There’s no “One-Size-Fits-All” in Pitching

“Different Strokes, for Different Folks” – the old saying applies also for different types of pitch decks to cater to various audiences. Yet, how we plan for these different pitch decks can follow a similar thought process. 

Oftentimes, I work with startups in their business pitches, and I see them take the same slide deck, words, content flow and just recite it to every audience they’re meeting. Whether they are doing an investment pitch, a pitch to a potential client, or maybe even pitching at an industry forum – they have every one of their team members stand up and say the same message. The fact remains that – the best business pitches are the ones that audiences can relate with and feel at heart. This is true whether you are delivering an investment pitch, startup business pitch, or a client pitch presentation. 

You may be now thinking “Oh gosh… that means I have so much work to do on the pitch deck, every time I’m pitching?” Well.. maybe not. If you’ve been pitching to many types of audiences, you may have all the content scattered across different pitch decks. We just have to work on taking the right content and assembling them together for your winning pitch. Let’s take some common scenarios and think through them: 

Investment Pitch Deck 

Even with investors, there will be variances in the kind of content you need to deliver. Who are the investors you are pitching to? What is their background and current tastes like? For any pitch, it’s always about the audience first. Now, if you find along the way of your planning that the audience you’re pitching to may not be the best fit to work with you – that’s fine, at least you can save time now. If after analyzing the audience you wish to proceed pitching to this audience of investors, make sure you at least have the standard content which investors look for, including: Your market size, team members/background, your unique selling proposition, current traction and future aspirations, etc.

If you want to take it up a notch, go beyond what investors are already hearing in every pitch. Try to give some benefit to them in investing with your company. Perhaps there is some way to assure them that your company is worth investing in. Or even better – if investing in your company could help their current portfolio become more robust or be better hedged – how could you show that to them? 

When creating the pitch deck, keep the content clean and concise. If there is a number on your slide – are you able to explain that number comfortably? Overcrowding the pitch deck may distract the audience to be reading instead of listening, or worse – lose attention. 

If you showed your pitch deck to someone without being there to present it, would they be able to understand your key messages? The way to think about any pitch deck is to make it audience-centric. 

‍Startup Business Pitch

Convincing an audience to believe in you and want to work with you – that can be challenging if the credibility is not yet established. Branding, reputation and perception grows over time. Yet, if this is something which is not well established for you – not to worry, your pitch can be the moment to build this with audiences. 

To build up their trust in you – relate to them first with a known situation, challenge or problem that they are facing and familiar with. Extract the severity of the situation and how it has impacted them. Be factual and empathize with their emotions in these situations. 

Then get to the turning point. Ask – “What If?” 

Gauge their attention and see how they would respond if you could make the existing challenge different, or vanish! What would this look like with one picture? Next, prove that you can do it. Show them “how” this can happen – with a simple image or a short demo that exemplifies the power of your offering. If there is any unique-ness of your offering, show them how that unique-ness could make their lives look different. For this – perhaps a data figure could expand the vivid-ness of your impact. Lastly, prove to them that what you’re proposing can really be done. Audiences want some evidence to have trust in your ability. For this – logos of existing success cases, figures of previous tests or maybe testimonials can be shared. You don’t need to have every success case that you’ve delivered altogether – try to share the evidence that’s most relevant to this audience’s situation. Because whether you’re doing a startup business pitch or a client pitch – the principle for the best business pitches remains universal: “Make it audience-centric”.