How to create a Winning Pitch Deck - Professional Business Plan Writer's Advice

Chances are you are not the only one needing investments for your business. There are many other businesses looking for fundings and pitching their business plans to investors, in hopes of impressing them. So, the question is, how do you make your business stand out in a sea of others? Well, a winning Pitch Deck is the one that grabs the investors attention. This might seem like a lot of pressure, but here are some tips from Professional Business Plan Writers to ease you through it.

Know your audience

Most professional business plan writers know that the most memorable pitch decks provide the audience with what they are looking for, or to be more precise, what the investors are looking for in a business. Therefore, the focal point of your presentation should be the investor's ROI. And don’t forget to support your claims with numbers, otherwise they’ll lose interest if you do not have anything to show for your bold statements.

Keep it short

Do not make too many slides! It is not necessary to include every single detail in your presentation. Investors are on a tight schedule, they do not have the time to sit and listen to you drag on about your business, nor do they really wish to. There is an unwritten rule that your presentation should not be longer than 10 slides (give or take). Listen to professional Business Plan Writers when they say: “the fewer slides the better”.

So, anything you wish to include in your pitch deck should fit on those 10 slides. That means curating the information you would like to include in your presentation. Having a limited number of slides will force you to provide only the most important facts about your business, in other words, it’s heart and soul. This way you are more likely to spark investors' interest in your business.

Less is more

Making slides should be easy enough, but do not just put your numbers and spreadsheets in them and call it a day. Your presentation should be pretty to look at and easy to read. Professional Business Plan Writers know not to oversaturate pitch decks with text and long lists. Sure, you need to provide numbers to support your claims, but keep in mind that too much information at once can be extremely overwhelming for your audience.

Studies have shown that human memory capacity is limited. People's short term memory can only obtain about 7 pieces of information at a time. Any more than that increases people's contemplation time, which hinders their decision making, something you definitely do not want to happen with your audience.

Tell a story

Another tip from professional business plan writers is not to underestimate the power of storytelling. Any good story has a conflict and resolution, an issue that only the main character can resolve. So use these storytelling elements in your presentation to your benefit. Present a problem, or a need in the market that your business can solve. Here is where your products or services save the day by addressing the market demand. Presenting your business like a story narrative is a way to keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation, because everyone likes a good story, don’t they?

Look at pitch decks as an opening act to your business plan. They prepare the audience for what is to come, “the headliner”. They need to get them interested and curious about your business. So, using tactics from professional business plan writers for your Pitch Deck will surely score you a second meeting with the investors.

How to Create a List of Assumptions for a Financial Projections in a Business Plan

If we had a crystal ball to see the future, writing Financial Projections would be so much easier. But, unfortunately we don’t. So, the next best thing is to make educated guesses. Financial forecasts require making a long list of assumptions about the future financial state of your business and all of the conditions and circumstances you may encounter along the way. These can be very difficult to predict, but here is how you can make your list of assumptions for the most accurate forecasts in your Business Plan.

Start by collecting (your) data

First thing’s first, gather your numbers. All of them. Look at your business records, it’s sales history, all of the bills and receipts, cost, expenses and losses you had in the past. But know that, searching through your own company archive is not the only way to collect data. You can either conduct market research, or you can get information from public records. Libraries, government records, and industry associations have plenty of free information available to the public. So, do not overlook these treasure troves of data, because the more information you manage to get your hands on the better. It will guarantee more accurate assumptions.

Asume your expenses and production costs

After getting all the information you need (or can get), the best way to start making assumptions for your financial projection is to predict your costs. Most of them will be recurring. But be aware that these expenses can change in the future. For example, the price of materials can go up, causing your production cost to rise. So be sure to make multiple assumptions, including the worst case scenario. This way you will not be blindsided by an unexpected event, which is excely what makes a good financial projection and business plan.

Assume your sales

For an accurate Financial Projection Business Plan, you will also need to predict sales, or how many units you will be able to sell for a given period of time. This will later be necessary for projecting your income statement and cash flow. Use market research to determine what the demand for your product is, or will be, and just how fierce your competition is.

