What is a pitch?
It is important that you know how to give a good pitch. This is because it will help you convince investors to invest in your business.
As an entrepreneur it is important that you know how to give a good pitch. With a pitch you can convince investors to invest in your business.
When do you use a pitch?
You can use a pitch in many different ways. Usually you use a pitch to present your company or idea to an investor. In a pitch you tell very briefly about your company or idea and try to convince the person you are presenting it to join you and invest.
What is a good pitch?
A good investor pitch should meet a number of things. Basically there are 5 things you should always include in your pitch:
The entrepreneur
Who are you as an entrepreneur? Tell about yourself and your background. You can also tell why you became an entrepreneur or what experiences you have.
The company
Tell about your business, what you do and how you will make money with this.
Strengths
What are you good at? Mention why customers choose you, what problem you solve and what makes you so unique.
Marketing plan and market research
Before you pitch, do your market research. Present the key aspects from your marketing plan and market research. Who are your clients? What is your market? How do you promote your product?
Financial plan
And finally, perhaps the most important: the finances. Use a financial plan to show how much money you need for what. Also mention how much money you put in your investment yourself and how much you need additionally.
At the end of your pitch you can make the investor a proposal with what he will get back for the investment. Watch the video of the KVK below for 5 tips for a good pitch.
What types of pitches are there?
There are 7 different types of pitches. Below are all of them listed for you:
Investor pitch
During an investor’s pitch you as an entrepreneur will pull out all the stops to convince the investor to invest in your company. Everything this pitch should meet, you have read in the heading above. This pitch takes between 3 and 10 minutes.
Sales pitch
The sales pitch, also called business pitch, is a 2-minute pitch. It is often given at the beginning of the sales pitch. It is aimed at making the customer curious. It is important that you ask a lot of questions to find out what the needs are, because then you can process them in the sales pitch.
Media pitch
You use a media pitch when you want publicity and approach journalists. It is important that you prepare a pitch. Within the first 30 seconds you have to convince the journalist to talk to you. After that you can see each question as an opportunity for a mini-pitch where you can briefly and clearly tell about your company.
Network pitch
A network pitch lasts, like the media pitch, only 30 seconds. You can use this pitch when you’re at a birthday party and your aunt asks: “What do you actually do?” Of course, you can use it not only on birthdays, but also at networking events or other trade shows.
Job application pitch
You guessed it: the pitch for during a job interview. During a job interview, there is one question that is always asked that no one prepares. “Can you tell something about yourself?” With a 1 to 2 minute job interview pitch, you can introduce yourself as a strong candidate to the person you are having the conversation with.
Project pitch
The project pitch, also called idea pitch, is a 1 to 2 minute pitch in which you are going to try to get as many people as possible to invest in your project or idea. Try to get yes’s; ask questions that people have to answer ‘yes’ to. After the pitch, give people the opportunity to ask questions.
Video pitch
Video pitches are becoming increasingly popular! On camera you can show who you are and what you stand for. More and more employers are asking if you can introduce yourself with a video and this is also becoming more common among hosts. Make sure you make a high quality video!
What is an elevator pitch?
An elevator pitch is a pitch of about 60 seconds in which you pitch. The subject does not matter here. It may be that an investor asks you to do an elevator pitch, even though you normally have at least 3 minutes for this.
An elevator pitch is so called because in time it takes as long as getting in the elevator with the person with whom you have the conversation until you arrive at the floor where you go out again.
A good elevator pitch consists of 3 parts:
The Ice Breaker
Start with a good incoming pitch. Maybe you have a fun anecdote or there is a recent news article that ties in with the topic of your pitch.
The why
If you state the ‘why’, the person you are pitching to knows immediately whether your product, service or idea is a good fit for them. This is not about how you do something, but why.
A good ending
The goal is to get your conversation partner to take action. At the end of your pitch you can leave your card, ask him to visit your website or call at a later time.
What is a pitch presentation?
A pitch presentation, also called pitch deck, is a pitch in the form of a Keynote, PowerPoint or Prezi presentation. Normally you are physically present at a pitch, but with a pitch deck you have to make sure that even without your explanation the pitch is convincing enough for investors or other interlocutors to engage with your company, product, service or idea. On stock sites like Envato Elements you can find several pitch deck templates.
For a good example of a pitch deck, watch the pitch deck of Airbnb from 2009 in the video below!
Making a pitch may not be very exciting, but it’s important that you prepare your pitch well before you give it. Make sure you know exactly what you want to say and that you come across as convincing.
