Asking people for money is a humbling experience.  It is daunting and stressful knowing that the continued progress of your idea and/or the growth of your company is dependent on strangers putting their trust in you.  Even though innovation, hard work and dedication all factor into a successful fundraising round, luck can’t be ignored, which is sadly out of everyone’s control.  The whole process can be very emotional, especially when you are sleep deprived.  But I wouldn’t give up this experience for anything, and I would encourage all to take part because there is so much to learn by it.

​Here are the key lessons for someone's first fundraising pitch:

1. Before the Presentation
Preparation

• If your team is not good at graphic design, consider hiring a creative design firm to help you with your presentation materials. 
• Polished materials go a long way and first impressions are invaluable. Keep all materials crisp and simple.
• Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse until the “story” is second nature.  Keep your descriptions simple. You are the expert with your own language. The investor needs to be able to understand you.
• Research your audience and know the key deal makers in the room.
• Save your presentation materials to several different sources, e.g. local hard drives, thumb drives, and on the cloud.
• Make sure more than one member of the team can give the pitch.  You can never be too prepared - people can fall ill, emergencies occur, travel can be delayed, etc.

Avoid Last Minute Changes

• Do not make last minute changes to your presentation materials.
• Do not wait until the last minute to print your materials.
• Do not allow last minute content changes to impact your printing decisions.
  
• With regards to presentation materials, there will always be room for improvement and over time, many changes will be made to the content anyway.

Attire

• Pick an outfit that you feel comfortable in, and nothing too tight or too flashy.
• Wear comfortable shoes and a wardrobe that makes you feel confident.

 
Essentials

• Get your sleep - dark circles under the eyes are noticeable.
• Do not drink lots of coffee just ahead of the presentation; it is not worth interrupting the presentation to use the restroom.
• Do not skip meals.  Eat before the presentation, but do not eat anything that will upset your stomach.
• If you are on-time to the meeting, you are late.  I learned in my collegiate ROTC training that arriving early means that you have arrived on-time.
• In case your mouth goes dry, have a glass of water ready.  Breath mints also are handy!

2. During the Presentation

• Investors are most interested in you – if they do not trust you or are not sold on you, they will not invest.
• Investors want to hear your story, not a recap of what appears exactly on the slides.
• Pace your speaking.  Use pauses and inflections in your voice to draw in the audience.
• Do not sell to investors, engage with them.  Inspire them the same way you were inspired to join this endeavor.  Reach them on a personal level.
• Use storytelling and visual aids where possible – pictures, movies, prototypes, models, etc.  People understand concepts in different ways and a visual aid can make an idea come to life.
• When asked questions, do not lie.  If you do not know the answer to a question, acknowledge the speaker and the question, ask for clarification if necessary, and commit to follow-up later.

3. After the Presentation

• Send a personalized token of thanks to your host.
• Follow up with thank you notes right away to each of the prospective investors.
  • Hand-written notes are classy!

• Ask for a follow-up meeting or discussion at the earliest convenience to sustain momentum from the meeting.
  • If the prospective investors ask questions or provide feedback, be prepared to address at the next conversation.

After having done pitches, I feel that I am a better professional consultant and adviser for my clients.  You get more and more comfortable over time.

To our readers, what were your most memorable fundraising pitch experiences?  How has these experiences changed how you approach work and life?

I recently attended a symposium at Princeton University to honor the legacy of a truly brilliant individual of our time, Professor Christodoulos "Chris" Floudas.  Much of his work focused on chemical engineering and global optimization; for his notable contributions, he was honored by many prestigious organizations, including the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Investors.  His contributions to the academic community will be remembered for generations to come.

During the symposium, many of the presenters commented on Chris’ ability to innovate.  That led me to think more about the topic of innovation.  Innovation can be an abstract concept and while growing up, I learned words such as, create and idea, before I learned about the word, innovate.

I understand innovation to be the creation of new insight and new ideas that can be used to solve problems.  Without a problem, there is no reason to innovate.  Problems do not have to be obvious.  It is remarkable when an innovator can “read between the lines” into what customers or users say they want and give them what they actually need before they realize they need it.  Innovators can create market demand out of nothing.

In technology development, I have learned that fundamental principles of science and engineering must make up the “backbone” of any innovation.  Quantitative data can go a long way to help prove that:

• A problem exists with the current way things are done;
• There is a need for that problem to be solved (that which primary and secondary customers can testify):
• Your idea can solve what is causing the problem; and
• There is a total addressable market that finds value and creates demand for your idea.

Innovators think about problems from a different perspective to understand root cause(s), and can break down impossible problems into questions that can be answered.  Innovators do not create solutions that are more complicated than they need to be.  Instead, clarity of thought and simplicity of approach and design are much more elegant, yet challenging to realize.  For example, a paperclip is a simple design and inexpensive to manufacture, but think about how its utility is so widespread.  Another example is the arch and its’ keystone – a shape that is simple to behold from the eye, and yet there are invisible forces directed in multiple axes that hold the arch in place.

Throughout Professor Floudas’ career, innovation was not instant.  Usually, many iterations of an idea or method were required before a solution was reached and innovation achieved.  Throughout this iterative process, much was learned and new insight was gained.  He was persistent and enthusiastic, and explored every idea with rigor.  Innovation was always possible.
​
I encourage you to think of yourself as an innovator – we all have a unique way we think, see, do, and interpret the world and our life experiences.  This uniqueness grants us all the permission to innovate.

Credibility is a key branding component, as well as being a free branding tool available to everyone.  Promising something and delivering the best experience to back up that promise is the surest way to earn brand trust and the catalyst that turns brand fans into brand ambassadors.
 
Credibility refers to the objective and subjective components of the believability of a source or message and has to be earned over time, but also can be lost in an instant, as we have seen when headlines break and the real truth is uncovered. Given the explosion of words spoken and written, yet much less words delivered upon; it isn’t surprising to see the widespread lack of confidence, and customers’ reluctance to take action.
 
When I first started my business, I followed one rule to build my brand value via credibility to create trust:
 
“Deliver on every promise made to someone, no matter how big or small the person or the size of what you promised.”
 
If you aren’t sure if you can deliver, then just make a small promise that you know you can keep or don’t say anything until you get it done.
Here is my two-step solution to ensure success:

1. Figure out how you can deliver and execute on your promise to the best of your ability.
2. If you realize you can’t deliver then try to come up with an alternative solution and communicate with the person a.s.a.p.

 
Your brand is your reputation; which is your word, and how you deliver on your word.  When you don’t deliver on your word; you will decrease your credibility, and therefore your brand value.
 
If you want to make the most of your marketing time and dollars, try these three tips:

1. Deliver clear and direct communication that is enhanced by many small acts.
2. Make sure your brand promise messaging is aligned with your brand experience.
3. Instead of telling what you deliver, figure out ways to show what you can deliver.

 
Think of credibility as a bank account balance.  Every time you do what you say you will do, you can add to your trust balance.  Whenever you don’t do what you say you will do, you have to subtract from your trust balance.  Most businesses start with a zero balance, so make sure you do your best to earn trust from customers every day to avoid bankruptcy, and therefore create an abundance of value.
 
Think about when you are able to trust someone that you do business with…aren’t you likely to pay more and become a repeat buyer?  I’ll bet you would even drive further and refer your friends.  When you can trust a business, and understand the value offered, you would also be less tempted by competitive offerings because credibility backed by trust is true power.
 
Powerful and lasting credibility is something that can’t be bought or faked, so start earning more brand value by delivering on all of your promises today!

Written by Kathy Bass of Ladies Who Brand®
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