Chapter 11
Presenting the Plan with Confidence
Key Words
No Key Words for Chapter 11
Chapter Overview
This chapter provides a primer on making an effective business plan presentation. This
chapter contains two sections. The first section focuses on preparing for and making an
effective presentation. The second section of the chapter focuses on the content of the
presentation and includes a sample 12-slide PowerPoint presentation.
Chapter Summary
1.
present the plan with confidence and poise.
If your business plan peaks the interest of an investor or banker, or you enter it
2.
Most of us do not routinely make verbal presentations, so careful planning and
practice normally pays off.
3.
how to deliver an effective presentation. Like it or not, how you present yourself
and the manner in which you interact with the people you will be presenting to,
makes as much difference as the plan itself.
The first set of issues to think about after you’ve been asked to make a verbal
presentation of your business plan is how to go about preparing for the task and
4.
You should make sure to know how much time you have to make your
presentation and plan accordingly. The number one rule in making a presentation
is to follow the rules.
5.
attire, than it is to dress down.
You should dress appropriately for a presentation. If you’re unsure what to wear,
6.
practice their presentations several times in front of colleagues and others to time
the presentation and get feedback. It’s also a good idea to watch other people
It’s important to practice your presentation. Many experienced entrepreneurs
7.
A strong case can be made for involving as many of the members of your team
as possible in a business plan presentation.
8.
Your goal, during a business plan presentation, is to not only educate your
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audience about your idea, but to fire them up (to inspire).
9.
An important component of putting together an effective business plan
presentation is to determine the content to present. Obviously, you can’t convey
10.
The 12 slides in the mock business plan presentation in the chapter include:
overview, the problem, the solution, opportunity and target market, technology,
competition, marketing and sales, management team, financial projections,
current status, financing sought, and summary.
Chapter Outline
I. Introduction
II. Preparing for and Delivering an Effective Business Plan Presentation
a. Preparing for the Presentation
b. Delivering an Effective Presentation
III. Preparing the Content of an Effective Business Plan Presentation
IV. Sample Business Plan Presentation
a. Company Name/Logo
b. Slide 1—Overview
c. Slide 2—The Problem
d. Slide 3—The Solution
Chapter Notes
I. Introduction
• If your plan piques the interest of an investor, or you enter it into a
II. Preparing for and Delivering an Effective Business Plan Presentation
• As you present your plan, your audience will not only be judging your
presentation. As a result, you have to focus on the parts of the plan that are the
most important to your audience.
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a. Preparing for the Presentation
o The initial task is to find out as much as you can about the
people you’ll be presenting to
o As long as you come across as sincere, people normally
consider it a compliment that you went to the trouble of
learning about their backgrounds
o Make sure you know how much time you have and plan
accordingly
o Dress appropriately; if you’re unsure, dress up rather than
down
b. Delivering an Effective Presentation
o The first thing to consider is who will do the presenting
o If you’re part of a team, there is a strong case for involving
as many team members as possible; it shows that your team
major themes and supporting points
o Your audience should spend the majority of their time
listening to you rather than reading your slides
o Some experts recommend a 6-6-6 rule when drafting slides:
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o Make your presentation interesting, upbeat, and heartfelt
(to the degree appropriate and fitting):
• Tell a personal story or anecdote
• Use humor
III. Preparing the Content of an Effective Business Plan Presentation
• The presentation has little to no chance of succeeding if the content is
poorly thought out or important elements are missing
IV. Sample Business Plan Presentation
a. Company Name/Logo
o Slide should be sharp and uncluttered and include contact
information for at least one of the founders
b. Slide 1—Overview
o An overview of your business and its potential
o If one fact about your business is particularly compelling, tell it
here
e. Slide 4—Opportunity and Target Market
o Articulate your specific target market
o Talk specifically about trends that are providing your market
momentum
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o Talk about your technology or any unusual aspects of your product
or service
g. Slide 6—Competition
o Lay out your competitive landscape
o Display your competitive analysis grid
j. Slide 9—Financial Projections
o Show a summary of your income projections and cash flow
projections for the first three to five years
o If the font seems too small, use an additional slide
o Know your numbers cold
k. Slide 10—Current Status
o Describe your firm in the context of the milestones you’ve
achieved
o Describe how much money the founders, management team, and
any early investors have put into the firm
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Review Questions
1.
Why is it important to carefully prepare and plan for a business plan
presentation?
Answer: If the presentation goes well, it can move you closer to obtaining the
2.
verbal presentation of your business plan is how to go about preparing for the
What are the most important issues involved with preparing for a business plan
presentation?
Answer: The first set of issues to think about after you’ve been asked to make a
content to present.
3.
the plan itself. You get only one chance to make a good first impression!
What is meant by the statement, “As you present your plan, your audience will
not only be judging your plan, but they will be judging you?”
Answer: Like it or not, how you present yourself and the manner in which you
4.
having the same college or university affiliation or a similar hobby, helps break
their backgrounds.
Why is it important to know about the people you’ll be presenting your business
plan to?
