Pitch the Vision, Communicate the Fundamentals
I’ve seen a lot of pitches in the last couple months, and one consistent weakness I see is founder’s focus on pitching rather than communicating. Perhaps calling these pitches is doing them a disservice in terms of preparing entreprenuers for what investors really want to hear. Pitching sounds like selling. Maybe we should call it Persuading rather than Pitching.
Building a Persuasive Pitch
Pitching = future, unknown
Communicating = presently known
It’s important to answer questions in an investors mind. Let’s break them down.
What problem is this solving?
Communicate a problem that exists and is understandable.
What’s your solution?
If its built — communicate what it is.
If its not — pitch what it will be.
How big is the market?
Communicate market size
Pitch addressable market segments you plan to go after
Communicate market segments where you have validated customer acquisition strategies
Who is your customer?
Pitch who you think your customer will be.
Communicate customers you have identified, targeted and onboarded.
What is your technology solution?
Pitch what you plan to build
Communicate what you have built and tested.
What traction do you have?
Can’t pitch traction.
Communicate your users, revenue, & growth.
What is your revenue model?
Pitch your sales forecast for next 3–5 years.
Communicate the unit economics of your product.
Who are your competitors?
Pitch your competitors feature matrix and how you stack up favorably.
Communicate the market positioning & dynamics of the industry and how you are targeting the whitespace.
Why should your team give me confidence?
Pitch your advisors and loose connections to recognizable people.
Communicate the credentials of people on your team and committed to your success with skin in the game.
How will you acquire customers?
Pitch your marketing plan that includes PR, SEO and Business Development
Communicate the conversion metrics for the acquisition channels you’ve been testing.
What is your use of funds?
Pitch how you think you’ll spend it, 30% marketing, 50% technology, 20% SGA
Communicate next year’s hiring plan, technology milestones and segmented marketing spends based on validated channels.
The difference between pitching and communicating is confidence. When you’re confident in what your communicating you are more persuasive. That is because you’ve tested and validated your assumptions. You’re communicating what you know to be true rather than what you hope happens.
Focus your pitch around communicating and watch what happens, I bet your investors will like it.