How to Round Off a Compelling Pitch Deck Narrative

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Written by Linda Hohnholz

When creating a pitch deck, never forget that investors are typically inundated with pitches for getting funding.

Entrepreneurs need to work extra hard to ensure that their presentation creates a lasting impression and ends with an investment agreement or a safe note. Pitches need to be concise and compelling to make them worth the investors’ time. By the time the pitch is ready to round it off, the presenter must make sure it leaves an indelible mark and gets them that hard-won follow-up appointment with their audience. Read ahead to know more.

Reiterate Your Main Points

The concluding slide of a pitch deck should highlight all the main points. List them with adequate pauses in between to let the message sink in. startup owners must have the presence of mind to remember the questions they were asked, and reiterate the answers to remind their audience that all doubts and queries were addressed. Pointing to visuals helps since they have a better chance of making an impression. Light humor also works, but it should be in good taste. 

Include a Call to Action

Be sure to finish strong. The narrative is a build-up to the call to action and close. Have a good hook. Be confident in the ask. Or make it so obvious that it is not a matter of if they are going to invest, but how much they can invest, and on what terms. Be clear about the next step they should be taking, and compel them to take that action immediately. The pitch must outline what needs to be done explicitly. Like, say, schedule a follow-up appointment. Make sure the contact information is clearly displayed. Potential investors should not have to search for the details; they are likely to lose interest sooner. 

How Long Should Your Pitch Deck Narrative Be? 

Consider that, on average, investors only spend less than four minutes reviewing a pitch deck.  To create a four-minute narrative for a video pitch, the pitch will need to be around 700 words of text. That’s about a page and a half to two pages in writing. Entrepreneurs may also have a shorter version and a slightly longer version. Though it is critical to remember that founders may have a 30-minute pitching slot. After the pitch gets going and leaves room for questions from investors, only about 10 minutes remain to deliver the narrative. And, once that is done, just around 30 to 45 seconds are available to quickly compress that narrative. 

Who Should Create Your Pitch Deck Narrative?

Creating the narrative for a startup pitch deck can be a very challenging thing for founders to do. Even more so for technical founders. This is an art. It takes strategy, understanding investors, the funding ecosystem, and sales psychology. Even if they are experienced in this, it is often difficult to convey the startup in the best way, with the optimal story. The founders are just too close to it. There are significant benefits to leveraging outside help. If they are bogged down in this process or not getting the checks from investors that they expected, it makes sense to reach out to fundraising consultants and copywriters to help. 

A compelling pitch deck narrative will make all the difference in getting funded, giving the startup the best chances of success, and reaching its full potential. Understand what should be included, how long it should be, and who can help, and founders can be on their way to getting the funding their company needs. Most importantly, learn how to deliver that final closing statement and create a lasting impression.

BIO

| eTurboNews | eTN

Alejandro Cremades is a serial entrepreneur and the author of The Art of Startup Fundraising. With a foreword by ‘Shark Tank‘ star, Barbara Corcoran and published by John Wiley & Sons, the book was named one of the best books for entrepreneurs. The book offers a step-by-step guide to today‘s way of raising money for entrepreneurs. 

Most recently, Alejandro built and exited CoFoundersLab, which is one of the largest communities of founders online. 

Prior to CoFoundersLab, Alejandro worked as a lawyer at King & Spalding, where he was involved in one of the biggest investment arbitration cases in history ($113 billion at stake). 

Alejandro is an active speaker and has given guest lectures at the Wharton School of Business, Columbia Business School, and NYU Stern School of Business. 

Alejandro has been involved with the JOBS Act since its inception and was invited to the White House and the US House of Representatives to provide his stands on the new regulatory changes concerning fundraising online.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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