Present Your Business Plan
Once you know the purpose of your plan and who the target readers are, you can determine what form it will take.
When it comes to professionalism, go the extra mile. In other words, if you’re wondering whether or not to include a cover letter, include it. If you’re wondering whether to include color pictures or not, include them. Once you have gone to all the effort to build your business plan, it makes little sense to scrimp on the quality of the final package.
It is also advisable to go the distance with communications when submitting your business plan. For example, you might call the recipient to ask when would be a good time to drop off your plan, and then deliver it personally, if possible.
If your business plan is due by a certain date, be sure to get it to the receiver prior to the deadline and then follow up to ensure the recipient received your package. If possible, allow yourself enough time to resubmit the plan if the first copy was not received.
Pay attention to detail. Did the bank or institution request more than one copy? In addition to the hard copy(s), did the receiver request a digital copy on disk or via email? What supporting material was requested? Follow up to assure them that you are available to answer questions, clarify any unclear points or provide further information. Thank the receiver for the opportunity to present your plan.
1. Business Plan for You–the First Customer
The business plan you create for yourself will be the longest version. It will include an Executive Summary, all the narrative and Financial Elements you’ve created and all the supporting documents in the Appendices. Create one cohesive, bound document that can be easily replicated. Ideally, weave the entire business plan into one digital file as well. This might entail scanning some of the stray supporting documents in order to insert them into your main business plan file. I prefer to use the popular .pdf file format, which makes it easy to print, email, or publish at internal or external websites. The idea is to make it easy for the reader to receive, to navigate, and to reproduce for committee members.
Once you’ve created your full business plan, you have the raw material to easily create different presentations for a variety of applications. For some situations it may be appropriate to use the full business plan, while for others it will suffice to use only the Executive Summary or certain Elements of your plan. Although most of your modifications will be in the cover letter and the Executive Summary, here are some tips for presenting your business plan to different audiences:
2. Business Plan for Gatekeepers
Most gatekeepers will want a copy of your completed business plan. If you’ve effectively distilled your market research to a succinct narrative in the body of your business plan, it should meet the needs of most gatekeepers. The key to effective presenting for this audience is to ask which Elements they want included.
As an analyst, I prefer to receive both a hard copy and a digital copy of the business plan. The digital file enables me to copy and paste to create my presentation to the decision makers.
3. Business Plan for Your Banker
Bankers are financial people. The presentation you create for your banker might include the Executive Summary, Assumptions, Sales Forecast, Cash Flow Forecast, Projected Income Statement, and Pro Forma Balance Sheet. An option is to attach your full business plan as an Appendix to your presentation; that way, your banker will have the option of digging deeper when desired.
4. Business Plan for Your Employees
The scope of the business plan you present for employees will be in part guided by your philosophy on how much employees should know about the inner workings of your business. To present to employees in the past, I have used the narrative portion of the business plan plus the 3-year sales forecast, but I have excluded the entire Financial Section, Historical Financial Statements, and Appendices.
5. Business Plan for Investors
In developing your presentation for investors, keep in mind what is most important to the reader. Investors will need to know whether you are seeking debt or equity financing, and they will want to know such items as the potential return on their investment, risk and mitigation, security and exit strategies.
6. Executive Summary
Your Executive Summary, dealt with in detail in Step 91 (see page 267), can be used as a communication tool. With minimal adjustments, it can be used to introduce your business to various audiences. It can be used as a component of presentations, an addition to proposals, or as a reminder to internal stakeholders. Your Executive Summary provides most of the information needed to create a prospectus, which is a legal document that businesses use to describe the securities they are offering for participants and buyers.
7. A One-Page Business Plan
The market research, the planning process, and the full written business plan are necessary educational and management tools. However, once you get thoroughly immersed in running your business it is practical to have a simple one-page summary of the main points from your business plan. This document should be designed to meet your needs and might include the Vision, Mission, Strategic Plan, Goals, Marketing Action Plan, Sales Targets and Financial Goals. The purpose of the one-page plan is to keep your key information visible as a constant reminder and guide for your day to day business decisions.
8. Your Elevator Pitch
An elevator pitch is a brief introduction of your business idea. The term is often used in the context of an entrepreneur pitching an idea to an angel investor or venture capitalist to receive funding. It can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride. It might be as long as thirty seconds or 100 to 150 words.