Crash Course on Looking Like You are Worth the Million Dollars You are Asking For Jeff McConnell CEO, Whisper Communications Michael S. Blake, CFA, ASA, ABAR, BCA President, Arpeggio Advisors
Pitching Your Deal – A Crash Course on Looking Like You are Worth the Million Dollars You are
Asking ForJeff McConnell
CEO, Whisper Communications
Michael S. Blake, CFA, ASA, ABAR, BCAPresident, Arpeggio Advisors
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Disclaimers• It is assumed that grownups are watching this presentation and are
capable of making their own decisions.• The views expressed in this presentation are ours.• This is an 80/20 presentation – we are sacrificing detail for clarity.• You agree not to sue us if you act on any information offered here and
things don’t work out.• None of the content contained herein should be construed as an
investment recommendation.• None of the content contained herein should be construed as a legal
opinion.• Don’t ever do anything without advice of legal counsel.• All images taken from FreeImages.com or Google Images labelled “for
commercial reuse”.• If you find any spelling mistakes, you may keep them.
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Any road will get you there..
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if you don’t know where you are going
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Story Telling
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Pitch
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what you do
easy-to-understand
“socially conveyable”
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Who are you?
What do you make or do?
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Why needed? What pain do you solve?
Why important, different, or compelling?
What makes you better?
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Where are you?
What’s next?
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Quantify market/savings
•provides … for the $50B yo-yo market•saves our customers 65% a year •reduces time ..by 75%Be prepared to justify!
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Good Pitches create questions•5-10 logical questions
•“How do you save that much time for them?”•“How do you make money?”•“How do you stack up against Microsoft?”
•Strategize and practice it
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So how do you do it?•Think “conversational pitch w/visuals”
•90+% Who/What/Why/Where
• -10% How
• focus on selling business, not secret sauce
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Judges’ Score SheetCONTEXT and CONTENT WEIGHT1. Established context and stated objective Who are you? (Story; How did you get here?), Why do you exist? (Mantra
embodies core values)10%
1. Identified Problem What is the problem, Who thinks it’s a problem, How big is the problem? 20%
1. Explained Solution (Answers: What do you do? How do you do it? How is it different/unique from others?) 20%
1. Presented Business Model and Customer Acquisition Strategy What is your value proposition? What is your target market? How will you reach
them? Who is your competition? How do you make money? Who is on your team and
why are they important? (capabilities) How will you use investor funds?
30%
1. Answered questions knowledgeably 10%DELIVERY OVERALL WEIGHTPortrayed professional & confident image; Connected with audience using appropriate eye contact; Used familiar language with effective tone, pitch, rate, volume; Used visual aids (slides, props) to engage audience and support objectives.
10%
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Why Are You Doing This?
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People Don’t Buy What You Do, They Buy Why You Do It...
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Which Are You?
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What Is Your Solution?
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What is a Business Model
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Ideal = Large Market, Few Customers
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Who Is On Your Team?
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Use of Funds
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CompetitionIf there’s no competition, chances are the problem isn’t worth very much to solve.
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Answering Questions
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Your Presentation
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What Investors Want...
Thank You for Your
Attention!Questions?
Michael Blake, CFA, ASA, ABAR, BCAPresident, Arpeggio Advisors
[email protected]@unblakeable
Jeff McConnellCEO, Whisper Communications
Skype: jbmcconnell