PROGRAMME

09.00 - 09.15

09:15 - 10.15

10.15 - 11.15

11.45 - 13.00

13.00 -14.00

11.15 - 11.45

Course introduction Course Team

Success as a ‘Business Developer in academia’The business development and marketing roles are probably the most difficult in the knowledge transfer process – lonely, ambiguous, poorly understood by colleagues and with KPIs hard to set and measure. In the first part of the morning we ask why this is so difficult and explore the role from the perspective of one who develops new businesses and relationships. As well as an academic with a track record in knowledge transfer.Jeff Skinner

On the front lineHow can we best encourage and assist researchers to develop new commercial relationships and opportunities – what are effective activities and strategies; how should you work with IP, licensing and legal colleagues? Yolande Cordeaux

Coffee Break

Developing a commercial strategyYou have a great technology based on great science. However, this is just the beginning – the next step is to work with the academics to develop a commercial strategy. In this session, we use a simple illustration to examine the components of a ‘Plan A’ (‘straw man’) commercial strategy and see how this helps us to advise the academic team on the next steps to commercialisation and lead to a plan of action. We see how the creation of a strategy (really a set of structured choices) leads in a very natural way to consensus, action and a much clearer view of who we should be talking to and meeting – who are our customers, the ‘value proposition’ and the kind of ‘deal’ that we might target. Jeff Skinner

Lunch

WEDNESDAY | 23 JANUARY

6

Using your ecosystem and regional networksDeveloping, using and collaborating with your ecosystem; interact with various networks (alumni, regional, chambers of commerce, trade shows, EEN, colleague universities and institutes, …) that can be used to generate leads and build business. Building partnerships, co-creation strategies and roadmaps together. Based on two Dutch examples we will discuss how to use the ecosystem in business development strategies and activities.Wim Bens

Coffee Break

Knowing the right people to ‘market’ toHaving figured out the action plan we need to ‘get the hell out of the building’ and start connecting, contacting and influencing potential partners, industry gurus and opinion leaders – the people who may be part of our network and value chain. This is ‘market research’ but it is also ‘marketing’. In this session, we use two or three examples to explore what is involved, and the techniques we should use to identify the right companies and people, how to contact them and how to build their interest. Jeff Skinner

Define your case in groupsIn informal groups we ask you to select one of your individual cases that you will use for the next two days to work with. We ask you to: - Define sales objective / sales object / sellers - Determine your launching potential customer - Identify you potential competition / competitorCourse Team

Wrap up of the dayWhat did we learn today? Time for afterthoughts, hands-on examples, exercises and Q&A.Course Team

Networking Dinner

14.00 - 15.30

15.30 - 16.00

16.00 - 17.00

17.00 - 17.45

17.45 - 18.00

19.00

WEDNESDAY | 23 JANUARY

7

PROGRAMME

08.30 - 10.30

10.30 - 11.00

12.30 - 13.30

13.30 - 15.30

15.30 - 16.00

Using Social Media tools to find partners and investorsThe most difficult aspect of knowledge transfer is finding potential partners, users, champions and investors for our new technologies – both companies and the right individuals within them. Used properly, social media tools can both pinpoint and provide warm leads to those we want to speak to. In this session we learn – from a social media expert – how to use the huge diversity of tools out there, when and how to use them effectively. Scott Gould

Coffee Break

The sales process Many of us (and many academics) find it hard to ‘sell’ to potential partners. We like to talk and present - often far too much - about what the technology is but we do not have strategies for advancing the dialogue towards an initial ‘deal’ of some kind. Successful (sales) meetings should not be pitches or presentations. Rather they should be structured conversations in which we test out value propositions and – only if there is real value for the other party – find some way of developing the relationship by finding some small way to collaborate. In this session, we learn and practice a useful tool (methodology) for structuring such conversations that - if used well - should result in ‘deals’.Jeff Skinner

Lunch

The Quadruple SWOTThe session will explain the value and methodology of drawing up a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. In this interactive session we ask you to work on an “outside-in” quadruple SWOT analysis of your potential targeted customer, the markets and industries in general, your own business/ department/ project and your competition. The goal is to determine your sales’ strategy and focus your sales objectives, your sales team, your action plan and your “must do’s.Wim Bens

Coffee Break

THURSDAY | 24 JANUARY

8

11.00 - 12.30

Lining up internal stakeholders (when you have limited authority over them) One of the hallmarks of a Business Development Manager is that they have the responsibility to create new relationships but limited authority to negotiate and agree the final terms. This can easily result in internal friction and frustration. We see evidence of this in the final case presentations where over half of the ‘problems’ reported are generally internal. In this session ,we study one extremely problematic case where the BDM has generated new business but the relationship has become mired in internal controversy and politics. We disentangle what has gone wrong and what the BDM should have done.Jeff Skinner

Case presentation preparation For this informal group session we ask you to discuss and prepare the chosen ‘problem case’ that is currently ‘live’ for one member of the group. We ask you to: - Discuss and ‘bottom out’ the issues coming out of the quadruple SWOT analysis - Determine a sales strategy, sales pitch, sales arguments and action plan - Prepare a short presentation setting out the problem and solution, action plan - Decide who will present (NOT the problem-owner)Course Team and Participants

17.00- 18.30

THURSDAY | 24 JANUARY

9

16.00 - 17.00

10

PROGRAMME

08.30 - 09.30

09.30 - 11.00

Capturing the essence of an agreementOnce a verbal agreement has been reached the final terms need to be written down and turned into a legal agreement. You may not write that agreement but it is your responsibility to make sure that the terms are clear and workable. In this session we attempt to disentangle an agreement negotiated by an academic - turning a vague ‘wish list’ into a clear memorandum of understanding.Malcolm Bain

Account management and building relationshipsAll universities want to build longer term relationships with businesses (strategic account management) to move beyond negotiating a series of smaller projects into something altogether more ‘strategic’ and broader. This could involve a major investment in research infrastructure based on trust and mutual understanding or a framework agreement. In this reflective exercise we ask how one university grew a single studentship into a major alliance over a number of years, examining the things they did right as well as the things they did wrong.Course Team

Coffee Break

Overcoming barriers, internal and external We devote this final session to discussing your own cases – ones where you have identified a real opportunity or impasse to which you can apply some of the learnings and strategies covered in the course. Some will be ‘internal issues blocking the commercialisation. Others will be issues of finding a partner or structuring the right deal with a potential partner. Course Team and Participants

Course Wrap UpCourse team

Lunch

Course Ends

FRIDAY | 25 JANUARY

11.00 - 11.30

11.30 - 13.00

13.00 - 13.15

13.15 - 14.15