Price your product

While making assumptions you will need to know the value of your product, the exact need of your product on the market and how much your customers are willing to pay for it. To set the price right you need to take into account not only production cost, but your competition and customer’s needs as well. That is why Market Research will be necessary in determining your products market value. So don't be hasty by setting your product price only according to its production cost, it will be detrimental to your bottom line.

Cash flow planning

Cash flow planning is about predicting how much money you will have at hand for a certain time period. It compares cash inflow and outflow, and helps you make sure you do not run out of money in the future. If you plan well, and have a good cash flow, you will not run out of money to pay your expenses. Predicting cash flow is important for making reliable business plans.

Making assumptions for Financial Projections can be tricky, but it helps if you are well prepared and have all the information you need to make the most accurate assumptions. A business plan cannot be completed if you cannot predict your business’s financial future.

3 Key Elements of Financial Projections for a Bank Loan Business Plan

 

Bank loan business plans center around your business’s finances. They are all about proving to lenders that you have been running a successful business in the past, but more importantly, they will want to know if you can keep it up. Enter Financial Projections, a window into the future of your business’s finances. They can predict success or failure, therefore it is important to try and make the most accurate forecasts, especially if you are trying to get a loan. To break them down, there are three key components of financial projections.

• Pro forma income statement

Pro forma income statements predict your future revenue, and they are the biggest portion of your financial projection. They include all of your operating expenses, taxes and show your earnings for a specific time period. So in order to project income statements you will need to make assumptions about potential sales. For that, you will need to look back into your history in sales and/or conduct market research. This part of the financial forecast is extremely important in your Bank Business Plan, because it shows your business will be able to generate enough income to repay your debt.

• Cash flow

Cash flows represent money movement, more precisely the amount of money going in and out of your business for a certain period of time. They consist of two parts:

• Cash inflow (revenue) - all the money accumulated through sales
• Cash outflow (cash disbursements) - all of the expenses your business has

Cash inflow and outflow are later compared to calculate money surplus or deficit. Cash flows are necessary for financial forecasting and bank loan business plans because they can predict future money movement in your company and can be used to calculate your credit risk. They show the lenders just how responsible you will be with your business’s finances and if you will have enough money on hand to repay your loan.

• Pro forma balance sheet

Pro forma balance sheets present a total estimate of your business’s net worth including assets, liability and equity. In order to make a good balance sheet you will need to gather data, the further back the better. It is generally recommended to collect at least two years of your business’s financial history. A pro forma balance sheet predicts what business will own and owe, which determines if you are a suitable candidate for a loan. Because banks do not tend to take big risks, having something to offer as collateral helps minimize that risk and show that there is a safety net in case your business fails or you otherwise default on your loan. It is important to note that a pro forma balance sheet has to match your income statement and cash flow, any inconsistencies will deter loan officers from approving your loan.

In the end keep in mind...

Pro forma income statements, balance sheets and cash flow are all necessary parts of financial projections. But because they are all based on assumptions it would be beneficial to make several different projections. Collecting all of your business’s financial data helps, but a good financial forecast will take into account other factors as well, such as market trends and currents, or unexpected costs and losses. That is why usually more than one forecast is included in bank loan business plans, ranging from the most optimistic to the most pessimistic scenarios.

Bank Business Plans are written with a purpose of getting a loan approved. Therefore, they rely heavily on the most accurate and detailed financial projections. If made properly, they can show your business will produce a steady revenue, and you'll be able to repay your debt.

Tips from Professional Business Plan Writers on How to Present a Pitch Deck

 

So, you would like to present your business to an investor. You will likely contact a Professional Business Plan Writer to compose a business plan for you. But what if a business plan is not your first choice? There is a document that is made just for presenting - a pitch deck.

A pitch deck is a visually oriented brief presentation, that overviews your business plan. The most common way of using a pitch deck is in a face – to face meetings with potential investors.

But, having an adequate document does not mean your business journey is over. There is one crucial thing when you are presenting a Pitch Deck – the way you present it.

