#howtopitch

Firstly, what is an elevator pitch? 

Imagine you’re in an elevator, and the door opens and Harvey Weinstein walks in. He’s standing there, and it’s just you two standing side-by-side. You have thirty seconds or ten floors before Harvey gets out. You have the chance to pitch your film idea that you think couldl be the next Shawshank or Goodfellas. What exactly do you say in thirty seconds. 

Most people are terrible at pitching. They ramble on explaining every plot line of their story, or they umm and ahh their way through an explanation or description of a shot in their film. This is a sure way to bin the opportunity of a lifetime. Please don’t do that. 

Instead I teach my students a strict set of guidelines for pitching and then I try as much as possible, in each of my units to get them to practice pitching. I teach them to concisely describe their stories within 30 seconds-1 minute. 

Pitching is an essential part of filmmaking process. From the very inception of your film’s idea through to it’s completion. Often pitching is about perfecting your story, by repeatedly discussing your idea to anybody who will listen. It can highlight issues within your story and help you gauge whether your film speaks to audiences. 

The trick is to have a pitch that will engage people and get them interested. If they look bored, you need to work on your idea. Ensure that you rehearse your pitch and know it by heart. 

1. Introduce yourself - Simply say your name

2. Tell us the format Is it a documentary, webisode, feature or short? This is important as it provides a frame for your story. E.g. A film about a whale could be Free Willy or Black Fish.

3.Tell us the length Is it a feature or a short film? This makes a big difference in understanding your story. A short five minute comedy has more possibilities as festivals than a nineteen minute comedy. A listener can gauge whether your story will work in the allotted time. 

4. Tell us the Genre This is important as it adds to the frame that surrounds your log line. 

“A comedy about a group of ancient vampires living in a flat in Auckland” 

If you let your audience know that this is a feature film comedy, before you throw out your hook, they will envision the possibilities that could happen. The mere suggestion of ancient vampires in Auckland evokes all kinds of scenarios. 

5. Tell us your story in concise terms. Your logline is a great place to start. Not all loglines work in an elevator pitch. 

If you are rambling on and describing the way the film will be directed than you need to take your story back to the drawing board. You know, but are unwilling to admit that your story is not able to engage an audience. 

6. Tell us the hook or USP. Ask yourself, what is the hook or unique selling point of the film. This is the firs thing you want to throw out to your audience. 

“Arnold Schwarzeneger and Danny Devito as twins” 

6. Explain why your film should be seen or made. Why will audiences go to see your film?  Explain why it is original and appealing (Only do this if Harvey Weinstein is travelling to the 50th floor)

Sitting through a good number of pitch meetings this past year, always rooting for the entrepreneur to successfully explain the value they’ve created for consumers/users within a market they’ve insightfully identified as opportune, several elements consistently emerged as noticeably present or noticeably lacking across pitches.  These elements – at the most basic level – either create or inhibit the clarity of your pitch. 

Strong Pitch = CONTENT & CLARITY 

- A lot has been very well written about pitch content, so for now I’ll focus on clarity.

6 Proposals for a Strong Pitch via CLARITY:

Get your deck in front of the right people in advance of your meeting

Lead your pitch meeting with your conclusion

Be prepared to pitch with and without your deck

Set a professional and pleasant tone

Pre-test your content in front of diverse audiences

Plan to spend time in the lobby, pre-meeting

  Preparing for a pitch meeting should really be about preparing to most clearly (i.e. effectively) communicate your insights on your market, the value you’ve created and **potentially** your team’s evident ability to monetize and capture this value.

If it’s not made clear, funding is just not going to happen. 

That said, the investment team will typically work with you to get there by asking necessary clarifying questions and digging for deeper insight.  Encourage it!  The better questions asked, I’d contend, the better your odds of getting funding/support. 

So to this aim, PROPOSAL #1 - send your pitch deck to the team days in advance of your meeting.  Get your deck to the analyst(s) and/or associate(s); not just to the partners.  If you are concerned that your deck contains proprietary information, redact that particular text or graphic and include a note indicating that it will be included/explained during your meeting (i.e. you will send a redacted deck pre-meeting, but present the full, non-redacted deck in the meeting). 

