One of the biggest challenges a startup founder can face is getting the business development going. Business development has so many different factors to it. Different founders are good at different aspects. If you don’t get the leads then the whole process breaks down and you won’t get traction.

1. Business Development
for Startup Founders
By Neil Patel
@neilp666
www.neilpatel.co

2. Another day
Another dollar……

3. One of the biggest challenges a startup founder can
face is getting the business development going.
Business development has so many different
factors to it.
Different founders are good at different aspects. If
you don’t get the leads then the whole process
breaks down and you won’t get traction.

4. “I’m waiting for the new
leads!” – Ricky Roma,
Glengarry Glen Ross

5. For a startup entering business
development for the first time,
a business development pipeline is a
great place to start.
You can think of it like a guiding light for
you and your team to see where all your
current and future deals stand.

6. Your Network
When it comes to business development for startup founders , you are only as strong as your network.
For example, if your startup has developed an IPhone game for Kim Kardashian and her 27+ million
users , will you be able to call Kim to discuss this, or do you know someone who can make a warm
introduction?
e.g.
Julie knows you.
Julie knows Steve who knows Kim
You want to meet Kim
and Julie is willing to introduce you to Steve
If you don’t know Kim or anyone connected to Kim, then you are pretty much going to fail! The reality
is you need someone who is one degree removed from that person you need to get in front of.

7. Business Development 101
Business development covers everything you can do to develop your business
for your startup. This will include selling, marketing and developing strategies
for your startup, and executing on them.
The bottom line is if you can prove one of the following points, then you will be
able to get traction for your startup.
● You can make them money
● You save them money
● You grow their business
● You can improve their existing product.

8. Networking
Networking is also an important facet of business development. Your job is to
build relationships with existing partners and create new ones. It is also
important to network with individuals within your industry and maintain those
connections.
There are 2 main ways of networking; going to meetups or hosting your own
meetup. You need to find out who the main decision makers are or champions
within the organisation so then when you do launch your product you can reach
out to them.
Building a basic pipeline tool
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13rfsNSUKtlj5vduxe0tU8afUd8tBOOqhBEjFEAZtJrM/edit#gid=0
I have created a business development tracker for Startup founders so you can
track networking and sales opportunities. It was done in Google Docs because
it is easier to share.

9. Biz Dev Tool 2015
Please feel free to download and edit it so it
reflects your needs. To make changes, simply
download it to your desktop and change the
filename.

10. How to create
I have created 6 columns and added the following headings:
Company: - The company they work for
Size of company: – Big / Medium / Small
Probability: How likely are you to work with them – High / Low / Medium – use your intuition on this
Contact: - Name of main contact
Contact details: Main contact, e.g email, tel number, skype, etc.
Status – Status of the deal. A percentage to reflect on where you are on the deal
e.g.
0% – No contact made or not identified anyone
10% – You have identified the correct decision maker within the company or found someone who will champion your cause.
40% – You have an initial meeting with them to discuss your idea or you have identified the main decision maker and sent them
sales details via email
60% – They said yes! They have requested a contract and you have sent it
100% – Contract is signed and terms have been agreed – deal is done!

11. How To Create cont..
You can use colours to determine what stage
the deal is in:
Green – Live
Orange – Pending
Red – No
You could also add social media profiles, job
title, telephone numbers, value of the deal, etc.

12. Who should use it
Everyone in your team!
Why?
If you are a startup founder, chances you have a
small team.
So it is important to be constantly selling the value
of your business.

13. As a founder of a startup, you need to develop your
network which hopefully will lead to revenue down
the line. Anyone who has sales gets traction and in
turn, this could lead to some serious investment
($$).
But to do this you need to find the decision makers
when you ready to launch your product!

14. Final Thoughts

15. There are so many tools out there, but it’s
probably best if you use Google Docs
because it’s very easy and
straightforward to maintain.
It helps you and your team focus on the
right contacts and it’s easy to share the
important details. Don’t have crap leads
for your team members!

16. Thanks for watching
I’d love it if you would share this presentation
with your social networks. Thanks and lets connect
@neilp666 / www.neilpatel.co