Presenting Your Plan
By the time you have finished compiling your business plan you will have invested a great deal of time and energy. You will have ensured that all the information you have presented is both accurate and of a quality second to none. However, unless you present your business plan effectively all this hard work may be wasted.
Composing Your Introductory Letter
When you attend an interview for a job or meet someone for the first time you want to make a good first impression. It is this first impression that people will always remember. The same can be said for a business plan; how a potential investor first becomes aware of your business idea will be how they will remember it and you.
An introductory letter will be the first point of contact your potential investors will have about you and your business idea. This should be sent at least seven days prior to your meeting and will serve as a brief introduction about you and your business. Time taken now to compile a professional letter of introduction will be time well spent. There are many different ways to write a good business letter and although there is not one specific right way there are many ways which look untidy and unprofessional.
All your business letters must be typed or if you are fortunate enough to have access to one, then use a word processor. Never under any circumstance write a business letter by hand. It gives the impression of an unorganised person with little interest in professional presentation. After all if you are unable to present yourself professionally, then how will you convince anyone to back you?
Submitting Your Plan
Who you send your business plan to can be just as important as what you say in the plan and letter themselves. Obviously what you want your business plan to achieve will influence who you send it to. For example, if you are looking to raise finance to back your new business or business idea then in the main you will probably be approaching at least one of, if not all of the main clearing banks. However, if you intend to introduce a potential investor to your business idea by offering some kind of equity then your business plan will be aimed at venture capital organisations. There are a great many of these, so the same careful research you have used in developing your business idea should also be used when choosing which organisation to approach. Some organisations will only back businesses within a specific sector such as engineering or computing; others will only look at propositions that require a minimum investment of £250,000 or even far more.
Leave the final editing of your business plan until you know exactly who your reader will be. This will allow you to include information you know your reader will be personally interested to learn. You may even be 'able to give the impression you have personalised your business plan just for one specific reader when in fact all you have done is to amend small sections to make it appear that way. A simple way to personalise your plan without altering lots of sections is to personalize just the front page. This will not only make the reader feel important but also indicate your professionalism.
Explaining Your Business
Just as you know all there is to know about your business, your potential backers know all there is to know about their business, whether it be lending money, backing viable opportunities or approving grant applications. Somewhere in the middle has to come a mutual understanding: it is unlikely that just from reading your business plan your backer will gain a full working knowledge of how your business works and why it will be a success. Therefore just as layman terms were used when writing your plan, the same approach should be used when explaining your business. The fact your backer is now only sitting across a desk from you does not mean that they will understand geophysics just because you have explained it to them face to face. When you are explaining your business:
- keep your explanations simple
- keep them short
- keep them interesting.
Remember, an interested backer is more likely to favour your business plan than someone who feels they would have had more fun watching the BBC test card.
Making a Winning Proposal
When the time comes to present yourself before your bank manager, investor or backer, treat the meeting just as you would any interview.
1. Long before the meeting sit down and have a good think about any points you want to raise and then jot them down on a piece of paper. This will help you to focus on what you need to say and how you will say it.
2. Show your list to your family and colleagues and monitor their response. There is no better criticism than constructive criticism. They may even have some thoughts of their own that you had not considered.
3. If you can, act out a mock interview, with a friend or colleague being the bank manager and you as yourself. The expressions on the face of the bank manager will show just how convincing you were.
Preparing for your meeting
Aim to arrive early for your meeting. Try not to look too eager as your bank manager may take this as a sign of desperation. Five to ten minutes will give you time to clarify any points in your head and a chance to compose and relax yourself.
What to wear to the meeting can also present some problems. If you are hoping to secure a loan then you do not want to look as if you already have an overflowing wallet by wearing a tailormade Giorgio Armani suit, nor indeed will scruffy jeans and a shirt with holes give the impression of a person capable of repaying any kind of loan let alone running a business. A standard suit will usually be quite sufficient.
Who will speak
If all the key members of your team have been fully involved with preparing and researching your business idea then you will have compiled a good solid business plan. Solutions to any problems that arise would have been quickly resolved by your team pulling together.
It may be appropriate for some or all of them to be present at your meeting, so appoint a main spokesperson before you go in. There is nothing more annoying to a bank manager than trying to listen to more than one person speaking at any one time. It also gives the impression of a disorganised team. If you cannot work as a team now, then how will you cope when your business gets off the ground?
The main spokesperson should not be the only spokesperson; make sure everyone is able to make their own contribution at some point during the interview. This shows the backer you are able to work well as a team and that teamwork will be a strong influence on the success of your business.
Be prepared
Visual aids can be used to emphasise particular points but do not be fooled in thinking these will impress your bank manager. They will only make parts of your plan easier to understand, nothing more. Your business plan must be able to withstand stringent scrutiny, and your bank manager will be the first to put this to the test.
Do not be alarmed if the bank manager asks a lot of questions about your plan. This can be a positive sign. It shows they have read through it and are willing to find out more by clarifying points they are unsure of. Be ready to answer any point raised but never just waffle on like a politician and hope that if you continue talking for long enough your backer will forget what the original question was. It may work in the House of Commons but in a closed office it will do little to convince anyone that you know your product and your market. Remember, the objective of an interview is to see whether you have considered every eventuality in the running of your business, so be prepared to defend your plan against criticism.
