Types of audience and how to 'touch them'

When your business is still an idea or is still in the laboratory, this guide distinguishes between three types of audience to which you have to communicate your project and recommends how to approach them:

1. Emotional investors. With them you must emphasize the enthusiasm that the project arouses in you (and in your team).

2. Possible strategic partners. It emphasizes the benefits of working together and the synergies that will be created. To enter them, in addition to learning in advance what they want, it also emphasizes common interests and needs.

3. External financing providers. The best way to communicate with them, in addition to supporting your explanation with data, in a professional way, is to anticipate their questions.

Four key elements for any format

The manual keys to communicate your project insist that, regardless of the format, there are four key elements that you must manage:

1. There is an unmet social problem / need. You must explain the problem (social need) that has to be solved and you have to validate the problem with data / information (opinion of clients, actual or potential beneficiaries, experts ...). In addition, it should be clear what the size of the problem is.

2. The project has a solution to this problem. Why is your solution different? Describe to what extent your solution leaves direct or indirect clients "better than they were", or is more efficient or effective than existing solutions. It describes the company's social mission and the expected social impact. And it talks about what are the advantages or barriers for others to do the same.

3. The solution is commercially viable and determines a significant and measurable social impact.

4. The promoter team has the necessary experience and skills.

Tools to communicate a business idea

To communicate a project that is not yet on the market, or that is still a minimum viable product that is being polished and that you are learning about, but that you have to start communicating, you have four communication tools at your fingertips:

1. Your elevator pitch. It is an ultra-brief synthesis of what your company is that must be as persuasive and convincing as to capture the interest of your interlocutor and get them to grant you a later interview in which you can calmly explain your project.

2. Use online project management solution. Since businesses are now virtual it is better to use online project management solution based on Gantt charts. By using Gantt chart online maker, it's possible to keep your planning simple and engage your team members and clients in the loop. What does it mean? You can divide multiple projects into simpler parts, so you can also streamline the resources you have. Delegating every work to team members and presenting it directly can be done in a short time, thus you can foster confidence in each client that your company is the professional one.

3. Executive summary. Just like the elevator pitch serves to get more time with which to convince the investor, the executive summary is the fundamental piece that will allow you to attract the hypothetical financier to the rest of your business plan.

4. Presentation of the project. It is normally a speech accompanied by supporting graphic elements such as slides. The duration is variable depending on the context, but 10-15 minutes is usually enough time to explain a project in enough detail without weighing it down.

5. Business plan. It is a communication tool for selling an original idea and serves to attract and convince people who have the resources to implement it.