So much can ride on delivering a good pitch but what distinguishes a really good pitch from an average one? Very few people score a follow up meeting with an investor. Want to know the top 3 unspoken reasons you’re likely to miss out? Let’s break it down…

1. YOU DON’T DESCRIBE THE PROBLEM YOU’RE SOLVING

A really effective way to explain your idea is to start by defining the problem you’re solving. The best ideas have a really big, ugly problem at their core – the kind of problem that people would pay to avoid. In your pitch you need to articulate the problem based on the customer’s’ actual experience, not your perspective. Your perspective is hypothetical and not as compelling. So speak to as many customers as you can in your target segment to really understand their situation and make sure this comes through in your pitch. Here’s a tip – if your customers are not trying to solve this problem themselves in a clunky, awkward way it may not be a problem worth solving.

2. YOU HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT IT’S WORKING

Which pitch do you think will grab an investor’s attention, one based on fact or fiction? A pitch based on fact will tell investors how real customers have responded to a startup idea. A pitch based on fiction will tell investors what may happen when they eventually approach customers. The second type is easily ignored. So if you want to be the one that gets the meeting get out into the market and collect a solid base of evidence that shows how much people want access to your idea.

You don’t have to sell an actual product to get this evidence. You will need something to show your customers though, so they get a feel for what you’re offering. A mock-up of your MVP perhaps. You can use this to get potential customers to act – encourage them to sign-up for updates, attend an information session, take a meeting with you. We call this currency, but it’s not money. Detail whatever currency you’re able to generate in your pitch, but be sure to stay away from vanity based metrics (Example: the number of people visiting your website is not a sign that it’s working unless they act while they’re there). The more currency you’re able to generate the more you will convince investors that you are making good progress on the big job of drawing people to your idea in a really effective way.

3. THE FUTURE IS UNCLEAR

Explaining what you’re going to do next should be really straightforward, right? But mapping what you have to do to get to the next level isn’t always so simple. It’s not like a test that has a right or wrong answer. There are many pathways you can take. The most important thing to remember when you talk about the future is that you give investors an indication of your level of determination and how unstoppable you are. The best entrepreneurs are ‘coachable’ which means they will take advice from people and adapt their pathway based on what they are learning from the market. So you need to give the impression that you will genuinely stop at nothing to get the job done.

One last piece of advice for anyone pitching…. less is more. You will have a really complex understanding of your customers and market. It’s not necessary to convey all of this in a pitch. What you do need to be able to do is show that you can consolidate everything you know into a clear and compelling picture. If you do a good job you’ll get a follow up meeting and be able to talk through all the detail then.

Good luck!