The Elevator Pitch. This is a verbal presentation conveying the basic concepts of your business venture that is brief enough to be "pitched" to an angel while sharing an elevator ride with them. Also prepare a written version in case they want it emailed or faxed to them. Your pitch should be compelling and motivate them into wanting to take the next step (i.e., schedule an actual meeting or learn more).

The Executive Summary. This is a document providing a complete overview of your business venture in only several pages, a sort of mini business plan that includes information on your company, its mission and location, success to-date, the proposed venture, its marketplace, the competition, management team, capital requirements, your financial plan for raising money, and risks and opportunities you are offering to investors (i.e., why they should invest).

The Budget. By completing this step, you will be able to show

 exactly how much money you need to get going, and what you anticipate this money going to. For angels, this figure should be between a few thousand to a few hundred thousand dollars, as this is the range in which angels fund.

The Business Plan. This is something you'll need for angels who prove seriously interested, which is of course what you want. A business plan includes a full description of your business venture, its personnel, projected profit and loss, etc. and generally runs about 20-30 pages. Even if you decide not to go the angel route with your funding, you'll still need a business plan for virtually any enterprise you hope to embark on.

Prepare A Proposed Financial Package. Look into and prepare information on the different financial packages you can offer your angel, including debt financing (i.e., a loan with a low rate of return) or equity financing (with different rates of return). Most angels prefer equity (i.e., getting a piece of your company in return for investing) with some guaranteed exit provisions detailing how and when they may recoup their investment with interest (i.e., exit your company with their money and some profit). (For more information on these terms and similar ones, see How-To Understand Business Financing.)

With the materials you created in step one, you'd already have a solid foundation for landing an angel. But there's still a lot of footwork to be done to make sure angels find your company attractive.

Research Angels You're Planning To Approach. Determining the following will help you decide the best people to approach, as well as how best to approach them. How did they make their money? What are their interests and operating style? What are their skills? Who are their contacts? Who else have they funded and what was their experience with them (i.e., they just funded a company in your industry and got burned)?

Register With Angel Networking Firms. There are networking firms and websites that match 

up prospective investors with small businesses. These businesses, which generally charge a fee for their services, usually are passive in their matchmaking and operate through providing information to businesses looking for funding and investors looking to invest, allowing entrepreneurs and angels make their own "match." 

Going through this process - ferreting out the information they require - will help you develop or refine your presentation and get in a state of readiness for an angel. Responses to your business - or the lack thereof - can also provide valuable feedback on your presentation's appeal and the likelihood of finding angel funding.

Make sure to include your preference for an "angel" on your information sheet as most of these firms also service venture capitalists.

Locate Common Ground. Were you referred to them by someone you both know? Do you go to the same church or belong to the same organization? If you can create a sense of "common ground" with a prospective angel, it is more likely that your funding proposal will be taken seriously, or at least get moved to the top of their stack.

For more on locating personal investors, see How-To Find A Business Angel.