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I've seen hundreds of business pitches, and most of them-at best-are just okay. There have been plenty of pretty good ones that hit all the key components of a pitch, but only a handful of those took it a step further and were truly great.

When I think about what set those excellent pitches apart from the rest, it turns out that they all shared some of the same qualities. And if you employ these nine tips for taking a good pitch and making it great, you're going to give the kind of pitch that stands out to investors, too.

1. Tell a real customer story

When possible, open your pitch by telling a real customer story that addresses the problem your product or service solves in the marketplace. Avoid using buzzwords and tech talk when you tell your story. Instead, use real names and real customer challenges. Keep it simple and realistic. In the end, what people will remember after they walk away from you are the stories you tell, so it's important to have a few compelling customer stories ready to share.

2. Pare it down to the essentials

I've heard many entrepreneurs deliver their pitch as if they're auctioning off their grandmother's antiques. It must be because they think they need to address every aspect of their business plan in one fell swoop, but doing so makes them seem anxious, tense, and nervous. I always wish they'd relax and realize that when you're giving a pitch, less is more. Prioritize the most important things you want to share and stick to those pieces-and take a nice big breath before you speak. Believe me, it will help you deliver a more compelling and thoughtful pitch.

3. Outline your business model

Your business model tells an investor how your idea will (or does) convert into being economically viable. The best way to show you how to communicate your business model is to show you an example of a good one. Let's take ZipCar, for instance. Their business model can best be described as:

A membership-based car sharing company (they brand their members as "zipsters")

Reservations are easily and quickly made online

Customers pay by the hour or by the day

Serves US, UK, and Canadian markets

Also targeting college campuses

In just a few short bullets, you can see how they make money and from whom. Your business model should answer the questions: What do you sell? To whom? How much do they pay? and How do they pay you?

4. Make sure your presentation is crystal clear to anyone and everyone

If you can get someone who doesn't understand your business model to grasp what you're communicating, then you're prepared to give a pretty good pitch. Some of the worst pitches I've seen have been filled with acronyms, tech speak, and gobbledygook. Keep your pitch short, sweet, and to the point. Practice your pitch on someone outside of your company, and ask them to repeat what they think your business model is back to you. I've done this many times, and it's always an eye-opening exercise to hear what people repeat back.

5. Talk about yourself

It's important to know that investors invest in people first, and ideas second. As a matter of fact, I've had several investors tell me to keep them posted on my next startup because they'd like to invest in me and my next venture. So don't be afraid to toot the horn on your and your team's accomplishments-especially if those accomplishments relate to what it takes to start and scale a venture. Tell (and whenever possible, show) the investors why you are the right people to lead this venture.

6. Tell us, what have you done lately?

By this I mean that you should share the successes and traction your team has had since the inception of your company. It always surprises me how frequently this is left out of pitches. Investors want to hear about your first customers, other investments put into the company (including your own sweat equity), key media placement, signed letters of intent (LOI) to purchase/partner, product and customer milestones, key hires, etc. As the CEO of your own company, you will be expected to be the lead sales person, so show the investors that you know how to sell them on your own company.

7. Address competition head-on

First of all, never say "I don't have any competition." This is a rookie mistake, but many entrepreneurs say this. Everyone has competition, even if it's indirect competition. Think about when Henry Ford built the Model T. Were there other cars on the market at that time? No, but he had to find a way to steal people away from other modes of transportation (horses, trains, and walking, for example). One of the best ways to illustrate that you understand your competitive landscape and your differentiators is to present your competition in a matrix format like this one:

8. Give the numbers that are behind your numbers

Don't say you're going to be a $50 million business in three years, because most investors won't even believe it-unless you've done this before in another company. What's more compelling than big talk is to show exactly how you will reach those millions-what information about your company do you have that's made you forecast those kinds of sales? Share what your assumptions are about your business model.

For example, here's an appropriately detailed financial forecast for a SaaS (software as a service) business:

We leverage the site traffic and customer base of partners A, B, and C

100,000 unique visits/month to our network of online sites

1,000 new leads captured per month

0.22% average conversion rate

5% monthly churn rate

16 months is the average lifetime value (LTV) of a customer

$160 is average revenue per user (ARPU)

$12.50 is our customer acquisition cost (CAC)

You want to see investors take out their phones and begin calculating numbers. This is a good sign-it means they want to see how you think, and see if it matches (a) what you've indicated as your total revenue numbers, and (b) what they know about your industry.

9. Show your darn product!

I've seen so many pitches where the entrepreneur doesn't even show their actual product. For some businesses, showing their product is not easy to do, but for most people pitching for funding to investors, it is. Even if your product is not yet built, show mock-ups. It's amazing what a visual representation of your product and your business can do for the overall effectiveness of your pitch.

As a next step, I recommend that you read our post that goes through the 11 key slides you'll need to create for a winning pitch deck and download our free pitch deck presentation template.

