Building a Pitch for Your Idea
With major league baseball in full swing now, we’re not talking about what happens between the mound and home plate here! Entrepreneurs are constantly faced with delivering their “pitch” to audiences, whether financial partners, other entrepreneurs, friends and family, and more.
So how does the entrepreneur learn the techniques of giving the pitch? This step of personal salesmanship is often overlooked in lieu of spending time on designing the product, but in fact may be the key bridge to success of the venture.
Matthew Toren contributed his ideas to an article in Entrepreneur Magazine that the pitch must be very well planned, well researched, simple, and delivered by a passionate and well-practiced presenter.
Additional resources in preparing the pitch can be provided by the venture groups and networks to which you are presenting. An example is on Garage Technology Ventures web site, called Perfecting the Pitch. “Pitching is about understanding what your customer (the investor) is most interested in, and developing a dialog that enables you to connect with the head, the heart, and the gut of the investor… What the investor is really thinking is, “Is this company the best next investment for me and my fund?” The post helps the PowerPoint user create 10 slides that will assist in delivering the story of you and your company.
For best-seller readers, Jerry Weissman, professional corporate presentations coach, delivers the how-to’s in his book, Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story. In this 200+ page read, topics ranging from assessing your audience and their motives, capturing their attention, using graphics and animation, to conducting the pitch virtually, are covered. Weissman provides checklists and catchy acronyms to help the presenter, and illustrates his examples with real stories from corporate America.
A well-balanced preparation will show the best side, not only of the idea but of you. You have to be believable to win the confidence of others; preparation and practice will drive in that home run!
Content contributed by Maria Brown, SoMNSourceLink. SoMNSourceLink is a proud affiliate of U.S.SourceLink, America’s largest resource network for entrepreneurs.
