Here Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone, gives his Top Tips for Pitching.

Pitching to investors can be a scary experience even for the most confident of entrepreneurs. But if you do enough preparation and know your business inside and out, you're likely to leave with the cash you want. Here are his six tips on how to do it.

Be prepared You must know your business like the back of your hand and completely understand what you want to achieve with it. Investors will want to see evidence that you have carried out market research so you know there is a need for your product or service and who your competitors are.
Do the numbers You don’t need to be accountant but it’s important you know your business’ top line financial projections for at least three years ahead. Commit them to memory. Investors will drill down into the detail during the due diligence process.

Know your audience It is important you do some research in advance about the people you are pitching to. Investigate the types of companies they have already invested in and be aware of what benefits their experience could bring to your business.

Why you're different Do you know your unique selling point? What problem are you solving and why will customers purchase your solution over a competitor's? Acknowledge your competitors and demonstrate why you are different and better.

Real customers Demonstrate that you have a clearly defined customer base. Don’t quote generic figures such as the world’s three billion mobile phone users are your target market.  Show that you have carried out your own market research and are not just relying on statistics from industry analysts.

Ask questions End your pitch with intelligent questions of your potential investors. Areas to cover are what level of involvement they would play if they were to invest and whether they have any comments or feedback on your company's strategy.

To put the tips into practice, enter The Pitch 2009, the UK’s most exciting competition for small businesses. Entrepreneurs in five regions will present their company to panels of local and successful business owners for the chance to make it through to a grand final where the winner will walk away with business support prizes worth £50,000! To take part, visit thepitch2009.