“If you can’t explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough” – Albert Einstein

Einstein said it perfectly! Pitching your business idea to a 3rd party is when you give a clear understanding of your idea, plans, and goals so as to get their buy-in. This 3rd party could be a potential client or a potential investor. Your goal is to communicate clearly and enthusiastically to motivate and persuade so as to turn your vision or idea into a reality. 

Before you get to a pitching session, you must do your research. You must first research the potential investor or client; learn more about their likes and dislikes, their needs, pain points, the kinds of ideas they invest in, the relationships they have with the businesses they invest in. You need to understand the market opportunity of your idea, your target audience, your product-market fit, your value proposition, your financials, and most importantly your exit strategy. 

As you are preparing for your pitch, here are 5 things that are essential for you to do to win the pitch 

1. Story Story: Tell a story! Using the active voice, your idea should be in the format of a story. The storyline could be aligned with the problem and need your idea is solving or filling. 
2. Implement the KISS strategy: Keep it stupidly simple! Use short sentences and familiar, everyday words but don’t stray too far from investor lingo (eg minimum viable product). Ensure you have visuals, people understand better when they can see, but keep these visuals simple. 
3. Facts & Feelings: Quantitative as well as qualitative data. You need to show the data, it is essential. However, do not forget that emotions play a big role in decision making so use language and metaphor that will stir their emotions. 
4. Mystery: Do not give all the information at the beginning of the presentation. The brain craves anticipation so give teasers that will keep your audience interested and wanting more in the beginning.
5. Repetition: The more you repeat something of importance, the more likely it is to be remembered. Repeat information (your company name, your name, your idea) as much as possible so it is remembered. 

Pitching can be a daunting experience; mainly because we place so many expectations on it. As long as you know your idea and pitch audience inside out, you can clearly state the market opportunity of your idea, your target audience, your product-market fit, your value proposition, your financials, and your exit strategy, and are prepared; go in, have fun, and don’t put too much pressure on the experience. 

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References

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/business-pitching

https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/how-to-pitch-a-business-idea