Storytelling and presenting a concept are essential competencies to captivate the interest of partners, investors, and customers. For entrepreneurs looking to pitch their start-up ideas, stories are a very convenient way of passing those messages. Those concepts must have a chance of realisation and are grounded in reality. One needs to be aware of the difficulties of establishing a business and developing a strong business strategy. For example, to pitch a haircare company that customises the product, one can start by setting up the scene with some background information as to how they came up with this idea, the information and the purpose. This provides the investors a context of the idea that is being presented and gets them more involved. Secondly, how the product is useful to the end customer should be addressed.
In the current example, the company has an online portal which collects the necessary details such as hair type, previous hair treatment, or any other hair-related issues that they are dealing with before giving the right product to the customer. Following this, the uniqueness of the product, or how the product is different from those similar ones existing in the market, should be put forth. This provides clarity regarding the potential market value of the product and the positive outcome or value the client will get from using the products. The data charts and statistics usually help explain the pitch in an easy manner. Additionally, data can be used to create urgency, address objections and support arguments.
The telling the tale and formally presenting the data must be balanced. To create a balance between the two, it would be helpful to begin with an engaging narrative, followed by data that is selective and concentrated on the pertinent information that supports the narrative.
Last but not least, tailor your pitch to your audience. You can’t be everything to everyone, so you need to be clear about who your target market is in order to ensure you’re speaking to the right people with your pitch.
The audience will include your potential investors. They will want to know about the product market fit and potential sustainability in the current market situation. Going over those ideas would give some certainty and belief in the product or services.
Showing that the idea has some momentum is a good way to convince investors. Investors and potential clients want to see that your concept is gaining some traction. This may be in the form of early sales, customer feedback, or collaborations with other businesses.
Done By: Sruthi Saravanan, Law student – University of Birmingham.