Business Plans 101: How to Write a Business Plan
A roadmap for your business that outlines your goals and spells out how you aim to achieve them. In other words, it's a guide for how to set up your business.
formal presentation plan
This is likely the kind document that originally came to mind when we started talking about business plans. This is the real deal, the one that’ll take the longest, probably be the longest, and will be suitable for showing to lenders, investors and anyone else you need to impress outside the company. When we detail the components below, plan to include all of them in your final document. And pay attention to presentation, spelling and grammar. As opposed to your own in-house plan, a <anchor>formal presentation plan</anchor> requires recognized business language and should avoid slang, jargon and shorthand only you will understand. It must be well-written and consistent, especially where numbers and finances are concerned.
How to Make a Business Plan Presentation
Chron LogoHearst Newspapers Logo

We handpick every product we feature. We may earn commission from the links on this page.

# How to Make a Business Plan Presentation

Share to Facebook%26utm_source%3Dfacebook.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&name=How%20to%20Make%20a%20Business%20Plan%20Presentation&description=How%20to%20Make%20a%20Business%20Plan%20Presentation.%20Making%20a%20presentation%20to%20prospective%20investors...&picture=https%3A%2F%2Fs.hdnux.com%2Fphotos%2F01%2F41%2F73%2F37%2F25671619%2F3%2FrawImage.jpg&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fsmallbusiness.chron.com%2Fmake-business-plan-presentation-789.html%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3DUTMSOURCE%26utm_medium%3DUTMMEDIUM)Share to Twitter%26utm_source%3Dt.co%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&text=How%20to%20Make%20a%20Business%20Plan%20Presentation&via=chron)Share from Email%26utm_source%3Dshare-by-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%0A%0AHow%20to%20Make%20a%20Business%20Plan%20Presentation.%20Making%20a%20presentation%20to%20prospective%20investors...%0A%0AThis%20message%20was%20sent%20via%20Chron%20-%20Small%20Business)

Presenting your business plan is an important step in raising capital.

Making a business proposal presentation to prospective investors is stressful for nearly all entrepreneurs. Even if they are confident their business plan is well thought out, they still worry that they will not be able to express the most important aspects of their plan and engage the investors' interest in the short time allotted for the in-person presentation. The keys to a successful presentation are advance preparation and rehearsal until your delivery is smooth and polished.



## Preparing the Business Plan Presentation

Your partnership is a separate business and needs its own tax ID number.Getty

Business plan presentations are designed to sell your idea to investors through a concise and engaging overview of what your business does, how it fills a consumer need and what you are looking for in terms of an investment. Seasoned investors are busy, and typically aren't interested in a long, drawn-out presentation filled with irrelevant information. In fact, many seasoned venture capitalists and angel investors will give you a specific time limit and a suggested outline for your presentation; if you receive these suggestions, it's a good idea to follow them. If you don't receive specific guidance, focus your presentation on the following key points:

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Slides 1-3

## More For You

## How to Make Trivia Questions on Powerpoint

## How to Design PowerPoint Slides for Oral Presentations

## How to Write a Preface for a Business Plan

## Marketing Presentation Objectives

## How to Pitch a Business Plan

- Introduce yourself, your company and its products.
- Describe your market and how you solve your customers' problems.
- Explain how your product is different than anything else on the market.

Slides 4-6

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

- Discuss the size of the market for your product
- Explain who your customers are
- Demonstrate growth in your market in the next 3-5 years

Slides 7-8

- Discuss the competitive advantages your venture has that will lead to outstanding revenue growth and profitability.
- Demonstrate your projected revenues and pretax profits for the next 3-5 years.

Slides 9-10

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

- Discuss your marketing strategies, including distribution channels and sales strategies

Slides 10 and beyond

- Introduce your management team and advisory board members. Include one or two points about each person's background and experience. and explain how each person on the team brings a critical element necessary for your company's success.

Final slides

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

- Reveal the total amount of capital you need and a short list of major expenditures.

By following this general outline and focusing on the most important information, you'll answer most of the investors' questions and give them the details they need to make a decision. Remember to only hit the highlights, and don't try to fit your entire business plan into the presentation. Too many slides can result in information overload, and they will not remember the most important pieces of information. Aim for a business plan PowerPoint of about 10-12 slides.

## Rehearsing Your Presentation

Once you've created the presentation, practice presenting it to ensure that you appear polished and professional come presentation day. Again, keep time limits in mind, and respect the investors' time. Don't forget to include time for questions in your overall presentation plan.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

To begin rehearsing, create an outline of your the presentation, addressing the important points that you want to cover. If you are using presentation software like PowerPoint, print a copy of your presentation in outline view, and use that to identify the key points you want to make from each slide and jot down additional notes about what you want to say. Creating the outline not only ensures that you cover all of the key points, it also keeps you from simply reading what's on the screen, which will quickly bore the audience.

Once you have an idea of what you are going to say, rehearse your presentation with colleagues. Invite members of your management team or trusted associates into a conference room and conduct a dress rehearsal of the presentation. Get their feedback on what parts of the presentation might need editing or clarification. Time your presentation and cut it down if necessary. Rehearse the presentation several more times on your own.

## Succeeding on Presentation Day

It's normal to be nervous come presentation day, but do your best to relax and calm your nerves. Try some breathing or visualization exercises ahead of time to clear your mind and get into the right frame of mind. If you are well-prepared and know your presentation inside and out, there is nothing to be nervous about. Just be yourself – the investors are evaluating you as well as your business plan, after all – and do your best to project an image of confidence and competence.

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

Show enthusiasm and urgency, but avoid coming across as desperate or unfocused. Speak slowly, smile, make eye contact and refer to your notes if you need to and you'll impress investors with both your business and your presentation skills.

## References

Advertisement

Article continues below this ad

## Tips

- Close the presentation with a sense of urgency. Show why now is the right time for your company to enter the market. Timing is often critical with early stage companies.

## Warnings

- Don't try to fit your entire business plan into the presentation. Too many slides can result in information overload for the people you are presenting to, and they will not remember the most important pieces of information. Ten to twelve slides is sufficient.

Contributor

## Brian Hill is the author of four popular business and finance books: "The Making of a Bestseller," "Inside Secrets to Venture Capital," "Attracting Capital from Angels" and his latest book, published in 2013, "The Pocket Small Business Owner's Guide to Business Plans."

Return To Top

About

Contact

Services

About

Contact

Services