Tips on Handling Difficult Questions Given by Potential Investors

Presenting your ideas in front of potential investors isn’t easy. Even if you already prepared for several days to impress them, you still have no assurance that things will go your way. After you present your business plan, the job isn’t over yet. You still need to respond to the questions given by these investors and prove that you know exactly what you’re talking about. The problem is that some of the questions could be tough. These tips will help you in handling difficult questions posed by the people in the room.

Relax and take a deep breath

You won’t be able to answer difficult questions if you feel nervous. Since you need time to think about the correct response, you need to take a deep breath and relax. Give yourself a few seconds to think about how to answer correctly. You would rather wait for a while so that you can gather your thoughts than immediately respond and come up with the wrong answer. Don’t feel intimidated by the questions thrown at you. The investors don’t necessarily mean to make you feel nervous. They just want to clarify some things before they decide if they will invest in your business.

Refer to your notes and slides

You don’t need to memorise all the answers to the questions. The truth is that you already gave them some of these answers through the presentation. You can always refer to your notes or go back to the specific slide that responds to the question. It helps if you have an AV wall mount so that you can easily refer to the previous ideas shown on the screen.

Be honest if you don’t know the answer

You would rather come clean, and tell the investor that you have no idea about the correct response. It doesn’t mean that you’re not an impressive speaker. Instead, you have no idea how to respond to the question right now, but you can answer it some other time. You need to be honest rather than pretend that you know everything. Investors are smart, and they can also research your responses after the meeting. If they prove that you gave them an incorrect response, you’re making it more difficult for them to invest in you.

Use data and other sources

The good thing about responding to questions using data and other sources is that you don’t seem to make things up. It shows that you research your ideas well, and they don’t just come out of nowhere. Some investors feel nervous when they realise that the business plan hasn’t gone through a proper screening process. When you present the plan with the right source that serves as the backbone of your presentation, you will be more believable.

You need to look confident while answering these questions, without being arrogant. You want to convince the investors that spending money on your idea is an excellent choice.