding the company forward. Showing some initial cash flow from revenues and limited costs has a better chance of getting investors than a business plan that forecasts large returns in the future.
Turn your pitch into a story.
Storytelling is the best weapon to attract the audience, when you are pitching your audience via your story, the investors get all the information that they want. What information you can offer them about your startup with your story, no sheet can deliver the same. Everyone is attracted and loves a pitch that has a story involved; even the most data-driven investors. So, tell your story in a right way, gain the attention of the audience and the funding will follow.
Make sure your presentation is clear to anyone.
If you pitch your business to someone who has nothing to do with your work and he understands and is able to repeat what he grasped from you, then you are prepared to give a pretty good pitch. Keep your pitch short, convincing, and to the point. Practice your pitch with people outside of your company, and ask them to repeat what they think of your business model and to ask you questions. It’s always an effective exercise to hear what people repeat back.
Set deadlines.
Businesses are required to work on deadlines. So, you need to add deadlines while you’re pitching. Set some specific timelines that meet the specified period for your investors. It shows how serious you are about getting funds for your business. The more commitment you have for your business, the more desire the potential investors will have in supporting you. Thus, it is preferable to fix deadlines for yourself and make potential investors aware of them.
Be prepared to answer questions.
Prepare a list of the questions you are most likely to get asked for after delivering your pitch. If you succeed in gaining their attention, then you have to back up your big pitch. How are you achieving this? How do you know you can keep it up? How are you really better than your competitors?
