Inviting potential investors to the office is crucial to the success of your business. You need these investors to spend money and make your business successful. The problem is that they’re not easy to convince. They have dealt with plenty of aspiring business owners in the past. They’re careful in deciding home to offer their money. It’s an investment, and they want a return of what they invested. Hence, you need to put your best foot forward during the presentation. It would help if you were convincing enough. Remember that it’s not only your pitch that will be judged by these investors. They will also look at how you run the business and how the office looks like. Therefore, you need to prepare the entire place for their arrival. Start by installing the big Berkey water filter. You need to have clean drinking water for your visitors. Even after the meeting, everyone can benefit from having access to clean drinking water in the office. You can’t rely on the tap water source to be free from pathogens.
You need to spend days or even weeks to prepare for the arrival of these investors. If you couldn’t win their hearts, it will take time before you can move your business forward. Remember the steps to guarantee the success of the meeting.
Clean the meeting room
The pitch will probably happen in the meeting room. Make sure that it’s conducive to the presentation. Ask someone to clean the entire area and arrange the tables and chairs. Remove everything that shouldn’t be inside the place. If you made your meeting room a stockroom, you have to take everything out. You don’t want to create the impression that you’re not using the meeting room properly. The room should also be fragrant and relaxing. The moment these investors go inside, they need to be in the mood to listen to you.
Prepare some snacks
Meetings can also be stressful and intense. The best way to lighten the mood is by having something to eat. Ask your staff to prepare snacks for everyone in the room. If the meeting goes on for hours, you might have to prepare heavy meals. Ask your guests about their food restrictions so you can prepare appropriate dishes.
Make the waiting area feel comfortable
If you have invited several people to be in the meeting, not all of them might arrive simultaneously. Others might come earlier, and you need to have a waiting area. While waiting, your guests need to feel comfortable. Therefore, you should transform your waiting area. It’s a place that you don’t give enough attention to. Clean the seats and place some magazines on the table. You can also have other forms of entertainment available for your guests.
Repair whatever needs to be fixed
Since you’re running a small business, your office might not be perfect. You have even rented a small commercial space to keep the operations running. Once you have received the investment, you might have to relocate. However, it’s the area that will host the meeting. Try to make it good enough for anyone who will be joining the discussion. If there are areas that require repair or replacement, you need to deal with them. You don’t want your guests to be injured or hurt while moving from one place to another. It could create a negative impression and derail your plans.
Arrange the tables and chairs
On the way to the meeting room, your guests will see the entire office. Make sure that the tables and chairs are arranged well. It should look like a regular office. If the place looks terrible, it could create a negative impression. However, you can’t make it look too organized. Otherwise, the investors will think that you have staged everything. They won’t believe whatever you show inside the office, including your presentation.
Check the equipment to be used
The last thing you want to happen is to have problems with the equipment while you speak. Make sure that you check everything before the meeting begins. The Soundsystem should be perfect so that if there are plenty of guests, they can hear what you say. You should also check if the projector is working and clear enough from the back. If you have to print some materials, you need to do them before the guests’ arrival.
Hope for the best
Once you have already prepared the office for the pitch, you can only hope for the best. There’s nothing else that you can do to change the mind of the people who will decide your fate.
Apart from your presentation, you also have to prepare for the question and answer portion. These investors will decide if you’re sincere in your presentation based not only on your speech but also on how you answer questions. You have plenty of time to practice your speech, but your responses to the questions will determine if you mean what you said.
Be prepared for the results
Even if you have done everything to make your business pitch a success, things might still turn out the other way. If you fail to win the hearts of these investors, you should continue your plans. Learn from the presentation and use your failure to do better in future pitches.
Don’t be discouraged if these investors said no. It doesn’t mean that your plan was terrible. Your ideas might not jive with their vision. Hence, you got rejected. If you found the right person who sees your goals and believes in you, it would be a perfect partnership. Even some of the most successful companies today had several rejections along the way. One investor saying no to your ideas isn’t the end of the road. You might have to keep working and start from scratch, but it’s okay. Your experience will only make you a better person and a more relatable leader.