What are the best techniques for coaching entrepreneurs to handle tough questions during a pitch?

Preparation is Key Understanding your business, anticipating questions, and having well researched responses ready is key. Respond with Stories and Examples use storytelling to make answers relatable and engaging, sharing success stories or examples about your business always remember the elevator pitch- Craft a clear, concise, and compelling elevator pitch for quick, informative responses. Stay Poised and Confident Maintain composure and confidence in your business, crucial for addressing challenging queries. Reframe Challenges as Opportunities View tough questions as chances to showcase expertise and problem-solving skills. Engage with Feedback Seek feedback to refine pitches and responses, enhancing your approach.

Be honest! There is usually very clear rationale as to why your company differs from the others or why incumbents won’t address the problem you are solving. The only way to handle tough questions though is to recognize the reason for the question. If it is an investor they want to understand how you think and your barriers to protect your company going forward from competition. Most importantly, people want to invest into entrepreneurs that are humble, know their stuff, yet are also not so headstrong that they can’t appreciate competitors or discount the tough questions. In fact, these questions if looked at appropriately can often make a company better - but that comes down to the mindset of the individual answering and their open mind.

One thing I’ve found helpful is by being honest, if you don’t have the answer it’s ok to say that, in fact I’ve been in front of a group of investors who asked me about what risk and challenges I’ve had to face so far and I was honest, I said the risk is doing exactly this. Otherwise I don’t know any better, am I making a mistake- can I trust you? What if I don’t have an answer for you now will you minimize the opportunities? Are you my next competitive threat. My biggest challenge is presenting my business in front of a group of strangers risking my reputation on the line. Being able to be raw and vulnerable is more powerful than lying because everyone can tell if your being dishonest.

As an entrepreneur; I think you can’t really get away without knowing the ways around answering the common questions. Think about this, you go out to pitch something that you wholeheartedly feel for; wouldn’t you have already seen the answers to the common questions? It’s alerting if you haven’t. It’s not about doing your homework; it’s about feeling and knowing about your product inside out (I mean, isn’t your product your baby?)

This technique acknowledges the question, appreciates the curiosity, and smoothly shifts the focus back to the entrepreneur's core message. It helps maintain control over the narrative, steering the conversation toward more relevant and constructive topics during the pitch.

I agree completely. Don't be scared to acknowledge that a question might deviate from the focus of the pitch. Be clear on the message your sending so that you can stop any deviations from that message. Saying "I appreciate the question, but that is something we are not focusing right now" is not bad.

During a pitch session, humility is essential. Far from a sign of weakness, humility allows entrepreneurs to approach the session as a learning opportunity, acknowledging the depth of experience in the room. It opens the door to receiving the wisdom hidden within tough questions, often from years of industry expertise. By viewing these queries as guidance rather than criticism, entrepreneurs can refine their business concepts and strategies, identify potential risk areas, and learn valuable lessons to inform future decisions. Humility is strategic in pitches, fostering connections, signaling maturity, and driving long-term venture success and adaptability.

I’m a firm believer in underpromising and overdelivering. This requires being clear in the value you can offer as well as having a sense of responsibility and ownership to go above and beyond in the value you provide. Most people aren’t looking for perfection, they’re looking for someone they can trust and rely on who’s further ahead and who can actually support them. Being candid and direct about your strengths and how you can mentor or coach someone allows the other individual to determine if you are the best fit for them or not. It’s better to determine upfront if it’s the right partnership than have missmanaged expectations on the backend.

A couple of things to remember as you get psyched up to pitch 1. Go there to learn, not just to win. - Every pitch you make, and there will be plenty, is an opportunity to find out what you don't know. 2. There is ALWAYS something you don't know - make sure there is someone there with you taking copious notes about what was asked and what was answered. And don't get caught out on the same question twice. Fool me once ... Yadda yadda yadda 3. If you know your product, if you are passionate about it and what it offers your client it will come through in the razzle dazzle...it will also be blatantly obvious if you have cut corners on fully educating yourself on what the potential investor you are pitching is looking for.

As an Entrepreneur and having pitched a business idea many a times, these are my learnings; 1- Know your customer, know your market 2- Understand your competitors 3- SWOT analysis 4- Know your product/ service inside out 5- Solid marketing strategy 6- Know your numbers - P&L 7- Projected Turnover- based on facts, data driven and realistic 8- Research well, gather feedback from stakeholders, prospective clients 9- MVP test results should be available (share both positive and negative feedback) and show intent to improve based on it 10- Prepare an exit strategy (investors love this) 11- Be transparent about cash in hand, shareholders details, dilution of shares post funding if any 12- Get input from Accountants & Solicitors