From worldwide franchises to SMEs, business growth relies on innovation to stay ahead of the competition. Whether you’re looking to revamp internal operations, explore new marketing channels or fix pain points, the process begins with creative, strategic thinking and relies on one’s ability to pitch and promote solutions.
Despite innovation being widely-recognised as a business necessity, one of the biggest roadblocks is successfully convincing your company’s main powerhouses (investors, board members, shareholders etc.) to provide the funding and resources needed to launch new ideas and new ways of working.
Unfortunately, this obstacle doesn’t have a straightforward solution. Yes, you might think your innovative solution will solve all your business’ problems, but this doesn’t guarantee it’ll get off the ground, you need to position it commercially. You can start to do this by honing in on these three elements:
- The extent of a problem/opportunity and finding evidence of it
- The consequences of not implementing a change
- The short and long-term rewards of seizing the opportunity
Have you got a brilliant idea that will revolutionise how your business operates? We’ll talk you through how to nail your pitch and obtain funding to give your project the go-ahead.
- Spot ROI Opportunities
Cost shouldn’t be your audiences’ main focus when pitching your project. It should only crop up when calculating ROI (return on investment). Remember, as long as you’ve properly researched your opportunity and have evidence of the rewards it could generate, pricing is just a cash flow matter.
It is pitch–critical that you focus on the ROI and commercial opportunities that your project could bring to the business. These don’t just have to be revenues gained, but could include:
Automate to Reduce Costs:
An innovative solution like a mobile app could replace manual, repetitive employee tasks, e.g. scheduling and admin. Employees can then focus on doing what they’re employed to do instead of wasting time on tedious jobs. So, it’s just as possible to focus on money saved, over revenue earned.
Employee Retention Rates:
For instance, over 75% of workers would be more loyal to a company who offered flexibility – so if your company has a high turnover of staff and your idea promoted homeworking or flexibility, you could calculate the ROI in terms of staff turnover, productivity and engagement.
- Create a Roadmap
This summarises the ‘who’, ‘how’ and ‘when’ for your project, and will be vital for determining your strategic direction. According to Airfocus a roadmap will ensure your projects goals contribute to the business’ wider objectives and that it’s a sensible investment.
However, a common mistake with roadmaps is believing they have to be 100% set in stone, when they should allow room for change. This is ideal if you’re only going to be launching a MVP (minimum viable product) first. It’ll keep the scope and complexities to a minimum and only prioritise what is required to get the job done and build a case for further change.
- And Finally, Delivering Your Pitch
This is where all your hard work is put into practice. But if you’ve included all the above, these last few tips should make your business solution irresistible to your company’s stakeholders.
Be Visual
It is likely that, whatever you are pitching, will be a new concept for your audience who, as a result will find it difficult to understand at first. Therefore, having a prototype, demo or even some simple visuals will make your idea come to life and seem more achievable.
If you are unwilling to invest time in some visuals, why should an investor bother to fund your project?
Showcase Integration Possibilities
Rocking the boat in a business never goes down well, which is why many avoid operational transformations through fear of creating more work and upheave. So prove to your audience that your solution integrates with existing operations to improve the experience.
Refer to Your Roadmap
Refer to your roadmap to share your projects short, medium and long-term rewards. Don’t concentrate on the logistics here, focus on how it’ll benefit the overall business strategy.
Share an Engaging Story
Storytelling sells – did you know brands who use storytelling in their marketing strategies outperform their competitors by 64%? Use this strategy to create a more captivating pitch. Incorporate your visuals and ensure your story aligns with current business objectives.
Author Bio:
Sam Furr, Tappable Founder & Head of Product Strategy
Sam has been developing apps & mobilising businesses for over 10 years and founded a successful award winning, international digital app development & product design agency; Tappable. Whether you’re after a commercial, enterprise or consumer facing product, Tappable will help turn your opportunity into a mobile-first solution that delivers.