Creating a Pitch Someone Will Never Forget
By: Tavian Jean-Pierre
Tags: Work, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Startup, Business

Entrepreneurship

Photo by Product School on Unsplash

Dragons Den is a TV show where cunning entrepreneurs try to get investment for their ideas. The format of the show is simple. Someone with an idea comes and pitches it to potential investors (dragons) and hopefully secures investment for it.

Most of the time, the entrepreneur will have a figure in mind of how much money they need. And it tends to range from £40,000 to £150,000. So the pitch has to be good as they need a lot of money, especially from someone they have just met.

I have spent the last month watching this show to get an understanding of what dragons invest in. Of course, some people get away with a poor pitch because the idea is too good to not invest in. But these tend to be outliers.

Many products I have seen that get investment have both a good pitch and idea. These pitches tend to follow a similar pattern and engage the investors to want to take interest.

Pitching an idea is a great skill to have, even if you are not an entrepreneur. Leaders of teams often have to bring ideas to their teams and motivate them to do it. And at work, you may find yourself having to persuade others around you of the solution you believe you have found.

Remember, at the heart of every pitch is the desire to persuade. So, you must believe in your product or solution before you try selling it to someone else. If you doubts, go back and work on it some more.

Even the smallest doubt can shake your confidence whilst trying to pitch your idea to a team member or an investor. So, remember this initial point and read on to learn the three steps to a perfect pitch.

Form a Personal Story Around the Problem

Many of the entrepreneurs that receive investment have used the power of storytelling to help engage the dragons. However, the story is placed right at the beginning and connected to the problem.

It is a natural tendency to want to create a story around the solution and our product. Many go wrong here and try to sell to the dragons what the world would look like with their product. But doing this only causes the dragons to poke holes in their imaginary system.

So, the real value of storytelling lies in the problem. The story of how you landed on the problem must be authentic and have emotion. Many of these stories involve family and close friends that the entrepreneur is trying to help with their product. Like a disabled friend or a daughter finding it challenging to learn at school.

The story must include three things:

How you came across the problem?

You should be able to give a short introduction to how you stumbled across your problem. It may have been when you were doing an activity, or someone may have told you something. Either way, ensure you highlight this at the beginning.

The point when you realised many people were having the same problem

Here you are highlighting the market for your product. You are letting your listeners know the problem goes past your experience, and there are many with a similar story.

Why the problem should not exist?

Conclude this short segment of your pitch by letting those listening know why the problem should not exist. You do this by highlighting that people should no longer be struggling with the problem based on the resources we have access to. This then leads the way for you to announce your product and get your listeners intrigued.

Highlight Yourself as the Hero

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about how to sell a product. In that article, I raise the point that people do not buy what you do, but why you do it. I would advise this article to anyone looking to bring a product or service into the world.

The reason I highlight this point is because it is a part of the pitch. Once you have introduced your product, you must show yourself as the protagonist.

The protagonist is the character who has a goal that the readers or listeners want to happen. The best example is a hero trying to save the day. The antagonist is the character who repeatedly puts things in the way to go against the goal. That is the villain.

This part of the pitch is not too long but is essential for those listening. Many try to get investment for their product because that is what they need the money for. But, the investors are not just investing their time and resources in the product, they are also investing in them.

So, highlight your reasons for embarking on the journey of creating your solution. You can do that easily by answering these three questions:

What quality do you believe makes the world a better place? Who do you want to be in this world? What is your version of the best world possible?

Once you have highlighted these three points, your listeners will see you as a hero on a mission. They will understand why you created the product and what your goal is as an individual.

End With the Key Features and Your Results

Finally, it is time to end the pitch with a bang. List the key features of your product and how they help to solve the customer’s problem. Also, mention any parts of the product that give the customer extra benefits.

The best way to present your key features is by listing them and then highlighting how it solves the problem. Your key features should also complement the character as the hero you showed yourself to be. Therefore, your product should show off your thought process and skill as a designer.

Once you have listed your key features, end with your results. Let your listeners know where you have tried the product or service. Show them the results and highlight its growing demand. That way, they are left knowing that the product is useful and it does perform.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this short article has helped you better structure any pitch or presentation you have to do. There is one final thing I would like to leave you with.

Remember to see those investing in your ideas as part of your team. We sometimes see people we want help from as bystanders or people only involved for a moment. However, this leads to poor treatment and a negative attitude entering your pitch.

The people you are pitching to are not people you need a quick favour from. See them as people you want to build a long term relationship with for your best version of the world.