Introduction to pitching

Editor's Notes

• #2: Questions:* How many are on techie side of team?* and on Business dev?* Who has had some training on Pitching or Presentation skills before?* Any expectations?* Format of workshop: - approx 1 hour of me talking * Pitch structure * Presentation skills - Some actual doing (all team members)
• #3: What is a pitch? Short *marketing* message, shows you understand your company and the market it operates in get’s audience just interested enough to grant you some more time => longer pitch/meeting i.e “that sounds interesting, please tell me more”Why should you pitch? clarify exactly what it is that your company does. If you can tell what you do quickly and clearly to other people, then you can start asking questions == selling!!When is it used? anytime someone asks “what do you do?” Pitching eventsWho?All team members. Never know when you need it.General life skill
• #4: * Know your material* 2-3 minutes per slide is a reasonable working average (but there can be exceptions!)* spend *AT LEAST* 3-10x on prep Vs delivery time (even longer if it something is new!)* Don't rely on tech - What to do if; * no network?, * beamer breaks? * takes too long to get beamer working?etc - Plan for fall backs (all the way to just hand waving!!) * Structure intro slide – Company logo end slide – Company logo and contact details how many slides (governs Style?)
• #5: Type of Pitch:Elevator : For (Target customer), who has (need), product name is a (market category) that (main benefit). Unlike (competition), the product (unique differentiator).1,2,3,5 minutes (with and without slides). 1 start with only the white items (maybe replace $ with “what is your unfair advantage”) 3 & 5 should have a demo if at all possible. Longer means more detail. 15 minute in front of a VC/finance person/customerTag Line – “we are X for Y” is a common format for a tag line.WIFM – What's In it For Me
• #6: Problem:*WHO* has *WHAT* problem, *HOW* do you solve it, and *WHY* would they give you moneyand *WHO* is paying you, if it is not the person with the problem)Short summary – 20-30 seconds!!Solution – how you solve this problemUse stories – personalizes it
• #7: Traction – mention it if you have it!Do you have any traction?Talked with users/customers?Business model – Freemium, affliliate fees, sell product, god forbid advertisingHow big a market? Quick goolge (other search engines exist!)!!Don’t forget to give the audience something to doask for what you need, this is not always money! Alpha users, feedback…
• #8: Show where you are. Should be high and right.
• #9: Team – why will this team win over a similar pile of CV’sDon't particularly care – are all roles covered?For pitches – group photo or other?For sending boring CV type slide
• #10: As a visual(ish) version
• #11: Show your passion for the idea/company you are pitching.Are you excited?Confidence - fake it (everyone is nervous when presenting)Don't spurt out your flaws at the start of the presentation! - the audience wants you to succeed (no-one *WANTS* to listen to a boring presentation!!) - most of the time they won't notice or careDon’t start with telling us your name, or title. Start straight in, once we are engaged (i.e. at team slide introduce yourself)Strong start and end. End with Something like “ I am <blah>, this has been <crappy startup>, more at <shitty web site>. Thank you”Have a clear start and end (Hello,Thank you). *NOT* “Thank you, any questions!. Makes the job of the person doing the timing easy (always be gracious!!)
• #12: Darth Vader Vs Yoda:http://presentationzen.blogs.com/presentationzen/2006/01/contrasts_in_pr.htmlSlide Layout, Rule of thirds, and Golden Mean:http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2006/06/the_power_of_th.htmlStyles: - Go Naked * don’t use slides, use whiteboard, flipchart etc - Takahashi Method * big text (fills slide) http://www.presentationzen.com/presentationzen/2005/09/one_presenters_.html - Lessig method * single word, changes every 10-20 seconds- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q25-S7jzgs - Lessig early version 0:27-0:54 & 1:38-1:54 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrpajcAgR1E&feature=player_detailpage#t=23 Dick Hardt Identity 2.0 - Kawasaki method * 10, 20, 30 rule, Top10 - Godin method * sharp visuals, clear message, clear story http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/10/the-atomic-powerpoint-method-of-creating-a-presentation.htmlhttp://www.slideshare.net/sethgodin/seth-godin-on-tribes-presentation – usage of notes functionalityFrom PresentationZen.com:1. Show your passion2. Start strong3. Keep it short4. Move away from the podium5. Use a remote-control device.6. Remember the “B” key7. Make good eye contact8. Keep the lights on9. Use a TV for small groups10. At all times: courteous, gracious, & professionalHumour - stay away, often falls flat (especially in multi-national audiences!)Story format: - Tell them what you are going to say - Tell them - Tell them what you told them
• #13: Software: - Keynote, PPT, OpenOffice, Google Docs – Prezi - Slideshare, PDF, Notepad...Beamers: - Different resolutions (640x480 is safe, and increasingly 1024x768) - connectors - Practice (different makes and models)Flipcharts: - pre-prepareWhiteboards: - how to remove permanent markerMicrophones: - stick it on your chin, don’t hold in front of your face (looks like you are giving a blow job!)OHP: - needs more checking to see how it looks, but not excessive - don't switch on and off, more distracting than leaving on!!
• #14: V1 – Follow the structure, 1-2 sentences per itemV2 – Forward and Back referencesV3 – add storiesV4 – lead with news/strongest point (now you are starting to mess with structure)
• #15: These are more around presentation skills.it is assumed that you can type search phrase into something like Google and find resources & advice on pitching.Average Presentation skills with a killer idea is what wins! So get yourself to average.