Don't underestimate the Power of a good business pitch

All technology or software entrepreneurs have to pitch their ideas to various stakeholders: whether they’re potential customers, potential employees, professional investors or even friends and family

Most of them are likely to be non-techies or people with little interest in new technology. So the challenge is to communicate your idea and translate complex concepts into a narrative that they can understand - and that will compel them to invest in and become the chief ‘evangelist’ for your project. The ability to communicate in this way is the key to moving from just a start-up with little or no funding to becoming a business with serious funding to drive your vision forward.

Lets think about it further. Pitched poorly, even a very good and potentially profitable business would not see the light of day. That’s why so many entrepreneurs with very good ideas struggle to get their businesses off the ground without the help of expert sales and marketing people who are skilled in selling. One of the key ways of communicating ideas is to focus on how the idea solves the average person or company’s problems.

Poor communication or pitching of a business idea is a serious problem - one that’s often underestimated by start-up businesses.

Here are a series of ideas to help you overcome this challenge:

1.  Go to an expert or professional to help you hone your pitch and the way you convey your idea to others. This should not be too expensive; in fact there are ‘business angel’ agencies that offer these services for free. www.angelsden.co.uk is the only one I can think of at the moment but there are others.

2.  Work on designing a professionally presented brochure demonstrating your idea or concept in visual form using picture, graphics and words. In this case, a picture literally is worth a thousands words. The image of your product will stick in people’s minds and they’ll quickly if not instantly assimilate your idea. Every time I’ve sent my business plan and concept brochure to people, they’ve commented on the logo design and the impact of the brochure and how it conveys the idea - but never on my wordy business plan. I believe that’s because a very good brochure is easy to consume - unlike dense business plans full of technical language, which tend to be daunting for the uninitiated.

3. Prepare quick and short answers to anticipate the inevitable rebuttals that might undermine your pitch. Of course there are many more areas a start-up needs to perfect to ensure they get funding, but a very good, clear and succinct pitch backed by relevant imagery will definitely help you acquire a certain level of funding. Even if it’s small compared to what you’re looking for, this seed funding indicates to professional investors that your business is worth looking at because other people have already bought into your idea!