Here are professional business plan writers’ tips on how to present a pitch deck.

Have a Strong Beginning

Potential investors are busy people who have seen hundreds or thousands of presentations. Likely, the investors will not even pay attention to your presentation if you do not captivate their attention right from the start. There are many ways on how you can grab their attention:

- Personal story

Everyone loves to hear a good business story, and that definitely includes potential investors. Talk about your business journey, how it all started and your ideas in order to form that emotional connection with the audience, in this case, investors

- Imagination

Ask them to imagine a what-if situation, or to think of something that relates to their personal lives, etc.

- Tell a joke

You do not need to be a professional stand-up comedian to crack the investors up and use a joke as your ice breaker. However, if you go this route, make sure to test this out on a few different types of audiences first to make sure it will land.

Maintain Eye Contact

Not only professional business writers but everyone who communicates and has a conversation with someone should pay attention to eye contact. Maintaining eye contact makes you seem confident, and respectful towards your audience.

Professional Business Plan Writers suggest that the easiest way to maintain eye contact during your pitch deck presentation is to find a fixed point in the room. In this case, you should choose a wall behind your audience, so that it may seem that you are looking directly towards them.

Do your Homework

Come prepared. Know your numbers and metrics. It can speak louder than words. To make your pitch deck presentation successful, it is crucial to know your numbers by heart and be prepared to answer any questions that may come up.

Speak freely, but clearly

Avoid reading your presentation from your slides or a piece of paper. Know your text. If you are not that confident about how you will present your pitch deck, have a few note cards but try not to read directly from them so your presentation still feels fluid.

Look out for filler words

We all have used – “um”, “uh”, “er”, “like”, “ah”, when talking, without even realizing that we do it. Try not to use them at all while presenting your pitch deck.

You will sound more professional, trust us. Our professional business plan writers advise you to slow down and make shorter sentences when talking. It will reduce the usage of filler words.

How you present your pitch deck is equally important as the document alone. Implement these tips from professional business plan writers, and you will present your pitch deck successfully.

To present a Pitch Deck, you need to have one. Find experts, like those in the Advisory division at Joorney Business Plans, who will not only write and design your deck but are also willing to give you tips for an effective presentation!

4 Key Customer Data Market Research Methods for an Information Memorandum

 

Market Research is beneficial for your information memorandum in many ways. You can gather data and learn more about your target audience, and if done effectively, you can bring home the victory of succeeding in your market industry.

Whether you have a B2C or B2B company, market research is a crucial part of your business journey. The goal of every business is to focus on the customer and to understand their needs. A common approach is to do customer data.

There are several methods of customer data market research you can do for your Information Memorandum.

Here are 4 crucial customer data methods that everyone should know.

Surveys

This is the most common method for doing customer data research. A survey is a list of versatile questions where you can collect specific data from a particular group of people. You can conduct this method either in person or online. These questions can be open or close-ended. Some of the close-ended surveys can be in a form of:

- Multiple-choice questions

- Demographic questions (besides the provided information, asking about gender, age, education, etc.)

- Ranking questions

- Checkbox

An important part of this method is knowing what questions to ask, but what is also important is how you ask them. Good questions with a good approach to the person you are questioning will lead to a good analysis.

Focus Groups

This is a simple yet often tricky method to put into practice. You carefully select a specific group of people, ask them questions about your product, services, their user experience, etc. By doing this, you will gain deeper insights. This is an open-end questionnaire, like a conversation, where the person can spontaneously talk and share their thoughts about the topic.

Business plan experts recommend using this method if you have a well-established business model and experience in the market.

Interviews

This is one of the most insightful customer data market research method. It is a face–to–face (in person or virtual), and one–on–one conversation with a selected target audience member. This method is insightful because it is personal and in-depth, with open-end questions. It also helpful because it allows you to ask follow-up and deeper question on the spot.

The only downside of doing interviews for an Information Memorandum is that it is time-consuming and it can get expensive. Be smart when with your resources and do whatever is most beneficial for your company.