Answer: Any type of common ground you can find with your audience, such as
5.
Why is it important to practice your presentation?
Answer: Many experienced entrepreneurs practice their presentations several
6.
presenters miss the mark. The slides should provide an overall context and
majority of its time listening to you rather than reading your slides.
What is the proper role of PowerPoint slides in a business plan presentation?
Answer: Considering the proper role of PowerPoint slides is a place where many
7.
What are the positive aspects of involving as many of the members of a
management team as possible in a business plan presentation?
the ground.
team members work well together, and there is no one member of your team
listener attentive and alert. It varies the pace of the presentation and allows the
Answer: If you tag-team your presentation and it goes well, it shows that your
8.
fit too many slides into a presentation or making your slides too dense, including
What is meant by the phrase “death by PowerPoint”?
Answer: All kinds of colorful metaphors are attached to the dangers of trying to
“death by PowerPoint” and “PowerPoint poisoning” (coined first by Dilbert).
9.
minute presentation. Many experts figure two minutes per slide (on average), so
What is a reasonable number of PowerPoint slides to include in a 20- to 30-
minute business plan presentation?
Answer: A maximum of 12 PowerPoint slides is recommended in a 20- to 30-
10.
Slide 4—Opportunity and Target Market, Slide 5—Technology, Slide 6—
List the title of the slides included in the mock 12-slide business plan
presentation included in the chapter.
Answer: Slide 1—Overview, Slide 2—The Problem, Slide 3—The Solution,
Application Questions
1.
way the founders do. Founders could also cite the results from their feasibility
You recently sat through a business plan presentation and were impressed by the
research that founders included in the presentation to validate their points. They
included cites from the Wall Street Journal, several trade magazines, Standard &
Poor’s NetAdvantage, Mintel, and the U.S. Census Bureau. As you were driving
home, it struck you that although there was a lot of research to back up the
business plan’s claims, there wasn’t a stitch of primary research reported. The
founders were replying strictly on secondary research. You’re wondering if this
aspect of the plan should bother you. Should it?
Answer: Yes, primary research is vital. Founders should prove to their audience
2.
Make a list of 10 mistakes that you could make in a business plan presentation.
Next to each mistake, make a brief suggestion for how to avoid the mistake.
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3.
Sharon Peters, a friend of yours, asked you to sit in on a dry run of her business
plan presentation. You know that Sharon is looking for $250,000 to launch her
venture. At the end of the presentation, you ask Sharon why she never mentioned
how much money she’s looking for. She replied, “That’s a point of negotiation. I
don’t want to disclose how much I’m looking for or how much of the company
I’m willing to give up, until I know how interested someone is in my venture.”
Discuss the pluses and minuses of Sharon’s approach.
Answer: Entrepreneurs should be prepared to talk about how much of their firm
4.
for having all team members involved. Having everyone involved in the Q & A
You recently sat in on a business plan competition at a local university, and one
presentation struck you as odd. It was a good presentation. All five members of
the management team were present, but one person did all the presenting. The
other four members of the team never said a word, not even during the question
and answer session. Speculate on why you think the presentation struck you as
odd and the pluses and minuses of this approach to presenting.
Answer: If all members fail to present or participate in some way, it may appear
5.
income projections and cash flow projections for the first three to five years.
A friend of yours showed you the slides she plans to use for her business plan
presentation, and you noticed that the slides didn’t include any financial
information. You asked your friend about this omission, and she said, “Financial
statements are boring. No one wants to look at a bunch of financial statements in
a business plan presentation.” How would you respond to your friend’s
assertion?
Answer: The single biggest mistake that people make in putting together a
Additional Activities
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1. Hot Buttons
Purpose: to encourage students to identify the benefits and features potential investors
and lenders are seeking in a business plan. This can either be an individual or group
discussion.
Ask students to turn again to Chapters 2 and 6 of the text. This time you want them to use
the concepts of Chapters 2 and 6 to focus on profiling lenders and investors instead of
customers. For example:
o What environmental trends are lenders and investors concerned about?
2. First Impressions
Purpose: to impress upon students the importance of planning to make a good first
impression.
The first time you conduct this exercise, I recommend that you make this a homework
assignment for individual students to find and bring to class the photographs,
advertisements, business names, and business cards that demonstrate both very good and
very bad examples of attire, attitudes, and image choices. Put students into discussion
teams; each team is to select the best example of good choices and the best example of
poor choices. Each team then shares its choices with the rest of the class and explains
why they chose these particular examples.
3. Business Plan Presentations
Purpose: students will apply what they learned in this chapter by actually giving a
presentation in class and/or at a business plan competition.
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business people from the community to be in the audience. Students take the assignment
very seriously when they know that someone other than just you will be evaluating their
content and presentation skills.
4. I’ll Invest!
Purpose: to stimulate students’ ability to evaluate business plans and presentations.
This is another version of how to conduct student business plan presentations in your
classroom. Prior to the first presentation, tell your students that they will choose which of