If you work hard, you may find your Home Business outgrowing its current setting, and want to engage investors in order to take it to the next level. It may be you need to move to a new office space or working facility in Home Business; it may be you need to extend your product line or scale up your manufacturing. Equally, you may need access to a broader network of suppliers or customers.
Whatever the reason, an investor meeting can be a make or break moment for your company. Ensure you’re always successful when meeting potential supporters, by following the below tips.
Craft your ’30 Second Elevator Pitch’
Above all else, you need to make sure investors can easily understand what it is your business is all about — what you market, to whom, why and with how much success. You’ll commonly hear this referred to as a ’30 second elevator pitch’: you should imagine you’ve got only 30 seconds to communicate the essence of your company and business plan, hook them in, and make it impossible for them to turn you down.
Click here for further assistance on how to develop your succinct business description.
Make them Share your Passion
Beyond the necessary details, the next thing investors will be looking to see from you is passion. When you’re excited about what you do, you’ll get them excited too. A lot of the time, investors buy into determination, so the more you can show that you’re entirely engaged in making a success of this business, the more likely you will be to walk away with a deal.
Audiences respond well to personal accounts or a tale they can relate to. As such, consider explaining what it was that brought you into this line of business in the first place. Try to learn some basic resume information about those you are meeting with, and look for parallels in your journeys. Sharing in these narratives will bond you together and, once again, increase your chances of success.
Bring the Idea to Life for Them
Many meetings can end disappointingly as a result of poor presentation skills. Not only should you practice speaking your pitch out-loud, more than once, as preparation, but you should consider other ways to bring the business plan to life for your audience.
Multimedia approaches, such as an animation video, can make your content memorable and very engaging indeed.
Do your Sums
Whether you’re naturally a numbers person or not, prospective investors will prioritize learning the facts and figures before making a decision. As such, you should do extensive work into the financials of your business plan ahead of the meeting — don’t leave any stone unturned. Calculate your net profit, losses, financial forecasting, personal income, taxes, and what cut of the business you’d be able to hand over and for how much. Neglecting to do this work before meeting investors may well lose you the promising business connection.
Ultimately, investors are interested in a business that’s mutually beneficial for them. Remember what’s driven your success so far, and try to take your audience along on the journey. Best of luck.
