A small Life-Science company (head count ~10) specializes in testing of food and water for suspected germs such as legionella pneumophila, listeria, etc.
According to strict European hygiene laws, all foods and beverage produce must be monitored by microbiological testing routines.
Until now, the firm uses techniques employing spectroscopy. Currently the firms proprietary testing system is sold under an own brand name, but so far large-scale sales have not kicked in yet.
In a partnership with a research institute nearby, the firm tries to license an advanced technology plattform, using electrical microarrays (vulgo Biochips) to boost sales as these method proves to be more efficient and faster.
In the same way the company is willing to enter new markets besides the highly competitive food & beverage industry. Therefore it seeks to contact large chemical companies residing in the region.
*Q:
How can my company as a business developer exploit this situation in order to shape a business development case, producing revenue for us??
FIRST LESSON LEARNED: STAY COOL
The thing about BD seems to be, that there appear to be several goods project leads, but each one is vague, not very substantial at first. The main task in the beginning is:
DO NOT GET EMOTIONAL ABOUT POSSIBLE PROSPECTS AND ALLEGED POTENTIAL OF AN INNOVATION OR A CONTACT.
EVALUATE AND COLLECT DATA AT FIRST!
This can be done in several ways. You can collect data by seaching the net about a company, a project or a person. In the same way, you can schedule meetings, but these things are nothing but sunk costs in the end (almost scheduled one today). The art seems to be to delegate the first step as much as possible to trusted third persons. ;)
The can do the job to clarify the picture a bit.
SECOND LESSON LEARNED: TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT BD!
Many young businesses tend to be reluctant when it comes to spending money for external business development services. Yesterday I called the company I want to partner with a large chemical corporation in the region. The initial reaction to my offer of seeking out a suitable partner for their product portfolio was happiness and openess, but let’s wait and see how feelings will be when I tell what kinda deal I wanna make. Will do this next time, I call.
THIRD LESSON LEARNED: PATIENCE IS KING.
If you have thought, business development in Life Sciences is something for the quick buck-artists, then think anew: BD moves slow as new inputs take time to soak into the brains of your counterparts. My request for a meeting between the two business partners (chemical company & biotech startup) took a long time to be replied to. Much more, while one partner happily agreed, the other side says, think will last a while. Sigh.
FOURTH LESSON LEARNED: TAKE YOUR TIME. DOCUMENT!
Hey folks, as you can see, it has been a while since I last posted something in this Business Development-thread. That is, things took a while to unfold. Partnering is seldom threated as a top-priority in business. Today the potential partners (chemical company and start-up-company) agreed on a partnering meeting, which is to be organized and held in my office.
Today I drafted a project outline for the start-up company including:
a)
project approach and aims
b)
the conditions of partnering including statements about who pays for what in what case:
Make sure you cover both potential scenarios: success and failure. In case of success, the start-up will pay a provision of XX per cent of the contract value, in case of failure in will pay the project costs as a lump sum . That includes e.g. costs for schedulding and organizing meetings, for excerpts from our database.
c)
additional informational material paid for by the start-up company as the main partner-seeking side. Cash in on information provided since this is the most valuable commodity you sell as a business developer. But do not be greedy. This information is only a prerequisite for successful partnering, it is not the real cheese-cake.
EXPERIENCE:
Companies are sometimes reluctant to pay for an intangible such as information. Be patient and make your case. Business Development is a calm man’s game. Make clear, your structured and tailored information is an added-value required for partnering.