StartupTalky

Tag: sales pitching

  • 7 Mistakes Entrepreneurs should avoid having a Successful Pitch or Presentation

    When you don’t have the necessary funds to launch a startup, the pitch you deliver to potential investors can make the difference between a dream come true, and one swept under the rug.

    At the end of the day, the profitability of your business idea weighs the most in the eyes of an investor, but that’s not the only factor you should keep in mind. Affluent investors can receive dozens of great business opportunities every week, and in that case, it’s the quality of the presentation that balances the scales.

    Although not all of these common Powerpoint music mistakes are fatal, it’s always a good idea to be prepared. You only have one shot at a good impression, and you don’t want an otherwise brilliant startup idea to go to waste because you didn’t put a few extra hours into your pitch.

    Making Unsolicited Pitches
    Having a limited understanding of your business scope
    Not bringing enough materials
    Lackluster presentation skills
    Avoiding the hard questions
    Making the pitch without a demo
    Forgetting to follow up
    FAQ

    Making Unsolicited Pitches

    Perhaps every entrepreneur out there has fantasized about bumping into an investor in the elevator and convincing them in 60 seconds that their idea is the next big thing. Unfortunately, this is the kind of elevator pitch is one-in-a-million scenario that creates unrealistic expectations.

    In reality, you should never deliver a pitch without the investor agreeing to a meeting in advance. Investors are busy people, and they won’t be impressed by your gesture.

    Even if you send an unsolicited pitch via email, in 99% of cases, it will go straight to the spam folder, so, to be safe, schedule a meeting to make sure your pitch is actually heard and given the investor’s undivided attention. Also, always make sure you prepare a short and engaging pitch about yourself.

    Global Startups – Funding & Investors Data [2020 Updated]
    Find the 2020 updated list of Startup Funding News Globally. Get the recently top-funded and seed-funded startups and the investors’ data.
    StartupTalkyJeenal Jain

    Having a limited Understanding of your Business scope

    The worst moment to realize the flaws in your business model is during a pitch meeting. No matter how great your idea sounds in theory, the moment when an investor realizes you don’t know your product or the market, they will lose interest.

    Not doing your research comes across as unprofessional and lazy and raises red flags – especially if you don’t have prior experience. So, know your audience, know your product and your competitors because you will 100% be asked about these things and, it will help you deliver a perfect pitch.

    Not bringing enough materials

    Even if your pitch is short and sweet, the investor will still need documents to back up your claims, provide a roadmap of business development, and expand on aspects that couldn’t be addressed in the meeting. Even if the investor did not request anything specifically, you should still bring with you the following:

    • Business plan
    • Executive summary (a shortened version of the business plan)
    • Revenue forecast, cash flow, and operational expenses
    • Resumes for members of the upper management, detailing their experience in the field.

    To be extra safe, you should have both digital and physical copies of these documents. Referring to them during the sales pitch shows that you’ve done your homework and that you’re committed to your idea.

    Lackluster Presentation Skills

    A great presentation can’t turn a bad business idea around, but it can prevent investors from losing interest and forgetting your file in a drawer. Unfortunately, not everyone was endowed with Steve Job’s charisma and presentation skills, which is why the more you rehearse at home, the better.

    You never know how you react under pressure, so having a script to refer to can save you from all those umms and errs that weaken your language and make you sound like an intimated high school student. It also helps to keep your presentation short.

    Don’t show up to the meeting with a 50-slide presentation filled with large blocks of text. Instead, keep the number of slides to a minimum, use appropriate Powerpoint music, and focus on strong, impactful visual elements. The PowerPoint presentation should include key figures and ideas, but you’re the one controlling the conversation. In general, 15 to 20 minutes is more than enough for the investor to understand your business idea, so structure your pitch around this interval.

    25+ Best Pitch Decks of all time | StartupTalky
    The best pitch decks tell the real story about your brand or company. Read more about top companies pitch decks If you’re looking for pitching investors to raise money for your company.
    StartupTalkyGorish Dua

    Avoiding the Hard questions

    Pitch meetings aren’t a one-way street. The investor won’t give you a yes or a no after you delivered a monologue. On the contrary, expect lots of questions and don’t panic if they insist. What makes your idea so special? Why should they pick you out of all people? Can you guarantee that customers want your product? It’s just a way for them to check that you know what you are talking about and clarify some of the things they should know before going into business with you. And, when the questions inevitably get tough and touch on vulnerable points (after all, no business is immune), don’t react negatively.

    By working with you, investors are taking a risk, and it’s normal for them to address problematic topics. If you become too defensive, rude, or downright avoid the questions, you may come across as unprepared or difficult to work with. Instead, try to answer difficult questions as transparently as possible and avoid the scripted “I’ll get back to you on that later.”

    Making the pitch without a demo

    You can’t make a demo for every business idea under the sun but, if your business model allows it, then creating a demo, even a rough one, can make your pitch more persuasive – especially if it’s technology-focused.

    First of all, a demo helps investors visualize concepts that may sound difficult in theory. And secondly, it shows that you already have a capable team and that you went the extra mile and that you’re serious about your product.

    Many times, investors meet up with entrepreneurs who only have an idea but don’t believe in it enough to put it into practice, so a demo helps you stand out from the crowd.

