A business proposal presentation can make or break your chances for attracting investors. If you don’t know how to reach your audience, you won’t make a big enough impact to land the investment-even if your proposal is solid. You may be selling them on a potential business venture, but you’re also selling yourself as part of the package.
That means you have to be just as attractive to a potential investor as your business plan. The following tips can help you find success when selling yourself to investors during a business proposal presentation.
Preparation
Knowledge is power, especially when proposing a new business opportunity. You need to know the people you are pitching to and how best to reach them. What are their values? What kind of businesses are they looking to invest in? What dazzles them? The preparation stage is mostly about research– finding out the most you can about your topic and your audience so that you can make an impact. Plan out everything for your presentation according to your research– including details like what to wear and how to format your slides.
Practice
You should have plenty of practice with your presentation before you ever step foot inside a meeting room. Know everything there is to know about your business proposal so you can be ready to answer questions. Your speech should be familiar, not memorized, and sound like the first time you’re giving it. Knowing what points you want to make and how best to make them is better than knowing every word of your speech.
Professionalism
The way you look and the way you carry yourself will have a profound effect on your business proposal presentation. You should wear business professional attire and look neat and tidy. Standing up straight, using dynamic body language and smiling frequently are a few other non-verbal ways to engage your audience. Your business proposal should match your professional tone, so hand out copies in a handsome presentation folder.
Pictures
Most business proposal presentations are accompanied by a visual aid, such as a Powerpoint presentation. Slides should be used to accentuate a point or to keep you focused on your presentation. Your audience will have the finer details of your business proposal in their hands, so never make them read the same information in a slideshow. Using a presentation folder with CD holder allows you to give a copy of your slideshow along with your business proposal.
Take a deep breath and relax-there’s no reason to be nervous during your business proposal presentation. Think of it this way, you have information to give and your audience has information they want to hear. If you tell them the right things in a clear, concise way, there’s a good chance that they’ll want to invest in you.