WINNING THE BATTLE OF PITCHING

Making IDEAS Happen

Sohan Babu Khatri CEO Three H Management

Adjunct Faculty Ace Institute of Management

Kathmandu College of Management

What is PITCHING ?

Coming up with creative ideas is easy; selling them to strangers is tough

Its About….

You Them The IDEA

What is PITCHING ?

Does the traits of FINGER matter ?

Which is most important ?….

You Them The IDEA

Which is most important ?….

Them The IDEAYou

Idea Pitched by……..

Does it make any difference ?

FIRST OF ALL… ITS ALL ABOUT YOU

You

What about YOU ?

Talk as if your LIFE IS AT STAKE

Pitching is for the powerless. You don’t pitch unless you need something from someone else, whether it’s money for a start-up or permission

to go out on a date.

If you put yourself into a position where you need to pitch to get what you want, don’t mess it

up by pretending you are in control.

You should have control over what you believe on… what you’re saying…. What

you’re seeking

What about …..

What about THEM ?

We all like to think that people judge us carefully and objectively on our merits. But the fact is, they rush to

place us into neat little categories—they stereotype us. So the first thing to realize when you’re preparing to

make a pitch to strangers is that your audience is going to put you into a box. And they are going to do it

REALLY FAST !!!

Research suggests that humans can categorize others in less than 150

milliseconds. Within 30 minutes, they’ve made lasting judgments about your

character.

But you have only….

People on the receiving end of pitches have no formal, verifiable, or objective measures for assessing that

elusive trait, creativity. Catchers—even the expert ones—therefore apply a set of subjective and often inaccurate criteria very early in the encounter, and from that point

on, the tone is set. If a catcher detects subtle cues indicating that the pitcher isn’t creative, the proposal is

toast.

But that’s not the whole story. ………….catchers tend to respond well if they are made to feel that they are participating

in an idea’s development.

Can you engage their psychology in such a way that they feel that they’re part of your

team member ?

Oscar-winning writer, director, and producer Oliver Stone said ……… “the

invitation to collaborate on an idea is a “seduction.””

How do you do it here ?

BUSINESS SENSE

+

TECHNICAL SENSE =

COMMON SENSE

Which is most important ?….

Them The IDEAYou

Do you believe in your IDEA ?

OR

It’s a half-heartedly built up HYPOTHESIS ?

Is this idea your “DREAM” ?

Having Dream makes sense to only those of you who believe….

NO ULLU BANAWING !!!

The thrill of being clever is so strong that they forget the fact that there are 100

interesting ideas bouncing around for every single truly good idea.

Belief in IDEA is the Key to

Refine your IDEA

……a good idea is not just creative, but actually improves on a meaningful quality

or attribute, in a way that can be practically applied to the world (or the project).

48

On Ideas

If a man makes a better mousetrap than his neighbor, though he builds his house in the

woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

49

Business Concept

The manufacturer who waits for the world to beat a path to his door is a great optimist. But the manufacturer who shows this “mousetrap”

(and its value) to the world, keeps the smoke coming out his chimney.

O.B. Winters

Reflect the following…..

So until the concepts and hard parts are fleshed out enough to demonstrate that the

spirit of an idea is matched with specifics, the idea doesn’t have much of a

foundation.

Do you have answers to these ….

• What problem does this solve? • What evidence is there that the problem is real, and important

enough to solve? • What are the toughest logistical challenges implied by the

idea, and how will (or would) you solve them? • Do you have a prototype, sample or demonstration of an

implementation of the idea (aka proof of concept)? • Why are you the right person to solve it? • Why should this problem be solved now? • Why should we get engaged with you to solve this problem?

Project….SCOPE

Project… Scalability

STRUCTURING YOUR PITCH

Initiation • Attention

Body • Interest

Finishing • Desire and Action

Initiation

What you would say if you’re only given net 5 seconds for pitching ?

Initiation • 5 Sec + 30 Secs

Body • 4 mins

Finishing • 25 Secs

Initiation

• This is where you say something that grabs attention of the catcher

• This is where you project the perspective of your business idea

• See far ahead … Define your business richly

How you see it ?

Discovering DNA

“I’m researching how human cells reproduce”

How you see it ?

Defragmenting hard drives

“It makes computers run more efficiently”

How you see it ?

Inventing light bulbs

“It’s a way to bring light to your life”

How you see it ?

Improving anti-lock brake algorithms

“It improves automobile safety”

What are you doing ?

Initiation – 30 seconds pitch

• Story Sells

• Quote would be interesting

• Experience

• What your customer said

• How did it all start

• Data and Graphics

• SHOULD MAKE SENSE FOR BUSINESS IDEA

The Body – 4 mins1. Opportunity / Gap

2. Value Proposition and how it bridges GAP (also Target Customer)

3. Special Advantage and Business

3. Product and Features (What does it do ?)

4. Phases of Development and Time Plan

4. Revenue Model, Monetization and Sales Projection

5. Marketing Strategies

6. Team and Management

7. Investment Required

9. KPIs

The Body –Presentation

• Color Choice

• Use Graphics

• Flowcharts – Process Diagrams

• Present Data Well

• Optimum Animation

• Non-Verbal Cues

Finishing – 25 seconds

Finishing

• This is when you leave the lasting impression

• This is when you make your final point

• A bad FINISHING can mess up everything

• Only good FINISHING doesn’t ensure anything

Finishing

• Re-emphasize your strong point

• Show the perspective again

• Relay the vision and mission

• End it with a strong statement

• Strong Commitment is always a Strong Statement

ALL THE BEST