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or service, and therefore you will market to everyone. It is simply not true and it shows you have no concept of the costs of marketing or the effectiveness of niche marketing.

5. Share your fruitful failures. Investors want to see that you have failed and have learned from your mistakes. It is a common misconception that one should go to extreme lengths to conceal their business mishaps. Be open about what you've learned through failures, it shows wisdom.

6. Know your limitations. Don't say you can do it all. If you have little knowledge of marketing, say you are going to hire a marketing manager. Share your weaknesses and how you plan to address them. Often times, the "jack of all trades" is actually viewed as the weakest link. Pinpoint your specializations and explain how you will compensate for your inefficiencies.

Declare an exit strategy

Investors want to know that you do indeed have an exit strategy, primarily because this is when they make their money. How to harvest the business is a question you will need to consider eventually, unless of course the business fails and then you are reduced to selling off the assets. Decide if you have plans of selling the business, or you foresee the future possibility of a merger or acquisition by another company. Investors are going to want to talk about your exit strategy, so be prepared.

Construct and master an "elevator pitch"

Every entrepreneur should make a one-page business plan beginning with a short description of the business. You should be able to describe your business idea in one paragraph, and it should be clear and concise. If you can't do it, try again. If you can't articulate in a few sentences the clear essence of your idea, then investors will rule you out immediately. They want to hear what you have, not how you got there. In other words, they want a precise snapshot of your business not a verbose aerial view.

There are three keys to remember when giving your elevator pitch: focus, clarity, and uniqueness. Memorize and perfect the elevator pitch and you will never have to worry about fumbling over words and rambling on when an investor wants to know why your idea is more special than the other twenty he's already heard that day. Keep the description focused, clear and unique and you will be the one he remembers.

The rest of your one-page business plan should consist of your vision, objectives, strategies, and action plan. These should be in bullet form and the data should be measurable, obtainable and specific. If you want investors to take a deeper more sincere look at your business idea, you must reel them in with the one-page plan. This is your mousetrap, set the bait correctly and surely the outcome will be favorable.

Master these simple rules and you should be on your way to the investment you need to take your business venture to the next level.

Learn more about this author, Ryan Headley.
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