How Start-ups can conduct business pitching for solid closing

What does pitching in business entail?

In business, pitching means presenting company concepts to another person. As an illustration, you might introduce your fledgling company to possible investors or your items to prospective clients. To get buy-in, a business pitch must clearly explain your strategy or objectives to the audience. Your goods and business are the subject of your pitch. Beginning to share your concept is never too early. You must always be prepared to make a pitch in order to impress or excite people about your company. Pitches are target-based to either investors or customers.

A pitch is a speech intended to persuade an audience or listener to take a certain action. The idea of your speech dictates the purpose of your pitch and the likely outcome to anticipate, so the following reasons for a pitch are provided: to attract early adopters will use your service, to attract investors, partners who can help you grow your company, request a reasonable sum based on maturity and the stage of your startup.

Kinds of Pitch

Today, it is not uncommon that investors lack the patience and time to listen to traditional pitches where you reel off all the benefits of your product and then make a “great deal” to close.

One-word Pitch: It is important that a word reflects your brand. It is a keyword that summarizes the concept of your product or business. The elements of your brand can stimulate that word that becomes a key of clarity to a first time hearer. This keyword is often coined from the mission/vision, goals, unique point or even the solution offered.

Elevator Pitch: This is your go-to pitch for networking events, social media, and elevator rides with potential clients. Every salesperson is expected to carry around a pitch like this. Within 30 to 60 seconds, the fundamentals of your product and company are discussed. You risk boring your listener whenever you’re outside. In your speech, you should focus more on why you give a particular solution than what solution you propose. This presents the concept of your product and company in a more persuasive manner.

Investor Pitch: Here is a speech that describes the issues you hope to address as part of your investor pitch. You should not use industry jargon when presenting; it is exclusively for your pitch deck. In an investor pitch, you describe what you do, the level of business maturity, the size of the market, and your partners. If you can create a large company, investors will be interested.

Customer Pitch: The customer pitch is that, in contrast to investors, customers are looking for the problems that your product and business can help them with. Get them to talk more about the issue than you do, and only then can you determine what the appropriate remedy is. Presentations can contain industry terminologies because it is considered that the audience is aware of the market.

Follow-up Pitch: Here’s a reminder of a concept you’ve already pitched to a listener who hasn’t yet lived up to your expectations. This needs to be handled respectfully and with courtesy. A postal pitch or a cold phone pitch can be used to follow up with an investor or a client.

Presenting a Pitch

Firstly, when giving a pitch, begin with a short, friendly introduction and a memorable slogan to pique the audience’s interest. Note that you should keep your opening slide up longer as your investors’ attention is filtered by it.

Next, in an investor pitch, you would continue by discussing a problem your business or idea addresses; whereas, in a customer pitch, you would allow the customer to explain their issue. Make up a story to raise thoughts, and then use the pertinent data and facts to persuade or convince them of the issue. Taking a moment will help your pitch’s dramatic impact.

Furthermore, explain your approach to the audience, outlining how your concept functions and how you have tested it to support it. Use visuals to show how your product or service looks in an investor pitch. These could be videos, images, or screenshots. Keep in mind, businesses are not without rivals, but your special selling point offers you an advantage in convincing your listener that your solution is the best one..

Moreover, when making a pitch to an investor, describe your business model to demonstrate that you have a sound strategy for generating income. Your traction is a crucial component of your pitch because it details your past successes. Telling your investor how you intend to expand goes a step further. This demonstrates your maturity and where you see your firm going in terms of attracting customers.

Conclusion

You definitely do not want to have a fantastic product or idea but waste your opportunity to close by being unprepared. Before presenting to a prospective investor or consumer, it is critical that you assess your level of readiness in a few actions.

➢ Examine your pitch pattern to make sure it lives up to your expectations.

➢ Be sure to sound assured.

➢ Pitch-matching with a note is improper.

➢ Your pitch should be memorized and practiced.

➢ Be mindful of your time and focus just on keywords in your pitch.

➢ Have brevity versions of your pitch.

➢ Pair your story with a visual document called a pitch deck which you deliver while pitching.

In your pitch session, you should sell your problem in ways that are evident or set by the consumer to avoid promoting a remedy in your pitch without first detailing the problem, or at least its significance.

Emmanuel Otori has over 9 years of experience working with 100 start-ups and SMEs across Nigeria. He has worked on the Growth and Employment (GEM) Project of the World Bank, GiZ, Consulted for businesses at the Abuja Enterprise Agency, Novustack, Splitspot and NITDA. He is the Chief Executive Officer at Abuja Data School.