Thursday, March 28, 2024

Avoid Overpromising When Pitching Ideas to Potential Investors.

August 5, 2019 by  
Filed under Business, Opinion, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) You need to be cautious with what you tell potential investors about your business plan. You want them to buy your ideas. Your goal is to win their hearts and make them invest in you. The problem is when you become too desperate to win over these investors, and you decide to promise more than you should. It’s a dangerous thing to do since you could disappoint the investors when you can’t deliver.

False advertising 

When you lie to your investors so that they will decide to invest in you, it’s false advertising. There’s a difference between trying to be convincing and being a liar. If you are uncertain of the results, you need to avoid using terms that offer assurance.

These investors will find a way

You might think that it’s a victory for you after you convinced the investors to spend their money on you. The truth is that you’re giving them the power to be a part of your business. It means that if you eventually mess up and mishandle their money, they could end up suing you. They might also take over the company and change its direction until everything is beyond your control. These are smart people you’re dealing with, and they will find a way to cut their losses when things don’t turn out the way they hoped.

It could end your entrepreneurial plans

Another problem when you try to promise a lot is that you might destroy your name. If you decide to open a business in the future or rebuild yourself after this failure, no one will believe in you anymore. Apart from being an unsuccessful business owner, you will also have a reputation for being terrible at pitching your ideas.

Go through your plans before pitching 

Before you present your plans to investors, you need to go through the details again and find out if everything is perfect. You might end up unintentionally giving inappropriate ideas. Check your source of facts and find out if anything has changed since you created the presentation.

You also have to verify if your prepared speech is similar to the slides you made. It’s possible for you to change your words, but the slides remain the same. The inconsistencies could hurt your appeal to the investors. You also need to check the venue for the presentation and find out if everything is ready. It’s best if you use a video wall mount since it allows you to prepare the equipment quickly before you begin your pitch.

After the pitch, you need to wait for a while before you receive the decision of the investors. Some of them have to consult with their team before deciding. Others have to go through some documents before they’re confident that the decision is right. If within that time, you think that you said something wrong or inappropriate, you have to apologise and provide the correct information. The investors need it before they can tell you their answer.

Staff Writer; Bob Shaw


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