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By Evelyn James

Essential to small businesses, start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs alike, your business pitch plays a vital role in communicating your businesses products and services to potential investors.

As the experts at Informi state: ‘Whether you are discussing your idea with a small business advisor at your bank, or pitching to secure funding or to find an office space, you need to plan your pitch.’ A good amount of preparation is essential to delivering a great presentation, which is why we have created the following list of the seven best ways to make your busines pitch stand out.

Be prepared for total transparency

To truly convince an investor to not only invest in you, but your idea, you must work to build their trust by willingly sharing your successes and failures whilst showing your development of knowledge over time. There are four key aspects of your business that you must be completely knowledgeable about and able to present clearly to potential investors that will affect their final decision:

-Your product.

-Your audience.

-Your competitors.

-Your net profits.

Be a passionate visionary

Being able to strategically plan and make informed decisions are important lessons that you as entrepreneurs must learn to leverage your passion and develop success. This comes in the shape of a scalable business model, with a clear strategy on how you will penetrate the largest markets and acquire market share over the next 5 years. However, the ability to envision and develop this strategy into a realistic, but optimistic story that incorporates the passion of your potential investor, is how you acquire their continued support.

Make a long-lasting impression

When deciding to pitch your business idea, remember that you are the most important asset and your ability to show confidence, empathy and sufficient practice to potential investors will inevitably affect their final decision.

A great way to ensure memorability and make a great first impression lies in your commitment to clear, positive communication techniques and aesthetically pleasing visual merchandising displays. For example, offering branded merchandise and treats can significantly enhance the aesthetic of your business pitch and personal professionalism, this can be achieved by leveraging their high quality personalisation service to promote your brand and its exclusive logo.

Intellectual property

Familiarizing yourself with the importance of intellectual property and developing a unique, focused strategy that aligns with your businesses vision and objectives is an essential aspect of a successful business pitch. This alignment and protection will assure potential investors that your idea is novel and that your tangible and intangible creations cannot be imitated easily, securing sustainable competitive advantage that can be implemented not only in the UK, but globally when considering internationalisation.

Customer acquisition strategy

The increase in consumer power and the lack of transparency and trust has made it essential for small and large businesses alike to consider the impact of their customer acquisition and retention strategies, which often corresponds to their marketing and communications strategies and the implementation of modern, specific KPI’s. These KPI’s will prove to Investors that you know how you are going to successfully penetrate your chosen market, and that you understand that the importance of digital marketing in achieving this goal has never been higher.

Exit strategy

Implementing lean business models, considering the unexpected need of an exit strategy throughout the planning stage, and providing examples of similar events occurring within your chosen industry can be a detrimental factor that investors consider when listening to your business pitch. This is due to the increase in value that exit strategies have on your business, whilst also suggesting to investors that you involve limited risk. Three common exit strategies that you can consider include:

-Mergers and Acquisitions

-Selling the business

-Initial public offerings (IPO)

Ask for constructive feedback

An important aspect of your business pitch that you must consider ensuring continued development, is the ability to ask questions on how you can improve for the future. This final step is essential, regardless of whether you acquire investment or not, as this can often prove to investors that you are committed to your idea and that you are willing to persevere despite their rejection. This feedback allows you to continuously improve your pitch and gives you the confidence you need to make a lasting impression in the future and fulfill your dreams of becoming a successful entrepreneur.

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Evelyn James is an emerging freelancer who’s passionate about entrepreneurship, copywriting, and the latest social media trends. When she’s isn’t writing, she can be found either scrolling through Pinterest or rereading Harry Potter for the hundredth time.