A great way to steer the conversation with investors and save time is to build a “Frequently Asked Questions” document.

By providing the most popular questions, you’re essentially telling the investor where the conversation should go and more importantly, teeing up questions that you readily have answers to.

Conversely, if you keep answering the same questions over and over, you can save some time in your presentations by referring to the FAQ and spending more time having engaged questions that lead the pitch forward.

A good Investor FAQ should include:

• 5-10 Questions. Focus on the most obvious questions, not every possible question.
• Time Consuming Answers. Things that take a long time to explain should be deferred to the FAQ.
• Key Assumptions. Point toward the Key Assumptions you’re making about the business that you would like to prove over time, but don’t necessarily know today.

An investor FAQ really makes you look prepared in the meeting and gives investors confidence that you appreciate their time and questions.