Biz Dev Tips
Bernard Lunn on ReadWriteWeb gave a list of 11 Biz Dev 1.0 Tips. Of particular interest are items number 3 and 4:
3. Wait until you hear the screams. If you have a fire engine, you are not needed until the house is on fire. The best sales people wait until they see a real need before applying a lot of effort…
4. Two ears, one mouth. …People don’t buy products, they buy solutions to problems. Find the problem and show a solution based on your product…
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been sent after people to get a deal when there was no reason for them to want to work with us. It never works. We had nothing to offer. I can’t sell ice to an Eskimo. Nor can I tell you how many times I’ve been contacted by people with nothing to offer us but still wanting to do a deal. They either talk about the technology or, even worse, they expect me to come up with a way to work with them. My first question to everyone that calls is always - “What did you have in mind?” If they don’t have an answer, then we’re done.
