After being given the title of ‘most masterful pitch’ by the BBC and securing investments from both Gary Neville and Sara Davies on Dragon’s Den, Lottie Whyte – co-founder of MyoMaster – knows how to successfully sell-in an idea.
Now, having pitched on national television, Lottie shares her top-tips for pitching your business, and yourself, to achieve your dreams.
Lottie Whyte is no stranger to being bold in business: using her years of communications expertise, and her determination to make MyoMaster the global home of physical optimisation, she gave what has been described as one of the best pitches in Dragons’ Den.
With a 700% year-on-year revenue growth in between the filming and airing of the viral episode, Lottie provides her advice on how to craft a pitch that can take your business from the kitchen table to the investor boardroom.
Know your USP
Knowing your unique selling point and being able to powerfully vocalise it is what’s going to set you apart with investors. You’re never selling a product or service – you’re either selling a dream or a solution, so make sure you know which it is and be able to really articulate that value.
Lottie going head-to-head with Steven Bartlett went viral for a reason; it’s a perfect example of why knowing your USP is going to make your pitch airtight. MyoMaster was created to give everyday people access to professional grade recovery equipment, not just for the fitness influencers or sport stars of the world.
Lottie said, “Don’t just tell investors what you do, tell them why it matters. Use your USP as a spotlight, highlighting what makes your business unique and how it solves customer problems, or gets them closer to where they want to be, in a way that competitors can’t. Frame your USP as a win for both customers (solving a pain point) and investors (creating a scalable market opportunity). This combination will cut through noise to grab their attention.”
Be your own hype person
In simple terms, believing in your business, and yourself, is the only way you are going to make other people believe in it, and that’s what pitching is all about. This can be a challenge when starting out, but take advice from Lottie:
“You have to go out there and get it for yourself. It’s not always easy, but prepare yourself for battle and you’ll win the war. One of the best things I’ve done since setting up MyoMaster is having my own ‘hype folder’ on my phone – positive messages from customers, congratulations messages from friends, and general ‘wins’ along the journey. It reminds me, even in the hardest of times, of every instance of us absolutely smashing it and it pushes me that little bit further.”
Practice makes perfect
Practice really does make perfect. Before entering ‘The Den’, Lottie and her husband-come-co-founder practiced their pitch nearly 250 times.
“By the time you’re in front of investors or possible customers, you want your pitch to be so natural that muscle memory takes over when the adrenaline hits. The more you practice, the more you’ll internalise your message and delivery. This builds confidence, helps you identify areas for improvement, and lets you anticipate potential investor questions. By the time you face the real deal, you’ll be polished and ready to captivate the room.”
It was Lottie’s practice and preparation that allowed her to seamlessly weave through questions as part of the Dragons’ three-hour interrogation. Her effortless answers even convinced Sara Davies, one of MyoMaster’s now investors, to make an offer despite originally planning to reject the business.
Be Marmite
Lottie stands by the notion that it’s better to be loved or hated than to just be liked. Knowing who you want to love your product can give you focus on your target audience, but mainly your target investors. You want people who support the vision you have for your business, so aiming to be either loved or hated sets you up to find investors who fully believe in your business.
“If you appeal to everybody, you appeal to no one. It’s okay to exclusively target specific audiences or a specific type of investor, and talk in a way that involves them and alienates everybody else.
“You’ve got to be brave enough to identify your niches and go after them when you start your business. Capture your audience, engage them, make them want to be part of your community. And if that means that you become like marmite, and nobody else gets involved, that’s okay, because the people that do will love your brand.”
To see Lottie’s pitching skills in action and learn more about how to pitch your business for success, you can watch MyoMasters’s winning pitch on BBC’s YouTube channel.
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