Today’s Pill (25): Soft Pitching
When fundraising, storytelling is incredibly important. You can refine your skills and kill it in those two minutes or so when you face the potential investor at a party, when pitching to the “lions” at their offices or an event, or even in the elevator or when in line for a coffee. If you can show a product, do it, even though it’s not perfect; a gadget works way better than any PP slide. A short video works as well, and if it includes the clients’ feedback that’s even better. Look for that something that differentiates your product/service from the competitors’; you need an edge. The first version of your deck will probably contain all those slides everybody talks about (team, problem, solution, competition, KPIs, projections, blah, blah, blah — you know the drill.) Assuming you know well what you’re up to and the market you’re in, you still have to be able to tell a differentiated story, show charisma and EQ. Even the voice matters (a la Roger Love.) It will take many versions of your deck to hit the story right and more meetings to tell/sell it convincingly. Always look for feedback and iterate. Hire an exec coach and work with her/him to improve your soft skills and your pitch as well.
