{"id":2164,"date":"2020-04-27T11:53:37","date_gmt":"2020-04-27T18:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ryrob.com\/?p=2164"},"modified":"2023-10-05T12:00:15","modified_gmt":"2023-10-05T19:00:15","slug":"how-to-pitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ryrob.com\/how-to-pitch\/","title":{"rendered":"18 Pitching Essentials: How to Pitch an Idea to Investors (and Early Customers)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a freelancer, entrepreneur, or any other form of hustler, you never know when the opportunity will arise to pitch an idea<\/strong>. I know because I\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That interesting conversation at the coffee shop could turn out to be a big deal investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your gym partner mind end up being the exact type of person you\u2019ve been trying to sell to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or you might have finally heard back from that startup accelerator you\u2019ve been hounding for months on end about getting a meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunities are everywhere, and unfortunately we can\u2019t always control when they come up. Which is why you always need to be prepared to pitch<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

18 Pitching Essentials: How to Pitch an Idea to Investors (and Early Customers) @slidebean<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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As a full-time consultant running my own business alongside multiple side projects, I can\u2019t even begin to express the importance of learning how to pitch an idea<\/strong> well\u2014both to potential investors and even more importantly, to your early customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m constantly out there pounding the pavement, pitching my services to startups all over the world. Sure, I\u2019ve gotten my fair share of rejections. But in the end, each failure helped me tailor my own pitch to the point where I\u2019ve been able to land contracts with companies like LinkedIn, Intuit, Zendesk, and Close.io.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through my countless pitches, I\u2019ve learned there are time-tested rules to successful pitching that you need to follow if you want to have the best chance of catching a big fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"No matter what you're pitching, you need to obey these 18 time-tested principles.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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Which is why I\u2019m so excited to share some incredible resources on how to craft and present a winning pitch from my friends over at Slidebean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the past 4 years, Slidebean has helped over 150,000 freelancers, startups, and entrepreneurs create beautiful, professional pitch decks, using templates and formulas from AirBnB<\/a>, Guy Kawasaki<\/a> (Chief Evangelist at Apple), 500 Startups<\/a>, and more. Over 1.5 million slides have been made on Slidebean, helping them get coverage from sites like TechCrunch, The Next Web, and Business Insider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If<\/del> When you need to make a pitch deck, build it with one of Slidebean’s templates<\/a> that are already proven to land investors and early customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what are we waiting for? Let\u2019s jump into how to research, craft, and present a winning pitch to both investors and customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stage 1: Understand what makes a compelling pitch<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before we get into any specifics, we need to talk about the most basic foundation when it comes to learning how to pitch an idea\u2014what makes a pitch interesting?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec recently shared with me, his advice<\/a> on capturing the attention of your target audience<\/a> right from the start:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You have 90 seconds, if you\u2019re lucky. If you can\u2019t make your point persuasively in that time, you\u2019ve lost the chance for impact. Facts and figures are important, but it\u2019s not the only criteria, you must present in a manner that generates expertise and confidence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"You have 90sec to make an impact in your pitch. Show expertise and confidence.\" @robertherjavec<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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As you can see (and as you’ve probably learned for yourself already), there’s no universal pitching template you can just plug your information into and get the instant results you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning the art of how to pitch an idea is much more nuanced than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"If your pitch doesn't excite your audience, you've already lost the battle.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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However, that doesn\u2019t mean you need to start from scratch every time. Good pitches all share certain characteristics that you can borrow, emulate, or ignore depending on who you\u2019re pitching to and what you\u2019re looking for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. A good pitch balances business and emotional needs.<\/strong> Whether you\u2019re pitching to a company, an investor, a customer, or a potential partner, you have to hit them on both emotional and business levels<\/a>. Without this, your pitch is almost certain to fall flat.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. A good pitch is succinct.<\/strong> In most cases you only have a few seconds to capture someone\u2019s attention and get your point across. Focus and momentum are your friends.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. A good pitch tells a story.<\/strong> Humans have been telling tales for thousands of years. Which is why it\u2019s a great idea for the flow of your pitch, whether verbal or in a slide deck, to follow a narrative pattern.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. A good pitch focuses on benefits.<\/strong> Value beats price<\/a> every single time. Rather than focus on cost or features, your pitch needs to focus on the value you\u2019re going to create for the person you\u2019re pitching.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Alright, now it\u2019s time to come down a bit from 30,000 feet and look at how to use this information in our pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Know who you\u2019re pitching to (and tailor your pitch accordingly)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Even though you\u2019re pitching the same service or product every time, you can\u2019t just memorize a few lines and go from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Each opportunity is different and you\u2019ll need to tailor how you pitch to the person you\u2019re pitching, the social situation, and their level of understanding and interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Before you pitch, you need to know your audience\u2014and tailor the conversation to them.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
