AssociationsNowApril|May2012 39

Speed dating for companies on your tradeshow floor?

It’s not as strange as it sounds. When your exhibitors

and attendees make productive business connections

at your event, you keep them coming back. Here’s how

one association used high-tech tools to make those

connections happen.

By Jacqui Cook

Tradeshow Speed DDating

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40 AssociationsNowApril|May2012

convention,thesystemenabledmorethan21,000individualmeetingsoverfourdays;in2009,14,000meetingsoccurred,Colangelosays.

Theelectronicsystemhasbeeninplaceinsomeformsincetheearly2000s,butBIOtookitoverfromanoutsidevendorin2005andbroughtitentirelyinhouse.Theorganizationworkedwithitsassociationman-agementsoftwareprovider,TMAResources,tointegrateOne-on-OnePartneringintoitsPersonifydatabase.Membersinteractwiththeprogram

justifyyourpresenceatthemeeting.You’renotjustshowingupandhopingitworksout.Youcanseeasnapshotofthebiotechindustryintheworldforthecostofahotel[room]andacon-ventionpass.“

From Index Cards to OnlineBIOistheworld’slargestbiotechnol-ogyorganization,withmorethan1,100membersworldwideinvolvedintheresearchanddevelopmentofhealthcare,agricultural,industrial,andenvironmentalproducts.Itscorporate

If you’ve ever walked the floor at a tradeshow, there’sagoodchanceyou’vebeeninvolvedinanexchangelikethisone:

Youtoexhibitor:“Thislooksinter-esting,doyou–”

Attendeepassingby:“Excuseme,whereisthebeveragestation?”

Youtoexhibitor:“AsIwassaying,canyoutellmemoreabout–”

Anotherpasserby:“Doyouknowwherethebathroomis?”

Youtoexhibitor:“Nevermind,I’llcomeback.”

Unfortunatelyforbothyouandtheexhibitor,chancesareyouwon’tmakeyourwayback,andabusinessoppor-tunitywillbemissed.Nextyear,bothofyoumaydecideyoudidn’tgetenoughoutoftheeventtojustifycomingback.

Andthat,ofcourse,isbadnewsforthehost-ingorganization,whichwantstoseemembersandexhibitorsmakingproductiveconnec-tionsonitstradeshowfloor.Whentheexhibithallisdominatedbymissesratherthanhits,memberandexhibitorsatisfaction—nottomen-tionanimportantrevenuestream—isatrisk.

TheBiotechnologyIndustryOrganizationsetouttoeliminatethisproblemwithanovelapproachthat’spartMatch.comandpartspeeddatingforcompanies.BIO’sOne-on-OnePartneringprogramallowsattendeesandexhibitorsattheorga-nization’smeetingstocreatedetailedprofilesandthenseekmeetingswheretheyseeanopportunitytodobusi-ness.BIOprovidesthespaceandkeepstheschedule,limitingeachmeetingto25minutesbeforeabellringsandthepartiesmoveontotheirnextappointment.

“Thishasbeenagamechangerforus,”saysJosephColangelo,MBA,BIO’sdirectorofbusinessdevelopment.“Youandtheexhibitorarebothableto

“This has been a game changerfor us.”

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membersrangefromsmallentrepre-neurialcompaniestoFortune500multinationals,anditalsorepresentsstateandregionalbiotechassociations,serviceproviderstotheindustry,andacademiccenters.

BIOholdsseveralmeetingsaroundtheworldeachyear.ItcurrentlyusestheOne-on-OnePartneringprogramat10conferencesandattheBIOInternationalConvention,whichdrawsabout1,800exhibitorsand15,500attendeesfrommorethan65countries.Atlastyear’s

throughawebsite,butthesystemoperatesthroughitsintegrationwiththeAMS,saysChrisLove,BIO’smanag-ingdirectorofwebandinformationtechnologies.

LovesaysthecurrentversionofOne-on-OnePartneringisrootedina1990ssystemthatusedindexcardstotrytomatchlike-mindedattendeesandexhibitors.Althoughfarmoreadvanced,today’ssystemisupdatedfrequentlytoreflectchangingneedsandtechnologies.

