Entrepreneurs are almost universally excited about their businesses. They become almost like an extension of their personalities, and they have the potential to impact the world. But translating that enthusiasm and confidence of success into an investment pitch is easier said than done. It turns out that getting investors to part with their money is an entirely different ball game.
With that said, there are some tried and true methods for appealing to investors that actually work. Here’s what to do.
Keep Your Pitch Short
Elevator pitches should only last between 30 and 60 seconds. The reason? The basic idea of a company should be easy to understand and digest. If it’s not, it suggests that either the business model is too complicated, or you’re waffling. And both of those are prime reasons why investors might not be overly interested in investing in your firm.
Talk About Your Own Investments
Investors like it when business owners have put their own money into the business, so make sure you tell investors what you’ve put in and how it has motivated you to succeed. Putting your own money into a project shows that you really believe that you’ve got a good idea.
Tell Them What You’ll Do With The Money
It’s all well and good asking investors and lenders, like Colbeck, for money. But they’re going to want to know what you’re planning on doing with it. Don’t just use generic answers like “to help my company grow.” Instead, tell them why you need the money. For instance, perhaps you want to build a cloud platform, and you need somebody with the specialist skills that are needed to make that happen. Or maybe you need money for a dozen new sales reps to promote your business to people on the high street.
Always Ask For An Exact Figure
Before you go into the investor meeting, it’s a good idea to have an exact amount of money in mind. This is because you want to know just how much you need to borrow to avoid paying extra interest charges. Plus, it doesn’t look good to investors when they see that you’re just winging it and don’t really know how much you need. It hardly fills them with confidence.
Play Up Your Assets
The majority of VC capital these days goes to companies with demonstrable intellectual property protection behind their ideas. Once the relevant IP is in place, generating profits in the future is more or less guaranteed, since the firm will probably be sold or the technology will be licensed out for a fee. Make sure, therefore, that you tell them about your assets, be it a patent, a proprietary piece of software or even a particularly funky trademark.
Have Your Numbers Scribbled Somewhere
It’s very likely that investors will ask you to recall specific numbers from your business, like your turnover or your cash flow. It’s a good idea, therefore, to have these numbers on hand so that you can give the right answer on the spot.
