How to use storytelling in my pitch?

The perfect structure for a pitch looks like this:

1. The opening
2. The problem
3. The solution
4. The market
5. The team
6. Call to action

This is quite a fixed structure, which I use for almost all of my pitches. So how to use storytelling in my pitch?

I usually blend the storyline in the first 3 parts of my pitch.

1. During the opening of a pitch I will start with a bold statement such as: ‘45% of the restaurant is bankrupt within 3 years’
2. During the problem part I will introduce Johnny, the owner of an Italian restaurant who struggles to fill his tables. I will tell the audience that he works 80 hours a week but can barely pay the bills.
3. During the solution part I will tell them how my app solved all Johnny’s problems and how he just opened his second restaurant a few blocks away.

Since you usually don’t have a lot of time to pitch your company, you can’t go too much into detail. However, simple using an example of a happy customer does the trick.

For more concrete tips on designing a killer pitch, check out the Ultimate Pitch Guide.