The Pitch-Then-Plan Business Planning Template

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Transcript The Pitch-Then-Plan Business Planning Template

Organization Name

Y O U R N A M E ( S ) T I T L E C O N T A C T I N F O R M A T I O N S A T U R D A Y , M A Y 2 , 2 0 2 0

Problem

 Describe the pain that you’re taking away. The goal is to get everyone nodding and “buying in.”  Try to personalize the problem  Example: “If you go to five travel sites, you will be presented with five completely different offers. Visiting each site and comparing trip packages is time-consuming and confusing.”

Solution

 Explain how you take away this pain. Ensure that the audience clearly understands what you sell and your value proposition (how does your solution create value for the customer?)  Describe the technology, secret sauce, or magic behind your product or service  Example: “We are a discount travel website. We software that searches all the other travel sites and collates price quotes into one report.”

Business Model

 Explain how you make money: who pays you, channels of distribution, and gross margins  Generally, a unique, untested business model is a scary proposition  If you truly have a revolutionary business model, explain it in terms of familiar ones  Think of eBay: “We charge a listing fee plus a commission.”

Positioning

 Describe your position in the marketplace: What do you want to first come to mind when your customer thinks of your company or product/service?

 What stories are the competitors selling?

 What story will you tell potential customers?

Example: “Wal-Mart is telling the story of low prices everyday.”

Marketing and Sales

 Explain how you are going to identify and reach your customers  Convince the audience that you have an effective go-to-market strategy  Example: “We can reach the majority of the primary buyers of our educational software through two national trade shows and four primary regional shows.”

Competition

 Provide a complete view of the competitive landscape  What is your competitive advantage?

 Don’t dismiss your competition — customers, investors, employees want to hear why you’re good, not why the competition is bad

The Team

 List the key players of your management team, board of directors, advisors, as well as any major investors  Discuss your team’s production, marketing, and financial expertise  Discuss what are the holes in the team and how you plan to fill them

Financial Projections

First Year Second Year Third Year Projected Number of Customers Projected Employee Headcount Revenue Cost of Goods Sold Gross Margin Payroll Operating Expenses $ -

$ $ -

$ -

Net Income/Loss

Key Assumptions:

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 Assumption 1  Assumption 2  Assumption 3

0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $ $ -

$ $ -

$ $ 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $ $ -

$ $ -

$ $ 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%

Note: To edit the spreadsheet, right click and then open Excel worksheet object. You can either type numbers directly on Tab 7 b of the Excel file or attempt to complete the entire Excel workbook which then fills in Tab 7b . Make sure to save with Tab 7b showing.

Milestones

 Current status of your product or service  Any accomplishments to date  What the near term future looks like  If you are seeking money from investors, what would you spend the money on?

 Next steps