Any aspiring entrepreneur knows, getting a business up and running very often requires the injection of additional capital. Acquiring this capital can be a difficult process as investors need to be convinced that investing your business is a sound and safe investment. By following the 6 steps below, your chances of clinching that all-important investment are greatly increased.
This is your moment to connect with your audience and establish a sense of trust. At this stage of the pitch, it’s important to remember that people buy more from those that they like. This is a point that you should try to capitalize early on. This section of the pitch shouldn’t be too lengthy but building the relationship early on is of utmost importance.
The pain point is an excellent opportunity to make your audience feel the same pain that you did that has led you to the creation of your business. It is important to show that your business will be solving a real and relatable problem through its existence. In this section, you should state the problem, highlight the solution and your business concept to convince your audience that the solution is a worthy investment opportunity.
Investors aren’t just investing in you, they want to invest in a good brand. At this stage, you should transfer the trust and credibility established between the audience and yourself, into your brand. Your brand needs to be your promise to your customer and connect your customer to the business
It’s important to remember that investors aren’t interested in investing in anything that hasn’t gone to market and been tested. They are not willing to invest in just an early idea, they want to invest in something with a proven track record. Investors have an understanding that success breeds success. Thus, you need to demonstrate that your business has encountered success. If your business is still in its very early stages, demonstrate the small wins you have encountered along the way that have placed you in a position to be pitching to investors.
This stage represents an opportunity to prove to investors that investing in your business will provide them with the returns that they would be looking for. The use of financial projections and forecasts provide a good indication as to the expected growth of the business over the short, medium and long term. During this step, it is important to demonstrate financial credibility. Know the numbers!
You have built a connection, provided a solution to the highlighted problem, build up your brand and proven that the business has a degree of credibility to it. Now is the time to lay it all out on the table and ask for what you need to grow the business. Be clear in exactly what it is you are asking for. Whilst clarity is important here, so is demonstrating what is in it for the investors in terms of what they can hope to receive out of the investment. Mutual benefits are the key!
