5 Steps to Pitching Your Business Idea Anywhere, Anytime and Winning

I’ll try my best to bore you today. So let’s begin shall we?

Speaking in front of people is the most common fear in the world. It’s true because you can’t prove otherwise. Jokes aside, presenting your idea to others is one of the most important skills you need to have. That’s because; an idea not shared effectively… Doesn’t exist. We’ll try to compound that problem via this article.

But first let’s get the elephant out of the room. How to get over the fear of pitching. Just one tip; don’t be afraid of being average. Because that’s what your presentation will be; average. But remember that it’s okay to be average. That’s the first step to being awesome.

Now for the fun part. How to structure your business pitch to win. The guidelines below have been tried and tested for a long time. You can follow these and give it your own spin at first. Then when you get the hang of making and delivering these pitches (more on delivery below), you can innovate and build on your experience to come up with something spectacular. So here we go

Set the story

Remember, your product doesn’t convince people, your story does. So the most important part of your presentation is the story. You have to tell one that hits home for the audience and resonates with them.

[For instance, if you are pitching a ride sharing service, lets name it ”Rebu” in Dhaka, remind them of the horrendous heat endowed traffic jams they have to encounter every day and the overpriced CNG auto-rickshaws they have to get on].

This not only gives the audience a context to base their decisions, but also makes you look like you are solving a real problem on an immediate basis; which you hopefully are doing anyway.

”Remember, your product doesn’t convince people, your story does.”

Your Pitch

The standard structure of a business pitch is like the following. First grab the audience by stating a personal problem, then state your solution. If its innovative, then you already have the audiences’ attention. Next you move on to more detail about the product and move on to what is unique about it and how it will change the way people operate.

[For instance, as Rebu, after stating the problem of traffic jams, you move on to how your app will solve the problem by leveraging an awesome app that will work from inside facebook (somehow; figure it out). Next you explain your product in detail to show how your solution will be effective in solving the transportation problem for the 2 cr residents of Dhaka; why people will use it and how it will integrate with the already existing solutions like taxis, CNGs and awesome flying buses].

Now that you have explained the gravity of your problem and the awesomeness of your product, it’s time to move on to the business fundamentals. The audience wants to know how big of an opportunity there is in this market – which is often taken as a direct measure of the attractiveness of a business proposition. But be careful. Too big of a market and your case becomes unrealistic; too small and it becomes unattractive.

”But be careful. Too big of a market and your case becomes unrealistic; too small and it becomes unattractive.”

Next, tell the audience what you are doing to capture the market; any money you have made, partnerships you have forged or customer validation that you have done. This will give them confidence in the business and make your proposition seem more than words on a PowerPoint.

Finally, now that you have the audience on board, it’s time to deliver the closing punch. Show them Why Now; why it’s the right time to enter the market, how the economic, industrial, demographic, customer and technology climate supports your business model NOW; and never else. Then show them why YOU and YOUR TEAM is the right collection of brains, hearts and muscle to get it done. And last of all, sell the dream. The dream that you see, the change that you envision and why they would be fools not to be a part of it.

Then smile and wave.

[For instance, as Rebu, show them your business case and how big of a market you are targeting at first, then later on. Millions of commuters; one solution might be your pitch. Then move on to how Rebu is already gaining traction in the market by generating revenue on a pilot basis, which was 3 million dollars last month (I don’t know how it was that much; it’s your business after all). Now that the audience trusts your market readiness, tell them why now is right time to start this business and why you and your rock star team are the right ones to pull it off, subtly moving into the vision you see of a jam free Dhaka (yea right) and revenue generation for all parties involved.

Then smile and wave.]

That’s pitching for you in 850 words. We also went ahead and designed templates for you to work on when you are doing the real thing. Find them here or you will die in 48 hours.

No you won’t. I’m just playing with you.

You can apply for The Pitch Perfect pitching competition here: http://www.thepitchperfect.com/apply.

The winner will get cash reward of BDT 50K from the EMK center.

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