Observation

This is the most powerful market research method where you monitor and observe your target audience. The key is that the audience behaves naturally with no pressure. This way, you will get real insights and get the most out of your results.

This method is often suggested for use in retail. Observing shoppers on special occasions or seasons is the most common way to get that insight.

As you can see, there are many customer data market research methods for an information memorandum or any other document. Understand your needs, and ways to achieve them, and you can easily choose the perfect Market Research for your business.

If you have doubts about choosing a customer data Market Research method, considering contacting professionals who can help you develop your methods and even be the ones to conduct the research for you!

A Professional Business Plan Writers Tips on How to do Market Research

 

Conducting market research is a great idea that can benefit your business in many ways. It can be used to make various business decisions such as marketing strategies, product improvement, budgeting, as well as be used in documents to gain fundings and investments. But because of the scope and the complexity of the task, many companies hire specialized agencies and Professional Business Plan Writers to conduct market research for them.

However, if outsourcing your research to other agencies is not an option for you, here are a few useful tips from an expert himself to guide you through your research.

“A good beginning makes a good ending”

Collecting, going through and analyzing all the data you need for your research can seem like a tremendous task, but if you know where to start and how to proceed, it makes things a bit easier. Professional business plan writers know that a good start will determine the quality of your Market Research, and any good research starts with a good formulated question and an execution plan.

That is why setting the parameters and research scope early on is the best way to ensure you do not get lost along the way and waste your time and resources with bad quality research and inconclusive or inaccurate findings.

“There is a lot of (free) information available”

Market research is a way of gaining information about your customers and industry, and there are many ways you can do that. Telephone polling, mailed questionnaires, online surveys and personal interviews just to name a few. These would all be considered primary research, because all of the information comes from the customers directly.

On the other hand, secondary research is conducted by gathering information about the customers from other sources and public records like (public or university) libraries, government agencies, industry associations etc. A professional Business Plan Writers advice is not to overlook this kind of research since it can be a valuable source of information. Secondary research is a great way for finding information about your target demographic as well as your competitors in the industry.

“Dive deeper into your research”

There will come a point in your market research when you think you have everything you need and you found what you were looking for. But it actually might be a good idea to continue with your research. Professional Business Plan Writers always keep in mind that correlation doesn't imply causation and some things may not be what they seem.

There can be underlying factors that drive consumer behaviour that you just did not pick up from your initial research. So in order to derive the most accurate conclusions from your research it is best not to leave any stone unturned when gathering the information you need.

“Keep researching”

Market research is never ending, because the market is ever changing. Experienced business owners are aware that continuous and repeated research is necessary to be able to stay on top of the competition. If you are basing your business decisions on outdated models, statistics and data, your business will surely suffer. That is why professional business plan writers suggest to keep doing regular research to be able to keep track of market trends.

Market Research can be a strenuous task, especially if you’re doing it on your own. Luckily, we can always turn to the experts for help. Their advice can guide you through the whole process and show you how to conduct the most optimal research and get the best results for your business.

The Difference Between an Information Memorandum and a Pitch Deck

 

Have you ever been to a situation where you are not certain if you need an information memorandum or a pitch deck for your business?

Information Memorandum and a Pitch Deck can be valuable when presenting your business if you know when to use what type of document.

Professional business plan writers and other experts know how busy and engaged you are with growing and establishing your company. If you’re not sure which document you need, this will help you determine that quickly!

Here is the difference between an information memorandum and a Pitch Deck.

Information Memorandum

When you provide a comprehensive overview of your business to potential investors or buyers, you will use a confidential information memorandum, also known as an offering memorandum. It overlooks the past, current, and expected future performance of your company.

You may use this document to:

- raise funds

- remove assets

- sell the entire business

Like you, investors and potential acquirers are busy people. These documents will make their decision-making easier and quicker.

An information memorandum is important because you can completely provide the summary and most important details of the main aspects of your business and future transactions.

Information Memorandum includes the following sections:

Overview and Key Investment Highlights – the information of your company’s major milestones

Company Information – description of the major milestones, management team, ownership, organizational structure, and the expertise of employees

Products and Services – describes what products or/and services your company offers

Market and Competition – the industry and market overview, current and expected sales, and target audience

Proposed transaction – A summary of the transactions you propose from potential investors.

