When it comes to acquiring funding for your business, there are a lot of possibilities available in the market that you can avail to fulfill your needs. Although it might sound an easy job to collect money if you are going for bootstrapping, the same cannot be said or expected when you are seeking finance from an external source such as banks, angel investors or venture capitalists. The biggest challenge that business owners and new entrepreneurs face while gathering funding for clearing ongoing debt and setting up their business is to pitch the proposal in front of the prospective investors.
From perfect timing to subtle body language, every minute thing matters when it comes to pitching your business concept before the investors. As per statistics, if investors make around 100 investments every year, only ten live up to the mark and gain the business goals that they promised prior to acquiring the fund. Hence, investors are very prudent when it comes to funding a business, which calls for an ultra-compelling pitch from your side.
With that being said, here are some tips shared by professionals to remit an unforgettable, irresistible pitch that will get your business funded easily:
Wrap It Up Within Ten Minutes
When it comes to pitching, timing is definitely one of the critical aspects that accounts for the success and effectiveness of your pitch. The rule of thumb states that the less time you consume to pitch, the better it turns out to be. The investors will keep an eye on the power of your brilliant idea and the live metric that can be used to judge its brilliance is timing. They will be keen to see how well you distill your business model in front of them keeping the timing in mind. The more brief and compact you can be, the better and effectual it will be. However, it does not mean that you will have to rush at a great pace. Also, if you are saying that “it is the last thing I would love to add”, ensure that it is the concluding segment of your pitch.
Focus on Storytelling
Connoting your brand story can be fruitful in several ways and when it comes to pitching, it definitely works as the greatest tool you can have in your arsenal. As a matter of fact, it has been scientifically proven that storytelling lends a long-lasting impression on the minds of the listener especially when you are trying your best to captivate his or her attention. When you blend your brand’s story with your pitching procedure, it can ease your job to a great extent and can allow you to forge a great and unforgettable pitch. Moreover, investors get bored with spreadsheets and slides that are in repetition. They want something more than numbers and valuations, which you can provide through enlightening them with the pathos behind your business along with the related chain of events.
Try Your Best to Be Laser-Focused
One of the major things that you need to be mindful of when it comes to pitching is that your investor’s time is the most precious thing and they treat it as one of their valuable assets. If you are able to show a sign of respect for their time, they will interpret it as the similar respect you will be having for the funds they are going to offer for your business. Since time is the most precious thing, you must work on attuning yourself with an absolute focus on the major elements of your pitch.
Confer a Thorough Explanation of Your Product or Service
Assuming that you have been working on the core components of your pitch, you will be thinking of how to highlight those elements in a greater detail. Start with a thorough explanation of your products and services. Show your prospective investors a visual of your product or service. You can also let them have a real-time glimpse of your product so that they can have a clear understanding of what they are going to invest in. Nevertheless, make sure that you do not whine too much about your offerings. Generally speaking, what investors care about is the effectiveness of the product and the massive return on investment or ROI it is going to bring when released into the potential market.
Highlight Your Target Audience
As soon as you are done explaining your product in a concise manner, it is time to render information about your potential customers who will be playing the major role in generating the revenue which your investors are eyeing on. When it comes to explaining your investors about your target audience, leveraging psychographic and demographic features is one of the best ways to go for. Not only it will help you in targeting your customers, but it will also help your investors to understand that their funds will go in the right direction. For this, you will need a definitive backing of relevant data points to pose the picture that you have thought while pinpointing your customers.
Give an Impression of Your Marketing Regime
Marketing is one of the key components to the success of a business and investors love to hear the unique techniques you will be using for promoting your business. Therefore, if you have a marketing regime, a concept, a model, this is the right time to pitch it as well. After all, it goes without saying that your product will not be selling it on its own, no matter how great it is. It will be you and your sales team that will be pitching your product in your targeted market and engaging with your audience. Display your campaign that you are preparing for digital marketing including social media, as contemporary investors think of it as a great marketing tool.
Conclusion
The main objective of a successful pitch is to get your investors exclusively interested in your project and serving funds now and for the upcoming projects as well. This is possible once you adhere to the aforementioned tactics and deliver an ultra-compelling pitch.
