Secrets of a Successful Business Pitch

During my years as an investor on the BBC television show “Dragons’ Den,” I heard hundreds of business pitches. And as an entrepreneur outside the show, I’ve also given plenty presentations myself. Through it all I’ve learned that the way you present yourself and your business will greatly affect who will invest in your venture. An investor is much more likely to invest in an entrepreneur who’s professional, well prepared and knows his numbers.

If you’re committed to making a good business pitch, remember to do the following:

PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE. Before you present, obtain as much background knowledge as possible on your prospective investors. Use Google and social media outlets as resources – LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are packed with information on your investors. Above all, remain observant and always look for opportunities to make a personal connection.

CREATE A JOURNEY FOR THE INVESTMENT. Ideally, this journey should reveal the persistent problem your business hopes to tackle. Be sure to demonstrate why and how you came to develop the idea in the first place.

CONVEY YOUR ENTHUSIASM. If you can demonstrate a genuine drive to make your business work, then your proposal is going to sound more appealing. You need to succinctly explain why you’re a qualified individual to invest in and how you plan to execute your idea.

BACK UP YOUR PITCH WITH HARD DATA. Investors are most interested in facts. So make sure your numbers make sense. You have to be prepared for in-depth questions on turnover, sales figures, break-even points, profit margins and so on.

LEVERAGE YOUR IMAGE. Be creative with your business image. When I started my recruitment company, I could only afford a minuscule office (actually a broom cupboard) at a grand office building in London. As a result, I would meet my clients in the building’s impressive entrance hall and suggest we step out for coffee at the Ritz, explaining that my office was far too busy to talk privately.

If you’re completely open about the passion you have for your business, your pitch will have a better chance of being received with the same enthusiasm – even if you’re coming from the humblest of beginnings.

(James Caan is a British entrepreneur, venture capitalist and former panelist on the BBC television show “Dragons’ Den.” He is the author of “The Real Deal” and “Get the Job You Really Want.”)

© 2011 Harvard Business Publishing