—Joseph Colangelo, Biotechnology Industry Organization

AssociationsNowApril|May2012 41

gettothenextmeetingifitwasattheoppositeendofthemeetingspace.Sothisyear,forthefirsttime,One-on-OnePartneringmeetingsalsocanbesched-uledtotakeplaceontheexhibitfloor.

“Astradeshowproducers,itispivotaltoevolvewiththeindustry,andforusitmeansofferingthePartneringopportu-nitytobetterserveourexhibitors,”says

beatthesameevent,it’sagoodtimeforthemtocatchup.”

BIOhadbeensettingasidespaceaboutthesizeofafootballfieldtoholdthemeetings,butthatbecameachal-lengeasinterestintheprogramgrewandthenumberofmeetingsincreasedsubstantially.Withonlyfiveminutesbetweenmeetings,itbecamedifficultto

“Wedoasurvey[ofusers]everyyear,andalotoftheideasthestaffhasforimprovementsarereinforcedinthosesurveys,”Lovesays.

How It WorksTheOne-on-OnePartneringsystemisopentoanyoneregisteredforaBIOmeetingthatoffersit.About12weeksbeforethemeeting,participantsgointothesystemwebsitetobuildacompanyprofile,thensearchtheotherprofilesforcompaniesthatmaybepotentialbusi-nesspartners.Ameetingrequestissent,andiftheothercompanyagrees,thetwopartiesaregivenatimeandplacetogettogetherinadesignatedareaattheconference.Themeetingslast25min-utes—withfiveminutestomovetothenextmeeting—andafterthatthetwopartiesdecideontheirownwhethertopursuemorediscussions.Attheconven-tion,attendeespayfeesrangingfrom$250to$800toparticipate,dependingonmembershipstatus;theprogramisfreeatothermeetings.

Atypicalscenariowouldgosome-thinglikethis:CompanyAhasanewcancerdruginthepipeline,butitdoesnothaveenoughmoneytofunddevelop-mentoverseveralyearsfromconcepttoFDAapproval.CompanyBisapharma-ceuticalgiantthatwouldliketofindanewcancerdrugtoinvestinandbringtomarketwithinafewyears.CompanyB’steamregistersfortheBIOInternationalConvention,thenstartslookingatprofilesinthedatabaseforcompaniesdevelopingnewcancerdrugs.TheyfindCompanyA’sprofile,areintriguedaboutwhatit’sdeveloping,andsendameetingrequest.CompanyAishappytodiscussitsproduct,sothetwocommittoameet-ingattheconvention.How(orwhether)businessdevelopsfromthereisentirelyuptothem.

“Weprovidethemechanics,notthestrategy,”Colangelosays.“Fromtheout-sideitlookslikespeeddating,butwhat’sactuallygoingonispeoplearedoingthoseimportantfirst-timemeetings,orthey’vemetbeforeandit’sanadditionalnetworkingmeeting,orthey’repartnersnowbutbecausetheybothknowthey’ll

—Joseph Colangelo, Biotechnology Industry Organization

42 AssociationsNowApril|May2012

JohnHicks,directorofcorporatedevel-opmentforAltheaTechnologies,Inc.,saysOne-on-OnePartneringisavaluablebusinesstoolforhisfirmandhasledtoseveraldeals.Althea,basedinSanDiego,isabiotechnologycontractdevelopmentandmanufacturingorganization.Thecompanyattends12to15showsperyearandprefersthePartneringmodeltothetraditionalstrollthroughtheBIOexhibition.

“LastyearatBIO,Ihadabout40meet-ingsoverthreedays,andanumberofthosehaveturnedintowell-qualifiedprospects,”Hickssays.“Insomecases,therearedealsintheworks.”

Hesaysthekeytomakingitworkishavinganeffective“elevatorpitch”ready,sobusinesstalkscanbeginassoonasbothpartiessitdown.Italsohelpstodoasmuchhomeworkaspossiblebeforethemeetingsothetimecanbespentidentifyingareaswherebothpartiescanworktogether.

