Consider the last time you made a substantial purchase. What compelled you to charge a costly item on your credit card or write a check for thousands of dollars, all in the hope that you would be satisfied?
The primary purpose of presenting your pitch deck is to make investors enthused about your idea and confident enough in your business to invest in it.
Are you worried about the design aspect of the presentation?
Make a stunning pitch using free PowerPoint templates by SlideUpLift and ace your first impression in front of the investors!
Here are ten tips for marketing your company using a pitch deck that will help you create a good impression and acquire the funding you need.
1. Leverage the Power of Visuals
People are visual learners, so presenting your startup’s growth potential through graphs and charts is much more successful than just expressing it in words. Infographics that indicate your company’s performance in absolute and relative terms should be included in your pitch deck.
2. Follow a Solid Storyline Plot
Outlining an effective pitch deck entails depending on a traditional story plot: why, how, who, climax, and epilogue. Thinking about your pitch deck in these words can give you a clear concept of how to organize it and what to emphasize.
The ‘why’ refers to the issue you’re focusing on; the ‘how’ refers to how you aim to solve it; the ‘who’ draws attention to describing what makes you and your team exceptional; the climax will explain to investors what awesome things will come out of your partnership; and the epilogue allows you to make clear your goals by completing a final statement about your funding needs.
3. Keep it Simple
Remember that the typical pitch deck comprises 12-20 slides and that the average individual has the attention span of a goldfish.
Using too complicated terminology and concepts can make you seem to be a genius, but even the most savvy high-profile investor wants a clear, straightforward understanding of what your product is, what it solves, and how customers will use it.
4. Focus on the Problem
What sells is an innovative product that drives solutions. Pitch decks that stress how a product can address a problem and why this issue is significant enough to spend money on are more appealing to investors.
One of your initial slides should address the issue you want to solve for the consumers of your product. To make your pitch deck more accessible, use real-life examples and provide a short narrative about how you became aware of the issue and how it has affected your customers.
Later, you can explain how your organization will outperform rivals on the market who are also attempting to tackle this issue.
5. Provide a Solution
Investors will swiftly abandon a product that seems to be excellent but does not provide a realistic answer. Make sure to utilize language in your presentations that indicates to potential investors that the issue you wish to tackle is critical and that your firm has the most distinctive and lucrative solution to it. Use diagrams and charts to make your message more visually appealing.
6. Make a Captivating Introduction Slide
In our technologically advanced culture, information is now conveyed at rapid speed, and we expect to have the scoop in a few phrases or less.
It’s no different with pitch decks: a long initial explanation of your business will not pique the attention of investors, and your pitch deck will go to the bottom of the pile. Instead, attract investors straight away with a great opening statement that, in one line, conveys the objective of your firm and what makes it unique.
7. Define Your Target Market
Dissect your target market: how big is it? Can you explain the kind of customer who would buy your product?
Communicate the magnitude of your company’s predicament. The greater the issue, the greater the opportunity for your product. For example, ABC News reported in 2012 that around 108 million Americans are on diets.
That’s a massive target market with a lot of potential for a diet pill business! It’s no surprise that so many investors are eager to finance weight loss-focused firms. The broader your market, the more opportunities for success and failure there are (if you lag behind your competitors).
8. Shine Out From Your Competitors
Consider this the next time you go shopping for an ordinary item, such as soup. What makes you prefer Campbell’s over Progresso?
Most likely, some advertising you saw online, in print, or on television persuaded you that Campbell’s is superior to Progresso. With tens of hundreds, if not thousands, of other firms in your field, you must demonstrate to investors that you have a distinct approach for effectively marketing your product.
Concentrate on how your product provides a one-of-a-kind answer to a problem. Determine your company’s strengths and how you might outperform your rivals’ shortcomings. Answer the question: what tried-and-true marketing methods would you use to create millions of dollars in revenue?
9. Maintain a Balance Between Texts and Visuals
A clean and professional pitch deck should not resemble a PPT project from college. Spreading bullet points across your pitch deck is a sign that you’re being too wordy. Visuals have a greater influence on your audience, and utilizing charts and diagrams allows you to present facts and numbers in a more creative manner.
10. Self Yourself/Your Team
Giving your pitch deck a customized touch is an ideal method to separate out from the crowd while competing for the same scarce money. Give a short background narrative on why you and your team are so enthusiastic about this venture.
Explain to investors why you want to solve this issue because of how it has impacted you and your community; most importantly, write something that investors can personally relate with. Highlight your team members’ remarkable qualities and what makes them specialists in their sector.
Wrapping It Up
Creating a pitch deck that would pique the attention of investors in your firm might be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. All you have to do is add the appropriate content and ensure that each slide of your presentation flows logically into the next.
Checkout SlideUpLift’s collection of Google Slides Templates to create stunning pitch deck presentations
You’ll be able to attract investors who are interested in your firm if you use these tips on how to advertise your startup using a pitch deck.