Investors hear, on average, five to eight presentations each day from entrepreneurs looking to obtain financial backing for their new business ventures.  But, only a fraction of these startup companies will get the funding they want.  How do you make sure yours is one of them?

Investors hear, on average, five to eight presentations each day.

Here are some valuable guidelines to follow when preparing your pitch to venture capitalists, angel investors, and other financiers.

1. What’s the Goal?
You won’t know if you were successful, unless you know exactly what you were trying to achieve in the first place.  Whether you’re looking to secure a funding commitment, or simply spark enough interest to schedule a follow-up meeting, clearly define your objective ahead of time.

2. Sum it All Up at the Start
You’ve got one minute to grab an investor’s attention.  So, a pitch that gets off to a slow start is bound to fall flat.  Kicking your presentation off with a dynamic one to two sentence summary that highlights your idea and its potential value will help you get them interested.

3. Back it Up with Details
In order to win the confidence of investors, you’ll need to show them that you have more than just a winning idea.  In addition to explaining your high-level vision, be sure to provide some details about how you plan to execute, such as a go-to-market strategy.

4.  The Proof is In the Numbers
Venture capitalists and other investors like numbers, particularly “mega trends”. So, back your ideas and theories up with as many industry benchmarks, statistics, and metrics as you possibly can.  The more reputable the sources, the better.

5.  Leave the Spreadsheets at Home
Your audience wants to see anticipated return on investment in the form of revenues, profits, or market share.  But, boring, dry spreadsheets or profit and loss statements are not the most effective way to do this.  Instead, wow investors with charts, graphs, and other exciting visuals that clearly convey expected value.

6. Speak with Passion
If you don’t show conviction in your idea, it will be very hard to get your audience excited about it.  Strong voice inflection and dramatic hand gestures are just a few of the ways you can demonstrate your passion for your concept, and your belief in its viability.

Want more valuable tips on effective presentation creation and delivery? Review our archive of presentation tips and check back every week for new posts.

Find more great tips and resources at the Presentation Skills Launch Pad.