“Itcanbeprettyhecticbecausethereisonly30minutes,”Hickssays.“Youhavetohaveyourintroductionandyourpitchdownbecausethebellringsandyougorighttothenextone,andusuallysomeoneelseiswaitingtogetintothatspace.Butitworksbecauseyougeta

EricMisic,CEM,seniorsalesexecutiveatBIO.“Wearenowdeliveringdoublethevisibilityandleadswithournewexhibi-torPartneringopportunity.”

That’sgoodnewsfortheteamatPfenex,Inc.,aSanDiego-basedbiotech-nologycompany.CassidyBrady,seniormanagerofmarketingandbusinessdevelopment,jokesthateachmemberofthePfenexgroup“lostfivepoundsrun-ningfrommeetingtomeeting.”

ShesaysOne-on-OnePartneringisofsignificantvaluetoPfenexbecauseitallowsitsstaffwhoattendtomakethebestuseoftheirtimeatalargeshow.Lastyear,ateamofsixpeopleheld90meetingsoverthreedays,Bradysays.

Usingthissystem,“wecanbettermanagebothourtimeandourresourc-es,”shesays.“Youhavealimitedamountofboth,andPartneringtakesawaythelevelofspontaneity.Ifthere’saclientwereallywanttomeet,wedon’thavetoworrytheywon’tbeavailablewhenweare.It’sreallyaseamlessintegration.”

Theotherbenefit,shesays,isthattheinitialcontactestablishesafounda-tionbeforethefirstmeetingsoitdoesn’tfeellikea“coldcall,”andtheycangetrightdowntobusinessinthe25-minutemeeting.

“If there’s a client we really want to meet, we don’t have to worry they won’t be available when we are.”—Cassidy Brady, Pfenex, Inc.

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AssociationsNowApril|May2012 43

popularityofOne-on-OnePartnering—especiallyitsgrowthduringreces-sionarytimes—indicatesthatbothexhibitorsandattendeesvaluethein-personexperience.Whileanattendeemightresearchadestinationoraprod-uctonline,manywanttodiscussanactualbusinessdealinperson.

“Theideathatwedon’twanttomeetanymoreisafallacy,”Breedensays.“Peoplearen’tjustinterestedinretriev-inginformation;that’safirststep.Theywantthefacetoface,tohelpunder-standthecharacterofthepeopletheywillbepartneringwith,andthatisnevergoingtogoaway.”an

Jacqui Cook is a freelance writer in the Chicago area. Email: jacquicook@ comcast.net

currentbusinessventures.Butdoesthiskindofsystemhaveusesforothertypesofassociations?

Thatdepends,saysGeorgeBreeden,CAE,seniordirectorofproductmarket-ingforTMAResources.Hesaysapart-neringprogrammightnotberightforassociationmeetingsthatareprimarilyfocusedonprovidingeducationorpro-motingmembership.Butitcouldbeagreatbenefitforthosethathaveexhibi-torswithsomethingtoselltoassocia-tionprofessionals,suchasanannualmeetingdestination.

“Anytimeyouhavepeopleyou’retryingtoconnecttocreateabusinessrelationship,thistypeofpartneringsituationwouldhavevalue,”Breedensays.“Ifit’sworthputtingtheshowtogethertogetpeopletointeractandmeet,thenitmightbeworthittodosomethinglikethis.”

WhatBreedeniscertainofisthatthe

chancetogetthepointacross,andthenifyouneedtofollowupyoucanarrangetomeetatanothertimeattheshoworinthefuture.”

LikePfenex’sBrady,Hicksbelievesthechiefstrengthoftheprogramistheabil-itytomakethemostofthelimitedtimeattheconvention.

“Othertradeshowsaremorepassive,”hesays.“Here,IcanhaveaverytargeteddiscussionwithpeoplewhoIknowarelookingformycapabilities.Icangothroughalistandputoutatargetedinvitationtosomebodyandsay,‘Ihaveasolutionforthisareayou’relookingfor’or‘Ihaveadrugprogramthatmightfitwithyourstrategy.’”

Would It Work for You?TheOne-on-OnePartneringsystemworkswellforBIObecauseexhibitorsandattendeesareatitseventsseekingeithernewbusinessorinvestorsintheir