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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.

Whether you are presenting to a small or large audience at work or in the community, here are 10 factors that can help you give an excellent presentation:

1. You know your subject.
It’s obvious to me and the rest of the audience that you know your material well and can handle questions with ease. You are confident but not cocky. It’s okay if you use notes, but you are not buried in them.

2. You communicate a clear message.
Not only do you know your subject well, but you are able to focus it into a concise message that I can understand, regardless of my level of expertise.

3. Your message is relevant to me (also known as “you care about the audience”).
You explain how your message relates to me and my experience. Once I heard someone give a speech that consisted entirely of stories about his experiences with famous people, to which I couldn’t relate at all. I kept thinking, “how does this help ME?”

4. You are prepared.
You show your respect for me and the rest of the audience by moving through your points in an organized manner, speaking within the time limit and comfortably handling the room environment and logistics.

5. You keep my attention.
You vary your voice and body language so you are interesting to listen to and watch. You make eye contact with me, you speak loudly enough so I can hear you easily and your body language matches your words.

6. You care about your subject.
Your presentation or speech conveys your sincere enthusiasm for your subject. You don’t have to be jumping up and down in the front of the room, but if you don’t care about your subject, why should I?

7. You share stories and examples.
Your stories don’t have to be long or overly dramatic; they can be short examples or anecdotes that illustrate your message and help it make sense to me.

8. Your slides are not the focus.
You remember that you are the presentation and your slides are just the visual aids. You spend most of your time making eye contact with the audience instead of looking at the screen. Your slides are easy to read and contain high-quality images. (Or, you don’t use slides at all!)

9. You are authentic.
You are your real self instead of putting on an act or pretending. You connect with me and the rest of the audience by sharing your real experiences and opinions. And you’re the same person offstage as when you’re onstage.

10. You’re not perfect.
When something unexpected happens or you make a mistake, you acknowledge it with grace and humor. And we are reminded that the goal is communication, not perfection, since perfection is unrealistic and unnecessary.

The next time you have to give a presentation or speech for any kind of audience, make sure you include these 10 factors, so you can deliver an excellent presentation.