6 Keys to Effective Pitching
This article is written by Brian Malika, a Contributor Author at Startup Turkey.
Bill Kenney has founded 6 companies and currently leads two growing ventures. MEET (My Expo & Event Team) specializes in helping growth companies and economic development agencies effectively exhibit at trade shows. Test My Pitch is an online platform helps students, entrepreneurs and professionals develop their communication skills quickly in a safe and collegial environment.
To every Start-up Founder out there, no matter how well you think your innovative ideas are there is always that feeling of anxiety whenever you think of your next pitch.
I mean, that pitching event most of the times is the only bridge that separates your model innovative ideas into implementable realities.
But in this article, I want to expose you to the think pitching as an awesome experience that gives you as a Start-up founder the unique opportunity to tell your story and connect with the investors that believe in you.
First of all, if you ever watch the Olympics consistently from time to time, you will notice that just before the race competitions begin there is usually an interview of all the participants. And the participants who mostly complain about the weather of the day, or how unprepared the event was done or wherever complains they have usually performed poorly at the Olympics.
On the other hand, participants who stand out to be optimistic most of the time regardless of technical hitches or weather frustrations mostly end up to grab the Olympics titles at the end.
From the above two case studies at the Olympics, it is clear that a good attitude before a major event that could determine the success of your venture is very important.
And, a good attitude is not something that just develops naturally. No. You have to nurture it through consistent practice.
Therefore, I have prepared six key guides for pitching which have been tested by experts which if you practice them well then your pitching experience will turn out to be a success.
I honestly hope that this article will be the game changer for your pitching ventures as a Start-up Founder. Let's begin analyzing these six key guides to effective pitching.
#Key No:1: Dancing
Now listen, I know you have prepared your pitch for some time now. Maybe for six months, two weeks or even three days and you have done all that it takes to reflect your innovative idea. But listen, it doesn’t matter what you pitch. I know I sound crazy but that is the plain truth. Investors don’t care what you pitch to get that in your head.
What matters to investors is what interests them in your pitch. So, as much as you prepare your pitch to reflect what you have innovated and your interests, it is very wise to consider what the investor is interested to hear. So make sure you dance with the interest tune of the investor while preparing your pitch.
In order to understand the interests of your potential investors that you will be pitching to them, please consider the folding points :
• Do an online search on the investors’ values, profile, previous work and so on to get a hint of their interests.
• Arrive at the Pitch event early and try to catch up with the audience at your pitch, you might just meet your potential investor beforehand and win their attention way before you pitch.
Remember that the dancing key to effective pitching is more than just the idea that you are presenting, it is also about creating a rapport with your target audience of investors and making them feel that they matter not as investors but as partners in actualizing your vision. Therefore:
• Dance with the situation at hand, never have a general way of doing your pitch.
▪ Sometimes investors just see what interests them in your first slide and they make an investment decision on the spot.
• I hope this key to effective pitching makes sense to you. Lest now move to the next one below.
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