By getting the investment team your deck ahead of time, you give us the opportunity to conduct preliminary research and consider the “need to knows” prior to your pitch, enabling the team to ask the right questions during your pitch.  In this way, you foster clarity, make the most of your meeting, and up your odds.

PROPOSAL #2 – conclusion up front!  What does your startup do? – in a sentence – early into the pitch … Early, early, within the first 90 seconds.  Lead the pitch with: a) your value proposition in the context of the identified opportunity, and b) your pitch meeting objective.  Are you fundraising, looking to office with the venture firm, or primarily seeking to establish connections?  Let the investment team know up front.  This creates clarity via direction and meeting efficiency.

This info-rich intro can be done with, or perhaps more crisply without, the deck.

e.g. “Culture is moving towards collaborative consumption, and we drive this macro trend by aB + C.  We are raising $X to power aB, add key person Y, ultimately allowing us to obtain goal Z.”  (Very generic framework to hopefully illustrate the point.)

  PROPOSAL #3 – be prepared to present with or without your deck.  Entrepreneurs come across as more confident and competent when they rely less upon their deck.  Being able to present without a deck is crucial because you may be asked to do so. 

“Let’s just talk.”  Why would an investor suggest this in a pitch meeting? 

Presenting without a deck makes the pitch less of a presentation and more of a conversation; in my experience, it’s to the entrepreneurs’ advantage to have their pitch meeting be (or feel like) a conversation, rather than a presentation.  If an investor wants to “just talk” they are suggesting the method of communication they believe will be most efficient and effective for your pitch.  Follow their lead; it should be to your advantage.  (Once more, this is about clarity.)

If you do pitch with your deck, don’t lose site of the conversational dynamic you want to foster.  The deck is the background to your conversational presentation.

As you build a conversation, rather than present a monolog, mind PROPOSAL #4 – Tone is remembered.  Personality, character, and EQ come through and make an impression, as does your excitement for your company and the space it plays in.   

Excited entrepreneurs are exciting to investors.  Personality and EQ are a factor in the decision to further engage with your team (I assume this is mutual, and that you are looking for the same from potential investors.)  I’m not sure this is a ubiquitous strength; so if you are blessed with a great personality and high EQ, show it off:

Be ready to respond to questions and challenges in a non-defensive way

Be willing to be flexible, if your assumptions are questioned be able to think them through with your audience … it’s a collaborative process

You won’t always be the “rightest” opinion in the room and that’s cool with everyone, and should be cool with you too

More on this to follow in a separate post

 Personality and EQ often add or detract (maybe distract) from the pitch.

 PROPOSAL #5 – Pitch content should be pre-tested in front of a diverse audience.

Again, a lot has been wonderfully written about what content to include in your pitch.  Generally, entrepreneurs get this right-ish.  Misses happen sometimes on the market data/research side (future post to come).  Here, I’d like to point out that not only must the content be solid, but you must also be able to present it clearly to different types of people with different types of backgrounds. 

There may be people who are extraordinarily knowledgeable about your market and technology in the pitch meeting, and you may need to well explain the basics to others.  Prep for both types.  Anecdotally, it seems people are typically less ready to explain the “basics.”  It’s about being able to create clarity on your market, opportunity, and company, regardless of the pre-existing knowledge your pitch audience has on the space or tech - and this needs to be practiced in front of a diverse audience prior to pitching investors.

The small stuff can also be important, as it can affect the tone, and thus your ability to communicate effectively.  PROPOSAL #6 – Arrive early; give yourself 10-15 minutes to sit in the lobby and chill.  The aim is to enter the meeting room feeling fairly unrushed, so that you can be at your best. 

Best wishes in 2013 pitching!

      A few favorite blog posts on pitching:

Anna Khan:  How to Pitch a VC

Peter Lee:  Roles of partners vs. non-partners