The launch of a new business involves many critical steps, including identification of a need, the subsequent development of a business plan, raising capital, and the opening of the business. Regardless of how solid your business plan is or how much money you need, one of the critical components of a successful business launch is presentation. No, we’re not necessarily talking about wearing a nice tie or shining your shoes. We’re talking instead about how you communicate and present your business plan, a critical step often overlooked during the startup process. Like a great widget, a sound business model might sit on the shelf if investors either don’t learn about your plan or don’t understand its significance. The following steps will help in developing an effective presentation to ensure this doesn’t happen to you.
Set the Table
Setting the table involves defining the industry and marketplace in which you will operate. The person that you are presenting to might or might not possess an understanding of your industry. Therefore, your job is to bring them to an appropriate understanding of the industry. This does not entail making them an expert in the area. Rather, your job is to provide them with enough information to understand and evaluate the business plan.
All businesses function on the same basic principles: find a need, develop a solution, and deliver the solution in a profitable manner. Therefore, give your audience enough information to answer this question. Follow-up meetings and technical evaluations are reserved for later.
Connect the Dots
Every business model contains different elements: management team, marketing strategy, industry, products, etc. Each of these elements is important to the success of the business and was selected for certain reasons. Your job in the presentation is to "connect the dots". Therefore, don’t just state what you’re doing, but why you’re doing something. For example:
Marketplace is asking for…….. so we’re delivering…..
Our experience is in...that’s why we’re in this industry or performing this function
Target market is…… so we’re advertising in…
All the different parts of the business model need to be related, and if they’re not, their inclusion in the business model needs to be re-evaluated.
Remember Your Objective
This part of the presentation is simply a balancing act. Most businesses will have primary products, markets and business strategies. They will also usually have secondary products, markets and business strategies. This is part of having a sound, balanced business model. With all of these elements, however, you need to make sure that the attention drawn to each area is properly balanced. Your research and presentation should clearly communicate what’s primary and what’s secondary.
Sum It Up
You started the presentation by throwing a wide net and introducing a broad subject – your industry. You then got specific and identified integral parts of your business strategy. Now, you need to throw out another wide net and briefly summarize your main points. This is done both to remind and to re-emphasize the importance of different elements of the business plan, now that your audience has heard the whole presentation.
Summing it up should also include a discussion of what you want, why you need it and what you’ll accomplish. For example, you might say: "we need $200,000 to buy the following machinery, which will help us produce product X, which can generate $500,000 in annual sales."
Again, to sum it up, in developing a solid presentation:
- Set the Table
- Connect the Dots
- Remember Your Objective
Sum It Up!
hy Hughes
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