Creating a business pitch will be an important part of your business journey as sooner or later, there will be a time where you would need investors to fund your mission, vision, and purpose. Capturing the interests of investors is a one-shot opportunity, you can’t miss it. Presenting a successful business pitch, especially if it’s your first time, can be intimidating as you face a lot of pressure all at once. These weights of pressure fall onto your shoulders such as making your pitch as interesting as possible under a short amount of time, presenting your business’ worth, plans, and goals, and everything in between. But it doesn’t have to be that way, right? Presenting a successful pitch comes down to your preparedness, the knowledge you hold on your product, market, value proposition, and everything in between in what makes your business a real business. In this article, we will discuss the things that investors are looking for to deem a business pitch successful which will help you create a captivating and worthwhile business idea.
What is a Business Pitch
Think of a business pitch as a first date. You would want to make an impression that you are substantial, worthy, and qualified for your date, and worth investing time, effort, and energy. From a perspective on a different topic and circumstance, yet similar context, this is the simplest form of analogy that can represent what a business pitch is. A business pitch is presenting and persuading why investors should invest their time, effort, and money towards your business idea.
The Golden Circle – Starting with Why
“People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.”
The golden circle is an idea from Simon Sinek, a British-born American author and inspirational speaker that talks about how leadership can be led by inspiration. The start with why procedure refers to a sequence of explanations delivered to an audience to drive inspiration and action. And the same concept that applies to leadership and inspiration can also be applied in presenting your business idea to investors.
Why – pretty much self-explanatory, why is the purpose of your business. What does it aim to solve and achieve? What was the inspiration or reason for your business idea to come as it is?
How – how are you going to do it? What actions are you willing to take in order to transform a business idea into a real business? By how, this is where your value proposition rests. This sets what your business will compete against the market competition.
What – what does your business do? What products or services would facilitate the how’s and the why’s of your business? This is where the importance of your products or services are to potential customers.
The context of starting with why is to draw inspiration and action from leaders. Logically and theoretically speaking, the same concept can be accomplished if the starting with why concept is facilitated to potential investors on your business pitch. But easier said than done, theories remain theories without action. Without further ado, let’s jump straight on tips on how to create a successful business pitch to investors
Tips on How to Create a Successful Business Pitch to Investors
Tips on How to Create a Successful Business Pitch to Investors
- Be straightforward
Investors are interested in how much money, value, and worth your business can make. Creating a successful business pitch relies on how well you please the investors. Investors are busy and they value time as much as anyone else because time is money! Being straightforward with your vision and what you want to achieve with the funding of your business without dilly dallying is critical for the success of your business pitch.
- Highlight your value proposition
The most important highlight of your business is what sets it apart from competition in the market. Your value proposition is what sets the value of your business on what makes it special, why customers should buy from you, and why investors should invest their time and money in your business.
- Show real numbers and metrics
One of the major things that investors are looking for are data & numbers. Investors often rely on data and numbers to make informed investment decisions. Investors seek quantitative information that shows insights into a company’s financial health, growth potential, and overall performance. These numbers and data are typically considered as revenue and sales, return on investment, KPIs, market share, and such.
- Have a clear product roadmap
A product roadmap showcases your business plans and goals in a timetable. It is a plan of action which dictates both short-term and long-term in a certain period over a course of a year. A product roadmap is typically in a per quarter quantity format (Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4) which represents the four quarters in a year. This directs your business and investors to visualize your vision, direction, priorities, progress, and deadlines of your product over time.
- Present a demo of your product
A demonstration of your product or service is the best way to present your business idea and value proposition in action. This will provide a tangible first-hand experience for the investors which enhances your business pitch idea. This can be as simple as handing out a product or presenting a service.
- Provide real customer experiences
Nothing works better than social proof in convincing people and even investors on how your business was able to help solve your customer’s struggles. Providing customer success stories is an effective way to provide proof of your business value. Being able to tell a story about how your products or services were able to make a difference for your customers is a leverage in creating a successful business pitch.
- Introduce people on your team
Introducing your team to investors is also essential in determining the success of your business. By doing so, investors can measure the skills and capabilities of your team to deliver fruition and success towards the idea and plan of your business.
- Your marketing strategy
Presenting on how you intend to market your business in your business pitch allows investors to get an idea on what steps in marketing you would be taking. Provide details and information on how your marketing strategy can maximize profitability. It is also essential to provide a forecast of customer acquisition costs, sales, and net profit.
- Practice an elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is a short explanation of your business, getting a point or two in the shortest amount of time, while captivating an investor. An elevator ride lasts about 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the floor’s destination, the amount of passengers coming in and out of the elevator. You’re lucky if the elevator experiences malfunctions during the elevator pitch – kidding aside, practicing an elevator pitch can help you pitch your business idea concisely and accurately.
If you don’t have an elevator, you can practice with a timer, and pitch your business idea to someone until the time runs out. Or, if given an opportunity to use an elevator, try practicing it with someone.
- Be transparent
Transparency is key when presenting your business pitch to potential investors. Why? A successful relationship is built on trust. You would need to build trust and relationships with investors in order for your business and their investments to bloom. Transparency is simple as indicating business challenges, potential changes in plan, your limitations as a team, and most importantly, communicating clearly with your potential investors.
The Biggest Business Pitch Mistake
According to Mark Cuban, a shark investor in Shark Tank, the biggest business pitch mistake entrepreneurs present is telling how big the market is then making an estimated guess of how much the business will be x% of that specific market without providing a plan of action on how their business will achieve it.
When presenting a business pitch to investors, it is crucial to focus on demonstrating how your business will generate real sales and revenue, as this is what investors are truly interested in. Instead of relying on the size of the overall market, emphasize how your business will effectively capture a share of that market and generate tangible financial success. By highlighting your unique approach and strategies for driving actual sales and profits, you can showcase the potential for a strong return on investment, making your business an attractive opportunity for funding.
Conclusion
Delivering a successful business pitch is easier said than done. No matter how much you read and digest tips on how to deliver a successful one, it doesn’t guarantee success, it all comes down to how well you deliver your message and how you persuade investors to invest in your business idea. With the right amount of practice, dedication, and knowledge to your products, services, and the whole market industry that your business is in, you will be able to answer all the questions, doubts, and clarifications from investors, which can grant you the funding you need for your business.
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