Hear more pitching tips with Peter and Jonathan on the tenth episode of The Bcast, Bplans' official podcast:
Click here to subscribe to The Bcast on iTunes "

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9 Things That Take a Pitch From Good to Great - Bplans Blog

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I've seen hundreds of business pitches, and most of them-at best-are just okay. There have been plenty of pretty good ones that hit all the key components of a pitch, but only a handful of those took it a step further and were truly great.

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shortly after my college graduation, a few friends and I started a new media company. Within a few weeks we fleshed out the concept, wrote a business plan and set out to seek financing. With a little hustle, I managed to get us a meeting with a well-known investment firm to discuss the opportunity. Even though our business had yet to bring in a single dollar, and none of us had ever been the CEO of coffee shop let alone a multi-million dollar enterprise, we were all confident that we had a sure thing on our hands. After all, our financial projections forecasted gross revenues of $200 million. What investor could say no to that?

We'd be rich. All we needed to do was raise a small amount of capital--$15 million.

I remember thinking, "How hard could it be?" We were obviously, naïve, foolish and delusional.

There was one small problem with our plan. None of us had any idea how to pitch an investor. So I did what any clueless entrepreneurial upstart would do: Google searched "how to pitch an investor".

Nothing that I read online could have prepared me for what was to come. We would quickly find out that our presentation was doomed before we ever set foot into the meeting. In reality, it was doomed before we started writing the business plan.

At the beginning of the meeting one of the investors asked me to hand him a one-page executive summary review. I hadn't prepared a summary, so I handed him the first 11 pages out of the binder encasing my 95-page business plan. Strike one.

Less than four slides into my 32-slide presentation, the second investor interrupted me and said, "OK. Stop. I get it. You definitely don't need $15 million."

Defending our business plan, I overconfidently replied: "It can't be done for less."

"Really? It can't be done, huh?" he responded with a smirk masking a hint of laughter. Strike two.

Both of the investors then proceeded to hit us with a barrage of questions:

"How much money have you personally put into your business? Anywhere near $15 million?"

"Why should I pay a bunch of twenty-somethings with no track record $100,000 executive salaries?"

"How much revenue has the business produced to date?"

"Why should I give you $15 million when the company hasn't even made $15?"

"How can you possibly substantiate gross revenues of $200 million in year three?"

"Why are you trying to produce, market and distribute 10 products at the same time before you see if a single one sells at all?"

The questions went on and on. None of our answers were favorable. Strike three.

As you might have guessed, I didn't walk out of that meeting with a $15 million check. I later realized, however, that this was one of the greatest educational experiences of my young career. I learned more about real-world fundraising in 30 minutes than many entrepreneurs learn in a lifetime. To this day, whenever I pitch investors for capital, I always remember these six hard-learned lessons:

1. Less is always more.
An elevator pitch is vital. Verbose presentations and lengthy explanations will not impress investors, and most likely will turn them off. Present your business in a manner that's short, sweet and to the point. Investors need to be confident that your business will attract and retain customers. If they don't grasp your concept in a short time span, they may presume that customers won't understand it either.

2. Never hypothesize. Execute, execute, execute.
Inspire confidence with facts, not fiction. Most investors seek out low-risk businesses with proven managers that are as close to guarantees as possible. A company with cash flow, a track record and real-world experience has a better chance of getting investors than a business plan forecasting large returns. Find ways to test your business's viability on a shoestring budget, and turn your idea into a functional business before you seek investment.

3. Leave the hockey sticks on the ice.
Excite investors about your big picture, but be reasonable and responsible. Avoid hockey stick projections. Respectable investors will not take you seriously if you present them with nonsensical financial graphs that claim your company's revenues will grow from $100,000 to $50 million in three years. Show investors that you have a grasp on reality with three versions of financial projections: best case, moderate case and worst case. Base each of these models on facts, past and present performance data, industry and competitor analyses and a series of well-thought-out, defendable assumptions.

4. Learn to love discount stores.
Being cheap is chic. In an age where spending is out of control, you'll need to prove that you are a fiscally responsible manager who knows how to get the most out of a buck. Give yourself wiggle room in your operations and marketing budgets, but avoid being excessive. Never ask for a large salary or big-budget perks. Investors want you to be in a position where everything is on the line.

5. Rome wasn't built in a day. Your business won't be either.
Investors are wary of funding over-eager businesses that seem destined to bite off more than they can chew. Before asking for millions of dollars to fund 50 divisions and hundreds of product lines, prove how well you can create, manage and fulfill demand for a single product. Demonstrate that your business can crawl before you say it can walk. Perfect your marketing tactics, sales strategies and operational procedures. Investors appreciate companies with sustainable step-and-repeat business models that are poised for exponential growth. Remember, even Google's success is based on a single product.

6. Choose not to be the smartest person in the room.
Know what you know, know what you don't know and find the people who know what you don't know. Build a team of credible experts. The smartest leaders in the world are those who surround themselves with smarter people. Investors are funding a management team as much as they are investing in a great business concept.

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pitching your business;pitching to an investor

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Shortly after my college graduation, a few friends and I started a new media company. Within a few weeks we fleshed out the concept, wrote a business plan and set out to seek financing.