Pitch Deck

A pitch deck, also known as a startup pitch deck or slide deck, is a visually based brief slide presentation of your business plan. Having a Pitch Deck can be a vital tool when raising funds for your business. These documents can open a door and secure you the next meeting with an investor. The optimal number of slides of a pitch deck is between 10 and 20.

A pitch deck is often presented face to face to potential investors but can also be sent as a way to get a foot in the door.

Here are a few tips on how to present your pitch deck.

Tell a story

Even busy people like investors like to hear an engaging short story about your business.

Be concise

Today, we are overwhelmed with information, and people lose interest. Stay on the same page with your audience (in this case investors).

One slide = one idea

Sometimes, less is more.

Good First Impression

The first two minutes or first few slides are the most important. A good first impression sets the tone of the whole presentation.

Show Your Team

Present the people that are working with you and their value to the company.

Do your Homework

Know your numbers by heart. Financials are the section that interests the investors the most. Defend your numbers, and you will increase your chance of approving the proposed fund.

While the Information Memorandum has a more detailed approach to presenting a business, the pitch deck is all about the visual effect. Both documents represent the same information, the difference is the depth of that information.

If you have trouble composing any of these documents, seek out Professional Business Plan Writers that can assist you.

6 Types of Financial Modeling in a Bank Loan Business Plan

 

Financial modeling to a bank loan business plan is like milk to cookies. When applying for a bank loan you need a bank loan business plan, and your document needs to contain financial projections which can only be created through Financial Modeling. It is a crucial section of any business plan.

Financial modeling is like a built-in spreadsheet tool created in MS Excel, that forecasts a future financial performance of a business.

There are more than a few types of financial modeling.

Here are 6 types of financial modeling for a Bank Business Plan or other business plans and documents you may need.

Three – Statement Model

This is the fundamental financial model. As the name says for itself, there are 3 linked statements with formulas in MS Excel. These three statements are:

- Income statement

- Balance sheet

- Cash flow

To link these three statements, you need to have strong accounting, finance, and Excel expertise.

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Model

This model builds on the previous three statements (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow). Discounted cash flow model estimates the value of your business. DCF model takes cash flows from these three statements, and with the XNPV function in MS Excel, discounts them back to today at the company’s Weighted Average Cost of Capital.

Merger Model (M&A)

M&A is a more advanced financial model. This model represents the final result of combining two companies into one through an M&A process. A new consolidated entity forms under a mutual agreement between these two companies.

The merger model occurs when one side proposes to offer cash or shares to merge with the other company.

We often use this model in investment banking and corporate development.

Initial Public (IPO) Model

We use this model in investment banking and corporate development to value a private business before going public. The initial public model compares equivalent company analysis and assumpts how much investors will pay for a specific company.

Leveraged Buyout (LBO) Model

This model evaluates a leveraged buyout transaction. LBO is the purchase of a company that is funded by using a great amount of debt. With the cash flow of the company, the company can pay down that debt. The exit cash flow of the company, exit multiple, and the paid-off amount determines the total return achieved by the investors in an LBO. This is an advanced form of financial modeling that requires strong financial skills.

Sum of the Parts Model

You build this type of model by taking different DCF models and linking them together. Any further components of the business that are not complementary for a DCF analysis will be added to that value of the business. For example, if you add segment A, segment B, and segment C of the business, you will get the total company value. Before the modeling, you need to determine the business segment and the valuation for each segment.

We still can not predict the future, but financial modeling can help predict the future of your business. These 6 types of financial modeling can help you compose a successful Bank Business Plan for your needs. If done well, your chance of bank loan approval will increase.

Not all of these models may be needed specifically for your bank loan business plan but, understanding them and being able to include them when appropriate will enhance any document.

But, if you are not familiar with accounting, finance, and Excel, business experts at companies like Joorney can help create perfect Financial Modeling for your company’s needs.