If you an entrepreneur with an amazing idea and want to pitch it to your friends or even an investor, get ready to experience sweaty palms and rosy, red cheeks. Why?
Because you never have a second chance to make a first impression!
Here are some tips to avoid screwing it up:
I. Make a plan and write it down.
Here is a plan: The American Express advice US makes it simple and useful.
FIRST BLOCK
1) Name of your business
2) Your product/services
3) Market segment
4) Problem solving
SECOND BLOCK
1) Why your product is needed
2) Which problems can it solve (this makes life easier, saves time and is more productive)
3) Why are you better than the competition—USP
THIRD BLOCK
1) Sales & Profitability Statement
2) End with a statement about what you are looking to accomplish
II. Repeat your pitch format again, and again.
In front of mirror or video camera, run through your offer at least a few times. Also, pitch your idea in front of friends and ask them to be critical by asking several questions.
Overall, if you repeat your sales pitch to roughly ten different people you should be prepared to answer a wider range of questions during the “actual” sales meeting.
You need to achieve the certain level of confidence in your knowledge about what you are trying to express. When the words begin to flow naturally from your mouth in rhythm and sequence, you’re probably ready.
III. Now watch what you recorded
Pay close attention to your body language and facial expressions. Here is a very useful video from TED by Amy Cuddy “Your body language shapes who you are”. Strongly recommended!
IV. Speak simple without generalizing
Try pitching the idea as if you were speaking to a five-year-old child—if a child can understand it, an adult most certainly can too.
V. Remember practice makes perfect!
Good luck!
Life as an Investment 
June 10th, 2014 at 2:28 am
Reblogged this on forte presence and commented:
“I hate talking about my business.”
The number of times I hear people say this, well…it’s fatiguing. What it tells me is, either:
a) You’ve bought so deeply into Austalia’s Tall Poppy syndrome that you’ver never figured out how to say good things about what you do
Or
b) You’re not aware that it helps the person you’re having a conversation with. Really, it helps the flow of conversation, it helps open the door to something the other person might be interested in. By speaking well about your business, you open up communication.
In July I’ll be speaking at an event for emerging entrepreneurs about how to do this. I hope to help them understand the value of opening up a conversation about what they’ve been passionate enough about to turn it into a business.
This blog post is a great start for taking the time to really think about how we might help spark an interesting conversation.