plyayoiua.info

It is never easy raising money but it just got a whole lot tougher. Are there tried and trusted techniques to turn investors on? Yes there are. The secret sauce ingredients include: rigorous preparation, a great compelling story, delivered with passion by a credible management team.

Let’s break it down into three parts, preparation, content, and delivery.

Preparation

First, gather together answers to questions that will be asked by the business angel, venture capitalist or private equity player. What is the status of your industry in terms of trends and statistics? The key is to sound authoritative. Demonstrate that your team understands this market without being verbose. The value proposition – does it connect with customers? Why now? What makes the management team credible? Which analysts validate your strategy? How will you make money? Be clear on the itch you are scratching! What business am I in? Be clear why you are remarkable. Is it a very competitive space and if so why will you succeed? Little competition – does anyone want to spend money on your solution? Get on top of the detail. Memorize key facts. Be ready to explain the volume and yield drivers behind you historical numbers. Show your mastery of the economics of your business. Build a business plan that summarizes the policies you need to run the business. Ensure all key policies are articulated in a detailed way. A great business plan allows you to produce a great one page executive summary. Finally do your due diligence on potential funders, including studying their web site to discover their portfolio, previous exits, investment criteria, and bio of partners.

Content

What do I cover in my business plan and my executive summary? Write an enjoyable compelling story that covers: how much money you need, how you will spend it, how much your business is worth, why customers love you, how you will make money, why is it scalable, what makes your leadership team credible, what is the competitive landscape, and explain barriers to entry and the risks of what could go wrong. Prepare many what-if scenarios. Use the one page executive summary to get interviews and then use a few power points as props to deliver your story. Talk with confidence knowing your speech is backed up by a rigorous business plan.

Delivery

The executive summary has been sent, hit the bull’s-eye and has resulted in a face to face meeting. How do you handle a face to face meeting? Words of caution! First 60 seconds are unreasonably important. Lead with your strongest, most remarkable statement. Remember eye contact is vital so you don’t want an audience getting lost in the deep and meaningful graphs instead of looking at you. Length of presentation? Maximum 20 minutes with big changes of pace every 5 minutes. Talk slowly. Use a maximum of five power points. Involve key members of your team to make key points. Finish with a very strong 60 seconds bringing together the proposition and clear next steps.

The content of your presentation will be based on a simple formula, one I’m sure you’ve come across in many contexts. The basic format is simple and is always the same:

Tell them what you’re going to tell them

Make your points

Tell them what you’ve just told them

In other words, an introduction which gives an overview of the presentation, followed by a short talk based on the points listed in the overview and to finish, a summary of the points you have just covered.

How you present the material will depend on the audio visual aids available and which you feel most comfortable with. Let’s say you choose Overhead Transparencies (OHTs).

Your overview will be an OHT with a list of topics to be covered.
Then you will have one or two OHTs to illustrate each point.
You can use the first OHT again to summarise, or if you feel it is more appropriate, a new one which sums up the conclusions you have come to in the talk.

Some Tips for using OHTs

Make sure you use the right sort of OHT – there are different OHTs for use with laser and inkjet printers and so be sure to get the type which matches the printer you’ll be using. Otherwise the result could be smudged or blurred.

Font size – don’t use anything under 24 points as this will be difficult to read.

Don’t put too much information on each OHT. About 6 well spaced out lines of text is enough.

Check the Overhead Projector before you begin and make sure you know how it works.

Use a pen or pencil and point to the actual OHT and not the screen onto which it has been projected.

Leave each transparency up long enough for everyone to read it, but if you are talking quite a bit in between OHTs, switch the projector off. This may not be necessary in a very short presentation. Use common sense.

Using Notes

If you have practised in advance and are familiar with your subject, notes should not be necessary. Use the OHTs or other visual aids to prompt you. If you are asked to do a longer presentation and feel you can’t do without notes, keep them brief and leave them on the table for emergencies. Remember, your presentation should never be a reading of your notes. You can read a quotation or figures which you might not be expected to remember, but never, ever simply stand there and read your notes from start to finish. Notes should be a prompt, used only if nerves get the better of you and cause you to dry up.

Prepare to do without Audio Visual Aids

The more technical the aids you use, the more likely they are to go wrong. So always be prepared to do the presentation without them. If you are using PowerPoint, print out your slides and make sure you have a copy for each member of the panel. If using OHTs, a whiteboard or a flipchart make some sort of handout to illustrate your points. It’s not only technology which can go wrong – interviews can be moved to a room without a whiteboard and people can forget to provide a flipchart.

Handouts

A professionally produced handout is a good way to round off a presentation. It gives you a chance to show that you know your subject or have done your homework on the company. Don’t make it too long or use dense text. A short, illustrated and relevant handout will make a good impression and if it’s touch and go between you and one other candidate, might just tip the balance in your favour.

© Waller Jamison 2005

We have one person in our office that must have been born with the skills, talent, and ability to be a total extrovert and give a speech or presentation at the drop of a hat. However, according to a human resource survey reported in 2005, approximately 15% of employed persons are highly apprehensive about communicating orally in organizational settings. Practically everyone – about 85% of the population, in fact – experiences “stage fright” when they give a speech.

Another person in our office, we’ll have to call him “Joe,” was pretty near the bottom of that 85%. He was probably one of the 5% of us who have an excessive and debilitating fear of speaking in public.

Realizing this could affect his career from moving forward, he decided he needed to do something. Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players,” but if we’re not pretty good players, then we may face missed business opportunities, lost clients, being passed over for promotions. Any of these occurrences can cost us tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars over a career. So, our “Joe” went for help to acting professionals who teach transferring performance skills to the business arena, and it really made a difference.

I know of two places in Houston, Texas where they have acting classes to help the business person; “Joe” went to the Houston Academy of Dramatic Arts and Lasater Training Most cities of any size have acting schools which also offer lessons for business people who do presenting or any public speaking. Hopefully, you can find someone in your city if you need this type of training. Until then, the following tips should help improve your presentation skills:

Practice: Okay it’s just like learning to play the piano, practice, practice, practice, but it’s surprising how many people don’t practice in front of a mirror or in front of friends. Visualize: See yourself successfully presenting to a pleased audience, and visualize your audience as just people no different than you. That’s who they are. Know your material: This one should be obvious, but many people simply don’t prepare their material and then have stage fright because they feel unprepared. Go figure. Focus on one idea that’s usable: All your audience really wants is to walk away with something they can use. Relax: If you are at ease your audience will be at ease. Use resources: A good Flash or PowerPoint presentation can make your presentation more interesting and make your job easier.

What will, of course, do the most good is real training, at an acting school or somewhere else, that incorporates practice before class audiences and develops skills such as voice control and body movement. “Joe” is now able to present at work and at networking events with the poise of Tom Cruise.