A 6-step story is an approach to designing your pitch around your audience. After all, the audience is the whole point and if you don’t connect with them, you won’t secure your fundraising. The 6 steps to creating a complete and compelling story are:
Step 1: The Vision – Start your pitch with unbridled optimism and paint an exciting picture of your vision for the future. Tell the audience about your big idea for which the business and this pitch were created.
Step 2: The Hook – This step should be a contrast to the first. Draw the audience in by describing the challenge or obstacle that needs to be overcome. Explain how it personally affects people and creates an emotional connection with those people.
Step 3: The Essence – In step 3 you can finally start talking about the mechanics of your startup. This step is where you start to build credibility. Credibility in you as a founder, your business and that you have the solution and the ability to execute it.
Step 4: The Evidence – Build on the foundations you established in step 3 with evidence. Talk about your track record to date and explain why you are better than your competitors. You need to demonstrate to your audience that your idea has traction and that you correctly understand the competitive landscape.
Step 5: The Plan – The main part of your pitch is over. Now you need to outline the future and explain what the next phase of growth will be. This after all is what your audience will be buying into if they choose to invest.
Step 6: The Ask – Finally, the most obvious but often the most overlooked. You need to ask your audience exactly what you want and persuade them to act. If you never ask, then you never know. l the answer. Lastly, always finish on a high or with a bang.
The 6-step story takes your audience on a journey from idea to securing investment. Journeys create connection and understanding and following these 6 steps throughout your pitch is the best way to achieve this.