Presenting to investors can be challenging if you don’t know how to do it. That is why we have put together this guide on how to create a successful business presentation.
To create a perfect pitch that stands out for investors, you need to show that you understand the market and show that your project finances will help them get great returns on their investments.
In this guide, we’ll cover what exactly a business presentation looks like, as well as 9 tips for creating a successful presentation that appeals to investors.
Make a choice about what’s important and let everything else go.
― Peter Coughter, The Art of the Pitch: Persuasion and Presentation Skills.
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What is Business Pitch?
A business pitch is a business plan that you present to your potential investors to secure funding. The speech helps you explain your business to investors so they can make the right decisions.
One of the best ways you can use to present a business pitch is by using visual communication to incorporate diagrams and other visual elements into your presentation to make your audience more attentive and interested.
You can also create an impressive launch pad by using a starter template that helps you get off on the right foot.
Also, if you want to create a unique presentation that helps you stand out from the crowd, present your business idea through a well-designed mind map.
Just place your idea in the center of the map and organize the related subtopics around that idea. This can help fully illustrate your plan and ensure potential investors understand your goals.
Read on to learn more about creating a successful business presentation, but be sure to use our 60+ slide starter presentation presentation theme to help you put together the perfect layout.
9 Useful Tips for Creating a Business Pitch
1. Be Concise and to the Point
A good business pitch requires you to provide crucial points regarding your business. You can use statistics and visual presentations to explain your problems. Simplify the expression and make sure investors understand the facts immediately.
Getting to the point will hook your potential investors into following your topic without losing interest. To do this, you need to focus on the crucial aspects of your business and summarize them in simple terms.
This slide does a great job of summarizing the company information in just a few paragraphs.
2. Create an Elevator Pitch
An elevator speech is a short business presentation that is done quickly, such as during an elevator ride. Describe the nature of your business, what it does, and show why you are the best candidate for funding.
To write a great elevator pitch, be sure to describe your business well to help investors understand it without a hitch.
Take a page out of the slide book. Pay attention to how they used a single sentence to convey what their business does.
3. Practice Timing
Practice what you are going to present and be sure to keep time during the rehearsal. You can let your colleagues control the time and observe your body language and speech. That way, they will give you honest feedback on the quality of their practice.
Please note that you will need to submit your proposal in no time. Depending on the organizer’s specifications, be sure to deliver your presentation within the allotted time.
Summarize your content and focus on your selling proposition, but don’t be too quick to finish your pitch early.
Using a tool like Visme can help you pay attention to how much time you have spent on your slides. The Presenter Notes feature allows you to write speaking notes and keep track of your presentation time.
4. Pay Attention to Details Even If Small
Once you have presented a brief description of your business, go into detail and justify why investors should invest in your business idea, and show how you will offer solutions to social problems.
For example, based on industry analysis, demonstrate how your business compares to others in the niche and what approaches you will use to outperform your competitors.
Also, don’t forget to add financial projection to your presentation. Potential investors are more interested in reviewing this information than others. Simplify your prediction and be prepared to answer any questions investors may ask you.
Using a chart like the one below is the perfect way to visualize growth and financial projections.
5. Understand Audience, You Are Presenting
Before thinking of an effective business proposal, feel free to meet your potential investors and create a personalized proposal for them. Give a brief description of how your product works and show how you plan to grow your business.
Let investors understand what your business does and convince them that it deserves financing. More importantly, talk about your business idea and show the problem you plan to solve.
Keep in mind that investors want to know how your business will generate profits for them. So, show them how you will create demand for your product and present realistic financial projections.
Showing something like a clear product roadmap can be a great way to get investors on your side.
6. Address a Real Customer Experience
Use real customer experiences to highlight an existing problem and demonstrate how your idea will solve it. Tell a story about real customer challenges and avoid the technical talk. More importantly, make sure the story you give relates to your target market.
For example, mention the name of your customer and show how your company managed to solve the problem they had. Be realistic and let your audience connect with your story.
Research shows that a compelling story will make investors relate to the state of your business and better understand your business idea.
This testimonial slideshow is the perfect complement to your business presentation.
7. Outline Business Model
Once you provide your investors with what your company does, they will be interested in knowing how to generate income. A business model involves your assets, business activities, and what you do to get customers and make money.
Inform your investors of how long it is likely to last at each stage of development. Keep in mind that businesses are different. For example, product development for some companies may take many years, while others will take a few months.
Whatever stage your company is in, show investors that your team is competent to run your business at any particular stage.
In your income model, describe how you will generate income for the next several years. For example, provide a five-year financial projection that shows total income, earnings before taxes, operating expenses, and net income.
This basic slide is the perfect starting point for sharing your income model.
8. Talk About Your Amazing Team
Investors are interested in knowing if you have the right team to implement your trading strategies. Highlight the most important details about your team, such as experience and qualifications.
You do not need to provide details of all the people who work for you. However, you can talk about the founders of your company. Provide a short bio of the founding team members and make sure they are diverse in gender and other aspects.
Investors believe that a diverse team has a unique approach to solving problems that is right for their business.
In your presentation, be sure to highlight the following about the founding team:
- A short biography of each member.
- Names and titles
- Member photos
- Social media profiles (for example, LinkedIn)
In any business, a team is one of the most important assets a company has. Investors are concerned about whether the most important people in their company have the experience and knowledge to make their startup successful.
This is a great way to represent your team on a single slide.
9. Present Your Market Strategy
Explain to investors how you intend to market your products or services. Most importantly, show how much money you will spend to acquire new customers.
It is critical to demonstrate to investors that the projected value of their income will be greater than the customer acquisition costs.
This is what you are supposed to highlight in your marketing strategy.
- Identify the problem in the marketplace and show how you will address it.
- Provide details on how your product will solve the problem on the market.
- Describe the target markets in terms of size. Give details of the purchasing power of the market
- Provide market research findings to support product viability.
- Provide information on how you intend to place the products on the market to achieve maximum profitability.
Your slide may look something like this.
Final Thoughts
Before crafting a business pitch, you need to familiarize yourself with your audience and know exactly what they want. Make your speech concise and deliver it within the allotted time.
Angel investors and venture capitalists like to know if you have the right team to run your business. Therefore, highlight the details of your team members such as their names, titles, bios, and photos.
Be sure to demonstrate the marketing strategies that you will use to get more customers than your competitors. Provide details on your marketing costs and expected revenue.
To make your presentation more seamless and attractive, it is recommended to know the best data visualization practices.
