fundfindr was pleased to participate with dynamic seminar leader Dean Barbour at Small Business BC Education Centre’s “Perfecting your Pitch” seminar last Friday. Participants taped before and after videos and received feedback, advice and tips in-between. Dean is an accomplished speaker, the Executive Director of the Maple Ridge Chamber of Commerce, the Self Employment Manager for Westcoast Community Enterprise and Dean also acts as the Director of Business Development for the BC Urban Entrepreneur Development Association.

Hats off to Dean and Jennifer Reid, SBBC Education Centre manager for providing great value to the participants. Here are some nuggets from Dean:

1. Opportunities are Everywhere. Refine your pitch and you can connect and move your business forward almost anywhere - volunteering, shopping for groceries and so on.
2. Show me the money. Have credible financials, clarity on the return you will deliver and make sure it adds up.
3. Add value, don’t discount. Go further, add legitimate value but avoid excess information. Use the “So What!” benchmark.
4. A pitch is not a negotiation. Be mindful of getting shopped. Support your position.
5. Controlling your audience. Avoid looking down, may be taken as “trying to figure out what’s next.” The power of the pause – use them to emphasize key points and make audience reflect. (And if you forgot the next words!)
6. Maintain pace. Know when to stop and listen, adjust on the fly and don’t race through presentation trying to cover everything.
7. Powerpoint. Use strong visuals and tools like flowcharts to articulate message and convey emotion. Do not overuse any tools.
8. Technology. Have a back-up plan! Do a run-through and do not read the slides!
9. Vocalization. Vary your vocal inflections and pauses. Show appropriate emotion or feeling.
10. Mistakes to avoid. Do not rush or speak slow, overuse hand gestures, stare at slides or audience members, or overuse Powerpoint. Get control of your volume and pace early. And remember mistakes happen….move on.

We recommend those in Vancouver take in “Perfect your Pitch” and see Dean in action plus other experts that have been featured on fundfindr.tv like Cori Maedel of Jouta.