The dreaded Q&A session

You can be sure of one thing. If there is one question you are hoping investors won’t ask, you had better be ready, because they are definitely going to ask it!

Before you deliver your road show presentation, have a brainstorming session with your IPO team and make a list of all the most difficult questions you think an investor might ask. Then develop written answers for these questions and practice answering them without looking at your notes. It is truly impossible to over-prepare for the Q & A segment of your IPO road show!

Remember that investors are very good at recognizing fluff and hype. So if you truly don’t know the answer to a question, it is better to say so than to try to bluff your way through it. Most likely, you’ll only embarrass yourself. The most professional way to handle a question you can’t answer is to offer to research it and come back later with an answer.

Experienced investors know it is impossible to know all of the answers all of the time. They may be testing to see how you react when you don’t have an answer. So don’t allow an unanswerable question to get you rattled. Remain confident and totally in control.