A great idea is just an idea unless it is transformed into a venture. A business idea is worthless if your target market is unwilling to pay for it. Now the question is this, how can an idea be transformed into a money making venture? Many of the famous companies we know started off as one simple idea that got improved, refurbished and innovated over the years and are worth millions of dollars today. A good example is the Jumia Nigeria online store. This idea isn’t exactly brand new, however the creators of the online store took advantage of a recent trend of online activities by Nigerians and they also understood the need for convenient online shopping, while avoiding the Lagos hustle and bustle and nailed it! Here are a few pointers to selling a brilliant idea.
Conduct Market Research
It is crucial to conduct adequate market research before approaching a potential investor or customer. You must conduct a feasibility study of your product or service and you must be convinced it will be viable in the target market. This will help you determine if you should go forward with the idea or to just scrap it!
Sell Yourself
Selling yourself isn’t an option in delivering this brilliant idea of yours. This means that you must be convincing enough to stir an interest in your potential venture. Everything about you and your identity must be a reflection of the brand. A car salesman who does not know how it feels to drive a “tear rubber” (brand new car) wouldn’t be a great sales man now would he? You must be extremely knowledgeable about everything related to your idea and be prepared to answer questions.
Break-it-down
You must carefully break down the idea into simpler terms. Your potential investors are uninterested in the big and fancy words you choose in marketing your ideas. You should use “layman” terms in describing your idea and must also be concise.
Be Realistic
Over optimistic projections of a business wont help you or your investor and can only be disastrous. You must conduct adequate and thorough research to enable you give accurate and attainable projections when pitching your idea. This is important to keep you grounded when building the business and it avoids impractical expectations from investors.
Highlight the Strengths
Ensure that you highlight the strengths of your business especially when pitching your idea to an investor. The investor must be convinced that he or she is making a profitable investment in you business and if there are obvious weaknesses, you must confidently show your ability to overcome them when pitching your idea.
Indicate Investors’ gain
As you know, investors are not running charity organizations and therefore, most of them (if not all) will ask you “What is it in for me?” You must be able to indicate the short and long-term returns of their investments (monetary or otherwise) when pitching your business idea.
Prepare to be turned down
Very few ideas are bought at their first pitch. You must sell your idea with the mindset of the possibility of being turned down. With this mindset, you will be more equipped to keep selling the idea knowing that some day, someone may buy it! Additionally, don’t be afraid to re-pitch this idea to your target investors. Who knows, they may just have a change of heart. Being turned down is a frustrating process but to come out successful you must focus on the end, not the means.
