What makes a perfect pitch?
I’ve seen a helluva lot of entrepreneurs & startups pitch over the course of the last few years – from 2 minute pitch competitions where the prize is a trip to New York to full scale high pressure pitches to secure up to €2.5m EU innovation grants on the back of a lot of prep & hard work - & everything in between.
It’s such a disappointment to see a great idea or product badly pitched … but what I’m calling “over-coached pitched” can be nearly as bad. Pitching is a dark art. But it’s one that as an entrepreneur or a founder you need to get right.
There’s been plenty written on this topic by others so this blog is for you when you’ve read all that other stuff. It’s my own personal observations & views:
· Please start by introducing yourself & anyone else that’s pitching with you. The number of people who omit or forget to do this is unbelievable, either through nerves or because you think we already know who you are. It’s even worse if your pitch is being live streamed or recorded & you forget to do this.
· If there’s more than one of you pitching for goodness sake bring a balanced team with you. It’s sometimes nice to have a chance to see the more junior members of a team speak alongside the founder/CEO at a pitch & I also have to say that as a female, it’s very off putting when three people turn up to a pitch & all of them are male. It makes me wonder about your real commitment to diversity in your company.
· Don’t start by launching into a mad and clearly made up story about your product or service. Some people (your expensive coach for example) may love this approach but for most people on the panel or in the audience it’s a bit of a turn off – especially for people who see a lot of pitches … and never, ever begin your pitch with a joke. No matter how funny or clever you think it is. Especially if you’re pitching to people from a mix of backgrounds/cultures.
· Use all your allotted time, be it 2 minutes or 20 minutes. If you finish with 30 seconds or a minute to spare you leave me wondering if that was all there was to tell us. It goes without saying that you should rehearse however many times is required so that you will get through all your slides smoothly but without the need to gabble like a turkey.
· If your product or service has the potential to deliver several benefits don’t focus on one to the exclusion of all else – your audience might be more interested in the one you don’t cover, & if you don’t cover it you’ll leave them high & dry. But don’t deliver what I heard called the other day a “Tupperware Party pitch”. It goes something like this – Here’s a brochure of our latest info – but we already have all your latest info – yes but this is new since Tuesday – we really don’t want any more information - then please pass this prototype round while we talk to you – we have this, this, this & this – just look how shiny we are - ugh.
· Don’t argue with or cut across your colleagues (this year I saw a company Chairman tell a female business development manager to “shut up” midway through her answering a panel question) & never, ever argue with or talk down to the panel members/judges/investors you are pitching to.
· If you are permitted time to take questions then answer them as succinctly as you can. The panel probably has lots of questions to get through & if you ramble on, filling up time, you will annoy them and they might wonder about the questions you are trying to avoid.
· Have a Plan B for if something happens on the day & one person can’t be there. You’d be surprised at how frequently this happens. It’s very obvious when a rehearsed 2 person presentation is delivered solo so practice both – just in case.
· Remember that not everyone who comes along has to pitch. If it’s a short pitch & there are 3 of you present, it’s often better to let your best talker deliver the pitch & have the others come in only to answer questions.
I hope this is helpful to readers & thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this short blog, please share with your own networks and be sure to tell everyone to join Awaken Hub!