Dear Entrepreneur,
Raising capital for your business is not always an easy task and one way to do so is to attract investors to your business. However, pitching your business to potential investors or customers can be a nerve-wracking experience. You want to get the point across that you and your business are the right fit for them, but you also don’t want to make it so scary that they run in the other direction. The best way to do this is through a well-crafted pitch deck. Read on to learn more about pitch decks, why you need one and tips on how to put one together for your business.
WHAT IS A PITCH DECK?
A pitch deck is a presentation that offers a short yet thorough summary of a business. It outlines the essentials of a business plan as well as goods, products and services. Additionally, it includes broad financial estimates and outlines the suggested funding requirements and needs. Unlike popular belief, a pitch deck’s goal is not to convince a potential investor to fund in a business right away. It’s unusual to secure an investment contract after just one meeting given the hundreds of millions of start-ups that are formed annually throughout the globe. Therefore, while a strong pitch deck is essential for securing funding, its primary objective is to set up a follow-up meeting and a request for more information.
WHY DO YOU NEED A PITCH DECK?
A business pitch deck is a visual summary of your business. It is meant to catch the attention of investors and potential customers. By having a great pitch deck, you are able to convey your company’s vision, product, and goals in a simple, easy to understand way. A great pitch deck can be the difference between securing funding or having investors walk out the door. It can also have the same effect when pitching to customers. Investors and customers are busy people and don’t have time to read a lengthy business plan. A pitch deck allows you to get your information across without boring your audience to tears. It also allows you to showcase your product in a visual way. It can be hard to picture exactly how your product works without seeing it in action. A pitch deck gives you an opportunity to showcase your product while keeping the conversation moving.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR PITCH DECK
Before you can create your pitch deck, you need to have a solid business plan in place. This is the backbone of your pitch deck and provides the framework for the content you include in the deck. All of your marketing materials should be consistent. This includes your website, social media posts, and your pitch deck. Make sure each of these channels are communicating the same information. This will help you build your brand. It will also make it easier for you to reach new customers.
In a successful presentation, investors seek for important slides. The following are the examples of ten important slides for a successful pitch deck:
- Introduction: The following questions are what the business owner should have in mind: What type of business is it? What makes the business special and why investors should be interested?
- The Problem: This is the chance to explain the purpose of the business. Describe the issue. Show how it affects the target market by providing examples. Why is it an issue? State whether and how the issue is now being resolved. Demonstrate a deeper understanding of the target market.
- The Market and the Opportunity: Provide viable data for the investors to understand the total market size by identifying the ideal clients, give a description of who they are, and then show how many they are.
- The Solution: Here, you have to describe and, more significantly, demonstrate how the product or service operates, how customers utilize it and how it solves the issues that has been identified. Focus should be on clients and the value that the product or service can provide them in the pitch deck.
- Business And Revenue Model: Give details on the price, marketing plan, or how to draw in and keep clients, as well as the customer base and what they spend.
- Traction: This slide demonstrates to the investors what your business has accomplished so far. This should be used to illustrate the point in this slide if there is sales already or a database of clients who have used the product or service. What main objectives have you already achieved?
- Team Members: Draw attention to the important team members, their accomplishments at previous employers, and the vital knowledge they bring to the table. Showing that the management team has the necessary experience in the industry the business operates in can seal the win for some investors. Note that if there are roles or skill sets missing in the team, be transparent enough to state the key positions the key positions required to be filed. And if you there are current investors or a board of directors in place, they should be mentioned and included them in the presentation.
- Financials: Ensure to provide the following information in this section: Sales objectives and results, Customer counts, Cash flow projection; Income statement (profit and loss statement) (at least three years); Current or updated balance sheet.
- Competition: Make sure to make a summary of the competitive analysis. Compare the business’s goods and services with that a rival’s using an infographic. This demonstrates the distinctiveness and competitive advantage of the presenter’s goods and services.
- Investment Ask: Declare an amount needed to be raised and explain why such amount is needed and the plan to use the money.Investors must understand where their money is going, why, and how it will grow the business.
TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL PITCH DECK
– Make it visual: Use data visualizations like graphs and bar/pie charts to show your point instead of simply stating findings and numbers. Visuals usually presents data in a more appealing way, making it simpler to comprehend and digest.
– As we mentioned, a pitch deck is a condensed version of your business plan. It should be as straightforward as possible while still maintaining an engaging tone.
– Use simple language: You don’t want to overcomplicate your deck. You want to make it as easy to understand as possible. Keep your terminology simple and straightforward.
– Use data: If you can, include data in your pitch deck. This can be a great way to back up your claims and strengthen your pitch.
-Tell a story as well: Make the business proposal more relatable by adding some humanity; it shouldn’t just be a list of data. The more relatable the stories are to investors, the more probable it is that they will be excited about the start-up business.
– Don’t re-invent the wheel: Don’t go overboard creating visuals and graphs just for the sake of including visuals. Make sure everything you have in your deck is relevant to your business. – Stay consistent: Whether you use a pre-made pitch deck or build one from scratch, make sure it is visually consistent. This includes the color scheme, font types and sizes, and any images or graphs you use.
PARTING THOUGHTS
A pitch deck is an essential part of any entrepreneur’s arsenal. It Is the perfect way to get your business out there and show potential investors what you’re all about. It is important to brush up on the best practices when it comes to creating a pitch deck, so you can come across confident and prepared when you meet with potential investors. Take the time to create a great pitch deck and you’re sure to secure the funding you need and attract new customers along the way. We know pitching can be intimidating, but it is not something that can be left alone. If you don’t pitch your business and services, then no one will know about them and thus have no incentive to invest in them or buy from them. That won’t happen if you keep the above-mentioned tips in mind when creating your pitch deck.
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