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What's the likelihood of getting your 45-page pitch read byan investor? Not very, considering he probably has a hundredpitches just like it on his desk already, says Patrick G. Riley,author of The One-Page Proposal (ReganBooks). Investors maynot want to tackle a lengthy proposal, but, says Riley, "Theperson [can] read [the one-page proposal] on the spot--anybody canread for two and a half minutes."
The key to making a good one-page pitch is focusing ideas into asingle vision. What do you want the pitch to accomplish? Be clearin asking for an action. Do you want to get new investors? Getpeople to write about your business? Entice a potential client tochoose your service? Though your business is the same, you'llneed to punch up different angles with different audiences, andwrite in the third-person voice. Venture fund executives want toknow how your firm fits their needs, so research the VC'sbackground before writing a pitch. Remember, investors want to seehow you can improve their bottom line.
The brevity of the pitch, however, doesn't mean you do lessresearch. You still need to have all the facts and figures on handthat you'd normally put into the 45-pager, and be prepared toanswer the questions that your one-page proposal will elicit ifyou've done it right. "It's not a summary; it'snot an introduction," says Riley. "It's asking for anaction."
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