As mentioned last week, I've been reviewing David Ronick's take on the "Do"s of successful business plans. There were also five business plan pitch tactics that the losing teams had in common to be avoided:

1. Text Overload

Great slides make complex ideas simple and abstract ideas tangible, using numbers, diagrams, or pictures. But for the most part, words in pitches are best when spoken, not written. So stick to writing the headlines and telling us the details.

Comment from Colin: The MOST ignored piece of advice in history. What possesses people to write essays on slides? If you cannot work this out, go to slideshare.net and find the winners of their presentation of the year for the last few years. No words, yet incredibly powerful.

2. Too Much Focus on Product

We’re judging your business, not just your product. So don’t focus simply on what you’re selling. You should also keep in mind that you’ll probably wind up changing certain aspects of your product once you put it in front of customers and see what they think. So if your pitch is 15 minutes long, don’t spend more than two of those minutes on your products.

3. Passive Research

It’s good to use some statistics in your presentation (e.g. “The market is growing at 10 percent.”), but reserve the details and sources for backup slides. Don’t base your entire business plan on quantitative research. Be sure to show that you’ve gotten out of the library and have gathered some qualitative research by talking to potential customers. “We interviewed 50 customers and they said…” carries much more weight than “A study showed…”

Comment from Colin: ‘Studies show’ or worse, ‘recent studies show’ is up there with ‘people say’. I always want to shout ‘who says?’ when people say this!!!

4. Overlooked Execution

A start-up idea by itself is pretty much worthless; it’s all about the execution. The weakest teams underestimated how much time and money it would take to develop and tweak a product, or they outright failed to think through how they’d attract customers in a cost-effective, repeatable way. So be sure to spend time really thinking about and researching how to properly execute your idea.

Comment from Colin: For all you people who require NDAs, remember this point. All the ideas in the world are irrelevant. All that matters is execution. If you ask me for an NDA, I start getting suspicious as it proves that people do not know the difference between and idea and execution.

5. Lack of Authenticity

Stick to what you know and care about. One team pitched an idea related to parenting, but didn’t include even one story or picture of a child anywhere in their pitch. As a result, it felt like the team wasn’t truly passionate about parenting—even though that probably was not the case.

Ironically, some of the best business ideas in this year’s competition rated poorly with the judges because they simply weren’t pitched well. It’s important to understand that pitch tactics can make a huge difference in how well your business plan is received. So be sure to take your good idea, and turn it into a great pitch.

Comment from Colin: Possibly the most important statement of the lot. Building a better mousetrap does not mean they will beat a trip to your door.