How to pitch investors effectively: The best visual aids to use

All you get is 15 minutes and 15 slides. Fifteen minutes to deliver the performance of your life. And fifteen slides to make an investor see the undisputable potential in your ideas.

To be honest, that’s an uphill battle. But not if you find an alternative way to drive the nail home.

So, what’s the alternative way? Using visual aids!

Henrik Ibsen once said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” That means with the right visual aids, one can leave a lasting impression on investors.

In that case, let me introduce to you the best visual aids for pitching investors.

1. Fishbone diagram – best for pre-presentation preparation

2. Flowchart – best for showcasing how your product works, team, and business process.

3. Infographics – best for showing consumer data, consumer journey, and other important consumer information that will show an investor there’s an audience for what you’re proposing.

4. Maps – best for showing market research and competitor analysis

5. Mind Map: best for bringing multiple ideas and concepts into one picture

6. Video or storyboard – best for providing evidence to back up your claims

1) Fishbone diagram

This is what a fishbone diagram looks like:

What's the purpose of this visual aid? Actually, fishbone diagrams are not to be taken to the presentation. Instead, they help you remember some vital points you've jotted during your preparation.

Let's say during your preparation for the presentation; you imagine the investors might ask you a couple of questions. You can jot them down in the upper part of the diagram above. And then provide their answers in the lower part of the diagram.

This will help you recall information easily during the presentation, as you can easily imagine where a question and its answer lie on the diagram.

2) Flowchart

Once your presentation starts, the first thing you want to talk about is the product/idea. Luckily, there’s a way you can do this without saying much.

Using flowcharts.

With a flowchart, you can easily demonstrate how your product works, your business goals, the challenges, the step-by-step of the business model, where you are in the product development, and what you still plan to achieve.

See an example:

To create awesome flowcharts for your pitch decks, check out Zen flowchart. It is the best flowchart maker around.

3) Infographics

After the product/business model, the next point of discussion should be your target audience – i.e., the people you think will buy your product/solution.

The best way to showcase your target audience to investors is via the use of infographics. Infographics are a combination of images and texts.

With infographics, investors can see consumers' ideal behavior and understand why you think they'll buy into your idea.

For example, if you’re pitching a business model that helps with addiction, instead of saying ‘70% of addicted persons wish to break free.’ You can present an infographic showing pictures of addicted persons and their quests for freedom (with fascinating stats, of course).

This will grab an investor’s attention better.

See an example:

4) Maps

When you want to discuss your competitors, where they are, and other vital information regarding the market, it's always better to present them on a map rather than explaining with words.

This way, your investors can easily see and imagine that a competitor is in Town A (where there are 400k consumer targets) than when you say it in words.

See an example:

Additionally, you can also use maps to show market preferences in each country, state, or city. What do people in this region like? How do people in this city like their products served? And stuff like that.

5) Mind Map

Mind maps are mostly used for bringing multiple ideas and concepts into one picture.

Sometimes, you may need to describe a couple of key concepts that contribute to an end goal. For example, say you want to build a mobile app. Some of the important key concepts include UI/UX design, app development, beta testing, app pitch, app promotion, etc.

Instead of highlighting each concept on a different page or discussing them separately, you can use a mind map to bring all the concepts into one picture. This way, the investor will easily see all the processes that go into the completion of the project.

See an example:

In this scenario, the project is a 'proposal presentation.' See how I used a Mind Map to highlight the important concepts I need to address.

6) Video or Storyboard

It is easy to tell an investor 100 people have tested your products. And then present the feedback you got. But this wouldn’t move anyone.

If you want the face of an investor to light, present a storyboard or a video showing proof of the effects your product has had on people.

This can be a video of various users reporting their experience with your product. Or a storyboard that features the image of a consumer, their name/other details, and personal experience with your product.

Something that looks like this:

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or the management of EconoTimes