Pitching an idea, creation or innovation can be exciting and fun but how do you ensure you secure the “Buy-in” you are looking for?  Let’s face it, you are often your only champion so before you go and tell someone you need to partner with you about your great idea, remember they are unlikely to view it the same way.  So how do you approach a potential partner, investor or customer?

Provide them data.  I have discussed “pain” before and this is an extension of that same point.  You have to paint a picture of your innovation in the context of facts that apply to your audience.  That could be return on investment, it could be competitive technical data on performance.  Regardless of what it might be, do your homework and arm yourself with data to answer any question that can come your way.  If you can’t quantify why your idea is better, faster, cheaper, more profitable, few people will listen and fewer will join your cause.

Q: Who is your market?

A: Everyone.

Is this right?  It is EVER right?  Well, if enough prospective entrepreneurs had their way, it would be the right answer but here is the real truth – your target market will NEVER be “everyone”.

Too many times, an innovator will write in their business plan that their market includes everyone.  Even if you are making toilet paper or even food, do not put in your business plan that your product is for everyone – it simply isn’t and even if it were true, you are sealing your demise if you don’t exhibit some focus on your target market.

Here is an example of what you should be thinking about.  Let’s use the toilet paper example: First, it isn’t everyone, many cultures don’t use the stuff, so do some research in Google or your local library and you may find some estimates of the total world market – put that number in the business plan, that is the ultimate prize but no one will own that whole market. Since no one can own that whole market, then tell investors in your plan who your target marketis by defining the specifics about a select group you feel you can adequately market to effectively.  For instance, “our target market is 65-85 year olds in the US who have annual incomes of X”.  Next, tell investors about who you think the early adopters are that you will focus on immediately after launch.  These are the people within the target market who are searching for an innovation like yours, are willing to deal with glitches along the way and praise your product once they’ve used it.  This might be 65-85 year olds who have recently had surgery for a colon problem.  Now you have some real information!  This isn’t just for investors, you probably see now that you are armed with that info, you could send samples to general surgeons or specialists who would pass them along to these patients. 

Focusing early on a very select group of people is essential to success.  Remember, your market is never “everybody”, it is a small group of people that allow you to realistically focus your efforts and marketing dollars in an effective manner.

One lesson that is hardest to swallow for most inventors or technologists is that your idea is the key driver of value that everything else revolved around. 

The reality is that everything revolves around execution.

Learn this lesson early and save a lot of heartache.  Unfortunately, only a small minority of ideas ever see the light of day.  Did you know that over 95% of all patents never make a dime?  I mention this not to scare you away from pursuing the market but instead to help you get a grasp of the effort ahead.  Be prepared to work hard – very hard.  Learn how to sell yourself so you can remain on top of each negotiation and each opportunity.  Remember, if your innovation is good enough to land funding, a VC will gobble up a significant portion of your equity, so try to develop the market yourself as long as you can and build value around your idea so that you improve your leverage.