Here's the Pitch: How to Pitch Your Business to Anyone, Get Funded, and Win Clients

CHAPTER5

Handling Questions

“Sometimes questions are more important than answers.”

—Nancy Willard, American Poet and Writer

Things can be going great during your pitch until that moment when you come under fire in the form of challenging questions from your audience.

No matter how well you've prepared, there is a good chance that at least one question will make your heart sink and head spin. When that happens, the lights seem brighter, time seems to stop, and all eyes are focused on you.

Handle this question badly or alienate your audience, and it may all be over. At this point a nervous tick, defensiveness, inappropriate body language, and facial expressions all seem amplified.

It isn't possible to prepare for every question you may be asked, but this chapter will show you how to respond, even when asked the unexpected and the difficult.

Welcome Questions

Entrepreneurs can struggle when asked questions during a pitch because they perceive the questions to be a problem rather than an opportunity. Questions are an opportunity to prove your expertise, enhance your credibility, and provide further reasons for your audience to take the action you want them to.

You should never assume the purpose of the question reflects a concern about you or your start-up unless it's explicitly critical. ...