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

CHAPTER13

Develop a Winning Mind-Set

“Eighty percent of success in a business is the psychology.”

—Anthony Robbins

Confidence, vision, drive, and resilience are essential characteristics for every entrepreneur. When it comes to the pressure of a pitch, having a winning psychology is critical. This chapter will equip you with powerful techniques to eliminate any fears of pitching you may have and develop a laser focus.

Confidence

In the United States, public speaking is the number one fear. In the United Kingdom, it's the second most common fear.

Given what's at stake when you're pitching, it's easy to understand why so many entrepreneurs suffer from “pitch fright.” Forgetting key information, being unable to speak coherently, and communicating fear are common symptoms.

Although a confident pitch won't get a weak business funding, a poor pitch will undersell a good business, losing the entrepreneur investment or new clients. Investors worry that an entrepreneur who can't pitch won't be able to bring on new investors and clients to grow their business. No matter how strong your start-up seems, you must be able to deliver a confident pitch.

The Myths and Science of Confidence

The term confidence comes from the Latin confido meaning “to have faith in.” We recognize confidence the instant ...