How can your ‘Ask’ help to write your Pitch?

Almost every one of the 200+ pitches I’ve seen ends with an ‘Ask’. Typically, this requests a significant investment and might include the company valuation and terms. The Ask is the punchline and the reason why the Founders are there pitching.

As Simon Sinek explains in his book ‘Start with Why’, “people don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.” So, if the Ask is really the WHY of a Pitch, then why would we consider it last?

If we turn the classic pitch structure upside-down, then we can think about how to use the Pitch to justify our Ask logically and financially.

By working backwards, it’s clear we’re Asking for an Investment to deliver a much greater Return. This is only possible if we can find a big enough Market for our product and make a good Margin selling it.

Most pitches sensibly begin with their customers’ problem and how they will solve it. But it can be harder to explain convincingly how you will win market share against your competitors, while capturing value cost-effectively.

All this requires Investment to pay for your business Plan and the People needed to deliver it. Justifying your costs and timescales is important to show investors how you will use their funds wisely. Your team’s skills are key to achieving this, and how you will motivate them to deliver.

Having worked the logic of your Pitch backwards, it usually makes sense to deliver it ‘forwards’. But if you write your Pitch with the aim of logically justifying investment in your business, then by the time you Ask for it there should be fewer awkward questions!

There is no single ‘correct’ answer on how to pitch, and many frameworks and styles which work well. So, here’s another one to add to your kit bag – even better if you can tell a nice story with a clear logical narrative!

If you’d like to discuss how your Pitch helps justify your Ask, then please get in touch!