Africa Business Communities

Maria Auma: Nailing the Elevator Pitch Pt.2

Continued from part 1...

I listen to a lot of pitches. This is part of my job description and I am able to tell someone who is passionate about something from someone who is just going in for a trial and error. Recently, I met with a group of entrepreneurs looking to start a business in fisheries. The first thing I noticed about the young entrepreneurs was their passion and excitement about the project. They had all these plans figured out about what they wanted to do and who they were targeting and I thought it was an interesting prospect. So I asked them off-handedly: “How much would it cost you roughly to set up?”

“Oh, we have not yet figured that out. Perhaps a Ten million Uganda Shillings?” Needless to say I was a little disappointed considering they seemed like a vibrant team. Nevertheless I asked, “Ok, so do you have a business plan?” Nothing. My point here is that you need to be prepared with these answers on your fingertips because you never know who will be walking round the corner from where you are to talk to you. Numbers make the most business sense to investors and no investor will take you seriously if you cannot answer important questions like how much your business will cost to set up and how much return they can make if they choose to invest in you.

Here is Peter’s improved elevator pitch:

“Hi Dave, It’s been a while. How is the family?”

“The family is good Peter. Been a while. Six months, is it? So what have you been up to?”

“Oh I have actually been busy setting up our new company.”

“Really? Sounds interesting. What does your company do?”

“We help businesses access finance and start-up funding. A partner and I started the company after realizing that there were a lot of people with great ideas and businesses but who just did not have enough money to get their businesses running. So for example we send out calls for proposals to entrepreneurs and work with them to ensure their business plans are just what an ideal financier will be looking for, and then we connect them to the financier. Most of our financiers are only too happy to work with us because of the added value we offer to them. We are also currently growing our own fund to be able to invest in viable businesses. We want to help entrepreneurs grow not just their businesses but their business acumen as well. Perhaps you might be having someone interested in our service, or you might be interested in exploring some of our financial solutions.”

“Yes, sure Peter. Sounds like something I might very much be interested in. And a good cause too. So tell me, what project proposals are you looking at now?”

“Yes it is. We actually get exposed to a lot of people from different backgrounds. Unfortunately I am not at liberty to speak in detail about specific projects since we work under confidentiality with our clients but I can safely say that right now we are working on a large scale packaging project that will give employment opportunities to over 1500 casual workers in just one area alone.”

“Wow! That is quite impressive. Ok. Might you be having a business card so I can get in touch with you sometime next week? I need to take Annie here for her ice cream treat. As you can see she is already getting impatient.”

“Yes, sure. Here you go. Give me a call next week on Tuesday and we can take it from there. Let me just jot down your number here and I will follow up with a call in case you get too busy to write an email, ok?”

“Sounds perfect!”

“Alright, have a lovely time. Talk real soon.”

See how Peter has managed to explain his business to Dave and secure a second meeting where he will be sure to sign David as a client?

What would your pitch sound like now that you know the right ingredients?

Maria Auma is CEO of Blue Luxury Investments, Kampala, Uganda.

 

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