    Forgetting to follow up

    No matter how the pitch meeting went, you should take the time to send an email to the investor, thanking them for their time. Avoid generic, template messages and personalize your follow-up in a way that’s relevant for your interaction. It’s a small gesture, but it goes a long way.

    FAQ

    How long is napkin elevator pitch?

    A good elevator pitch should last no longer than a short elevator ride of 20 to 30 seconds.

    What is a common mistake of pitching?

    The most common mistake you should avoid while pitching is not overloading your audience with information.

    How do you end a pitch?

    A great way to end a pitch is to ask them to join you on a mission or journey.

  • How To Improve Sales Pitch | 9 Tips To Pitch Your Product

    Business does not run merely on the products and advertisements. It runs on the people of the company and the investors which supports it time to time. You will have to go through sales pitching someday. You might have to pitch your product in some seminar, some meetup or to the investors. In this post, we will tell you about some sales pitch tips to generate leads.

    “Filter everything you’re doing, saying and pitching through the customer point of view, and you’ll improve just about every metric you care about today.”
    – Matt Heinz

    1. Tell a Story

    No one gonna listen to you if you come on the stage and start bragging about your product. People don’t wanna know about your product if you don’t make them feel good. You can start the pitch by telling a story of someone or something which inspired the creation of the product.

    Once you get the people’s attention, you can get into their head and pitch your product directly to their minds. Just don’t talk only facts but some personal experience in the form of a story to make the people feel connected to the pitch. You can generate leads when people will be connected with you.

    “How you sell matters. What your process is matters. But how your customers feel when they engage with you matters more.”
    – Tiffani Bova, Sales Innovation Evangelist and Salesforce Speaker

    2. Understand their Need

    Understand the need of your audience. You have to observe what your audience wants to hear. Make your speech according to your audience. Even if your audience is not interested in your product, you can tell them something which balance their interests and your product. It will motivate them to listen and engage in your pitch. Nevertheless, the key is to sell your pitch to the investors or audiences. So, cater their need to generate leads through your pitch.

    “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
    – Seth Godin, American Author

    3. Create a beautiful Presentation

    Create a beautiful and interesting presentation which grab people’s attention. Use infographics and interesting pictures in your presentation. Make it more colourful. Add real life expediences of the presentation to make it relatable. Put up some straight facts about the product to make it more effective to the customers or investors who you are pitching the idea.

    Also Read: The 10 Best Tools for Graphic Designers

    4. Explainer Video

    You can create an explainer video to pitch your product. However, you cannot leave it all on the video alone. You will have to explain the explainer video after it ends, to add it with your sales pitch presentation.

    Videos are always great to grab the mass attention. It will be great if the video is full of facts, stats and clips showing customer experience and maybe some funny memes to lighten up the mood, in midst of the heavy, strong pitch presentation. Facts and stats are not only interesting but they will create a buzz and people are not gonna forget them so easily and neither your pitch.

    Also read:

    5. Focus on Benefits

    It is so obvious. Focus on benefits but explain the problem first. Once you let your prospect realise how big the problem is, they will start listening to you and will get convinced why they should start using the product. Because the more you let your public realize that their problem is huge, the more they will listen that why they should use or invest in the product.

    “Sales is not about selling anymore, but about building trust and educating.”
    – Siva Devaki, CEO – MassMailer

    6. Your Own Story

    People love life stories. While pitching, you can tell people how you got to where you are today. Let them know your good and bad moments. But focus on emotional moments. It touches their emotions and forces them to see themselves in your position. It will make their mind concentrate on your story. With this, you can easily get their attention and they will not forget about your product for a pretty long time.

    Also Read: The Golden Marketing Method: Drip Marketing

    7. Keep It Short

    You don’t have to stretch it all. In fact, you have to make it short. Keep it all short and simple. But, of course, you can’t do this all in a short period. However, the easy way to make it possible is to divide the time for each task and topic. This way, you will be able to plan it all better. You cannot pitch a product just in some seconds, anyway. So if you have 5 minutes, you will have to focus on the main aspects of the product and pitch whats important for the client, investor or the audience to know.

    “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
    -Thomas Edison, American Inventor

    8. CTA

    CTA or the Call To Action is important for all types of marketing. And the sales pitch is the most important marketing opportunity. At the end of the presentation, you can ask them to sign up on your website, visit it or provide you emails, etc. But call to action is very important at the end of the pitch. Just don’t do it if you are pitching it to investors or clients.

    Also read: How A/B testing can increase your Sales

    9. Smile

    Lastly, wear a smile and put on the coat of confidence. A smile makes you more attractive as people will not fear to reach you out and talk to you. And confidence works as a shield to your bad moves. If you make any minor mistake, your confidence will cover it.

    “There is little success where there is little laughter.”
    –Andrew Carnegie, American industrialist

    Conclusion

    Sales pitching can be one of the toughest work for you, but once you did it, you will realize how wrong you are. Maybe not in the first chance, but you will develop yourself gradually and become an expert in sales pitching. Experience is the best teacher. These tips are just words unless you go and do it yourself. Prepare yourself as you will never get another chance.

    How was your first Sales pitch experience? Please comment below.