Business owners pitch all the time. We pitch our employees on our ideas. We pitch our future customers and “sell them” work hire us. We even pitch our 3-year-olds to encourage them to eat their veggies.
Keane Angle, founder of Story Pitch Decks shared his insights for small business owners and startups.
Story Pitch Decks is a service that helps startups and service organizations better pitch their business.
Yes, the “pitch deck” is absolutely important. Is it clear, and good graphics, and does it communicate the right message?
The Deck Comes Second
What’s MORE important, Keane explains, is the “homework” that’s necessary beforehand.
Start a the high level and ask the right questions.
Keane suggests that you write down 5 key sentences to describe what you’re pitch, overall, should be about.
When creating your pitch, ensure that the pitch is understandable to a 9th grader.
You’re pitching to very smart people, they’re often just NOT an expert in your industry.
Don’t try to use fancy acronyms or terms, UNLESS you know the audience expects it or can handle it.
Timing
Finally, for the actual pitch, be sure to budget the right time.
If you have 30 minutes for the MEETING, don’t assume that’s 30 minutes for the pitch. What about time for greetings? Questions? chit-chat. Maybe the actual pitch turns out to be only 20 minutes.
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