    <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Author and business etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore likens pitching to playing an instrument: \u201cYou want to memorize the melody so you can improvise variations and still sound authentic instead of rehearsed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Jazz might sound like it\u2019s being made up on the spot, but there\u2019s years of theory and study behind each improvised line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When you pitch and idea, you want it to sound the same: tailor-made just for that person, but with a solid backing of thought and attention based on your experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Understand their needs and motivations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To hit the emotional level that will really make your pitch fly, you need to understand just what motivates the person you\u2019re pitching and what their needs are (hopefully more than just a good motivational quote<\/a> or two).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As a founder or freelancer, you probably love talking about the features of your product or service. But here\u2019s the thing: Customers and investors don\u2019t really care about features. They care about results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Customers and investors don\u2019t really care about features. They care about results.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
    <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re having trouble clarifying your product\u2019s benefits, one way to do this is to look at your product through the Jobs to be Done methodology<\/a> (JTBD). Created by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen<\/a>, JTBD says that instead of thinking about your potential customer or investor as part of a demographic, you should instead think of them as people looking to \u2018hire\u2019 someone or something to solve a problem they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your product is what they\u2019re looking to “hire.”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So ask yourself, what \u2018job\u2019 does the person you\u2019re pitching to need done? And why is your solution right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Knowing these important details will help you focus on the specific value you\u2019re creating for the person you\u2019re pitching to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Go deep into what challenges they face<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once you understand their needs and motivations, you need to go a step further and look at the real challenges your audience faces on a daily basis. Don\u2019t just get a surface-level understanding of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You need to be boots on the ground when it comes to truly understanding these challenges. Because once you do you\u2019ll be able to talk with confidence about how you can solve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Before you can solve a real problem for customers, you need to truly understand that challenge.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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    Also, being able to authentically empathize with the problems your audience is facing will make you more credible in their eyes. And as author and pitch coach Michael Parker says<\/a>, \u201cIf they don\u2019t like you, they won\u2019t buy you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    People act on emotion and then justify with reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"People act on emotion, then justify with reason.\" Keep that in mind when you pitch an idea.<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
    <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Stage 2: Gather the tools and resources that will make your pitch stand out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    If Stage 1 of our pitching process was getting a high-level view of what should be in our pitch and starting to do the research we need to make it compelling, our next move is gathering the resources and tools we\u2019re going to need to actually put this pitch together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, while your product and your personality will be your greatest tools in any pitch, we all aren\u2019t passionate and persuasive speakers. The right tools (and a winning pitch deck template<\/a>) will help augment our pitch, taking some of the heat off of us personally and letting our product do the talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s look at a few of my favorite tools for pitching:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Create a beautiful and powerful presentation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    At the very core of your pitch is the presentation or \u2018pitch deck<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And while we\u2019re going to go deep on exactly what should be in your presentation later on, the tools you use to build and show off your presentation are incredibly important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Powerpoint is so 90s, and if you\u2019re selling a modern product to an informed user or pitching any VC you want something more advanced. That\u2019s why my friend Caya founded Slidebean<\/a> and set out to solve this problem. (Shameless friend plug alert!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"How<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Slidebean is awesome because it lets you create stunning, professional presentation in minutes using curated templates that have worked for Guy Kawasaki, 500 startups, the founders of AirBnB, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"65% of communication is nonverbal. Make your pitch visually exciting.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
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    Because 65% of communication is nonverbal, they\u2019ve built ways to easily and quickly make your presentation beautiful and on-brand, including a huge resource of images, icons, gifs, charts, and more to make sure your presentation pops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And because pitching is always a work in progress, Slidebean lets you track the activity of your presentation to see if your prospects are really engaging with it and where they drop off so you can adjust for the next time you send it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    5. Have an up-to-date rendering\/mock-up of your product<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    There\u2019s a reason that Apple stores let you play with every product they have on display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Behavioral psychologists have discovered that creating an \u2018ownership experience\u2019<\/a> by letting a potential buyer \u2018try before they buy\u2019 is a powerful way to close sales. You can use this same technique in your pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Creating an ownership experience in your pitch let's your audience try before they buy.\"<\/a><\/div>Click To Post on <\/i><\/a>
    <\/div><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re still in the design phase, creating a prototype or wireframes using tools like InVision<\/a>, Marvel<\/a>, or RedPen<\/a> are great ways to show off the functionality and design of your tools without doing any actual coding to land on a great beginning presentation look\u2014and these tools can be useful in things like designing a blog layout<\/a> too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re making a physical product but haven\u2019t actually created it yet, you can easily go to a freelance job website<\/a> like 99designs<\/a>, Flexjobs<\/a>, SolidGigs<\/a> or Upwork and find a designer who can make a beautiful 3D rendering<\/a> for you while working from home<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    6. Solicit testimonials from current users or investors<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Being able to show social proof for your idea<\/a> is an incredible tool to use when pitching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It transfers the clout of the person using your product or service to you and shows investors and clients that there is a real market need for what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you have customers, start by asking to go on quick calls and talk about their experience. Or send out a quick survey through Typeform<\/a> or Google forms asking what they think and if it\u2019s OK to share their comments to investors and potential customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some questions you can ask include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n