PERSONAL GROWTH by Liz Wool How to deliver a winning pitch Knowing how to pitch your business effectively is a necessary skill for all entrepreneurs. Whether it’s to secure strategic investment or a business loan, pursue partnership opportunities or win contracts—knowing how to tell your business story is essential. The bottom line is investors are buying YOU! Yes, your product or service needs to be fabulous—but you also need to know the following points below, inside and out, and how they correlate to your story. A winning pitch helps investors learn about you, your credentials and experience filling a need in the market. There are many nuances to crafting a winning pitch. Let’s break down the necessary components to help you hit it out of the park. Know the audience You increase your chances of connecting with investors on a deeper level and achieving your desired outcome when you know whom you’re pitching and what’s most important to them. What types of businesses do they invest in? Are they technically advanced in your area, or are they strategic partners? Understanding your audience equips you with the insights necessary to effectively influence their decision-making processes. This drives your focus, tailors your message and positions your idea as the solution to invest in. Create a problem statement Succinctly define the problem you solve by illustrating the importance, urgency, and the risks of not solving the problem. Incorporate your “why” and what motivates you to do what you do by telling a personal story to connect with the audience. This includes both the intellectual elements and makes an emotional connection with the audience. A problem statement also showcases your deep understanding of the world of your audience. It ultimately positions you as the problem solver in the market. Develop a compelling message Articulate your big idea into a story with clear, compelling messaging that the audience can internalize. Use both figurative and descriptive language to connect and engage them with your big idea and solution. It helps to get your point across by incorporating a personal story. Storytelling works best when punctuated by an example of the client journey, testimonials, data, social proof, customer feedback, pilot results, or early market launch success. Include your own credentials and industry expertise to reinforce why you’re uniquely suited to lead this venture. Illustrate the solution Your solution helps to persuade investors that your approach is not only innovative but also executable and likely to achieve the desired impact. Explain the solution concretely using terminology that is aligned with your audience knowledge and insights. Do they understand your market or not? If not, avoid acronyms and industry jargon. Share your unique approach and how you solve their problem with results. Include your differentiators to the competition that includes unique or superior attributes and that your solution is practical and effective. Explain the business model Investors need to clearly understand how you make money and how they will get a return on their investment. Paint a comprehensive picture of your business model, showcasing the planning behind your approach to generate and sustain revenue. Explain how you will make money including your pricing strategy, customer acquisition costs, sales process, distribution channels, profit margins, scalability and growth as well as partnerships and alliances. Convey the known or potential risks to your business model and proactively communicate your plan to mitigate these risks. This establishes your business insight, acumen, credibility and foresight— critical attributes of a thriving CEO. Describe the market opportunity Explaining the market opportunity with clarity and evidence helps investors see the potential and scalability of your business. Describe the data of your target market, the associated growth potential highlighting trends and forecasts leveraging industry reports and expert analysis. You need to define the target customer, what their needs are, and why they choose your product or service over others. Jacob Lund / Shutterstock.com 66 enterprising Women
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