Finally, study the art of selling. Like it or not, when you are trying to start a business venture or raise money for your business you have to sell investors on why they should invest with you. It's like a rite of passage. But fast talking salesmanship won't raise the money you need for your business. You need an approach that respects the power of the investor…one that builds a relationship with investors. So, fill your business plan library with books on selling and presenting.

Here's a book to try: Socratic Selling by Kevin Daley with Emmett Wolfe. Socratic Selling as the title implies, uses the Socratic Method: "A method of teaching or discussion, as used by Socrates, in which one asks a series of easily answered questions which inevitably lead the answerer to a logical conclusion" (Webster's Unabridged). Dalely's concise, easy-to-follow chapters explain how to open a sales dialogue and go right to the heart of the matter. Socratic Selling is a fun and informative 162 pages for those of us who believe selling means talking with, not at, investors. Study these techniques; they can make you more effective with potential investors.

If you are serious about writing your business plan...show it. Start a business plan library that shows you are a serious student of business plans. Fill it with business plans, public filings and annual reports of businesses in your industry. Stay away from those generic business plan templates. They are too general. And, Read, read, read and study too about strategy, finance, economics, writing, selling, and how to raise capital. Spend the money. Buy the books. The reward can be great...a funded business plan.