How to Market Your Business for Funding

First you need a plan…

Obtaining funding for a business or idea can be difficult at best. There have been many great ideas lost down the drain because of the simple lack of money! It’s amazing how many mediocre ideas do make it and how many good ideas do not. Here are a few tips for how to market your business idea, widget, plan or whatever you decide to call it, from a marketing and sales perspective.

Your plan needs to be bullet proof. Go to a local funding event and do some research online. Try to put together a comprehensive list of every reason why your idea DOES NOT work and then figure out the best ways to overcome those hurdles.

Shop the idea around to angels first – that means friends, family and friends of family. This is called the angel funding round.

Second, make sure you stick to the budget as closely as possible. Project out for three months at a time to help you foresee any upcoming issues which may affect your bottom line.

Keep redeveloping the plan as the business begins to mature. There are two good reasons to do this. It will help you stay focused on the plan so you don’t get lost in the details and it will help keep the plan fresh should you need additional funding.

Make the business plan as sexy and slick as possible. This might sound shallow but believe me, when it comes to getting funding, anything goes and the slick plans get looked at first. It is a popularity contest at best.

You need a perfect look and feel. Don’t go light on the logo or marketing collateral because you believe your idea has enough merit to carry its own weight. Investors don’t see that. They want cool, smart, good looking materials so they can brag about their investments. The logo is just as important as the name. The brochure and website are going to be what they judge you by when you are not in the room.

Show them you know how to market and sell the product. Assuming you are ready to go to market, put together a killer sales and marketing plan that shows timelines, metrics and most importantly, ROI (Return on Investment). This is as important as the entire plan itself. If you even THINK you might not know how to write the best marketing plan ever, don’t hesitate. Hire an advertising or marketing agency. It is the best investment you can make, if I do say so myself.

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