What Not To Do When Creating An Investor Deck
A pitch deck is an important part of any business’s presentation to investors. Investors want to know how you plan on making money and what your company can offer them in return. However, many people make mistakes when creating their pitch decks that could potentially lose them a deal with the investor or attract the wrong type of investor.
First mistake is not having a clear goal when creating the pitch deck. You should always remember that you are pitching to an investor in order to get money for your company, but before they will give it to you, they want something in return. For this reason, if there is no clearly defined mission statement or target audience of the business because it isn’t understandable what problem is being solved by their product or service.
Second mistake many people make is sending out too much information about their company all at once which overwhelms investors and causes them not listen carefully enough to understand how your company can help benefit them financially. The last thing you want happening after spending hours pouring over data on potential companies looking for investment into yours is receiving nothing more than silence from the other end.
Third mistake is forgetting to include a slide that demonstrates the company’s potential value proposition. Potential investors want more than just numbers from your pitch deck, they also want some sort of picture as to how this will help them make money off their investment into your company and not simply benefit you financially for receiving it. Without an image of what could happen if they invest in your business, many people can lose interest after seeing only numerical data about future profitability instead of any tangible proof behind those statements which would prove otherwise.
Fourth mistake includes having too much text on each page or slides within the pitch deck itself. Remember: pictures truly do speak louder than words when attempting to sell anything including yourself with a pitch deck so be sure to keep most of your pitch deck text-free and instead use images with as little words as possible to convey key messages within the pitch.
Fifth is not having a strong call-to-action at the end of your pitch deck. This could include asking for their contact information or even if they would like to set up another meeting in order to discuss future business opportunities such as an initial public offering (IPO). Always remember that you need them just as much if not more than they need you so never leave anything unaddressed before closing out on this important step in selling yourself and company using a pitch deck.