From planning stage to handshake

She ought to know. Camilla Huse Bondeson has been in the life science business for 25 years, 20 of them working with sales and marketing and business development. In her resumé are companies like Gyros and GE. But nowadays Huse Bondeson is her own boss, consulting for life science companies.

“Usually people in small companies do not have any experience with commercialization and my job in those cases is usually to work with the CEO, as a coach and a partner,” she says.

She seems to be a never-ending source of hands-on advice, even though the topic here only allows partnering-related tips.

Planning is 70 percent

According to Huse Bondesson, the path to success in partnering starts long before the actual partnering event takes place. But before you even get to planning, you should consider the following:
“One of the most important tips I can give is that you must be dedicated to what you are doing, to partnering. This goes both for time and money. If you are not prepared to put the necessary resources aside, all your efforts will be wasted,” she says.

She divides the process into three phases: Preparation, The Partnering Event and Follow-up.

She suggests a follow-up every month to keep the strategy updated.

“You should keep an eye on new events, prioritize and re-prioritize and keep in mind that the timing should suit your business plan.”

This is something she gets back to – successful partnering is achieved with a good strategy. What is your purpose for partnering?
 
If your company is evaluating a business model, a product or is awaiting results from a clinical trial, you should book a partnering event when your evaluation is complete – you need the results to present at the meetings.

No time to relax

When you have decided on an event, the preparations are not over. The organizers will ask for some information. A company presentation will be needed as well as names and probably photos of those attending from your business.

“Send everything as soon as possible. Whatever you do, do not wait until the last minute.” Huse Bondeson points out.
Also, do your own research at an early stage.

“Putting all this effort into partnering, you would not want to be stuck with all of your last-priority companies. But you must keep an eye on the attendees regularly – some new, interesting businesses may show up later too.”

So the take-home message is: There is no time to relax.

Make some noise

Sitting hoping for someone interesting to find your company in the ocean of other participants at the event might work. But why take a chance on that?

Sending some information to a selected list of interesting people a few months ahead is recommended:

“A month before the event is a good time to send out a general press release on something your company is doing – this should not relate to the partnering event. The point is to get people to visit your site, where they will find your partnering info as a bonus,” she says.

CEO, technician or salesman?

“Never go alone” is Huse Bondeson’s first advice on this matter.
In a small company, it may seem like a good way to save some time and money by only sending the CEO to the partnering event.
 
“But an extra set of ears and a second opinion is invaluable,” she says.

The CEO – “don’t underestimate the impact of status” – and someone who knows the product or technology well is a general rule.

“This way you can take turns at the meeting taking notes, being the listener and being aware of the social climate in the group,” Huse Bondeson notes.

Action

You only have a few minutes to get an idea of who your potential partner is and at the same time give a representative presentation of your own company. You probably made a PowerPoint pitch which you ran by the director of the company board. And everybody in the room knows the game: no unnecessary courtesies will be needed. The only thing you need to remember to do is find out who you are meeting.

“The person might not have the influence that you thought, so starting by asking what role the people in the room have in their company is quite relevant,” Huse Bondeson says.

When it is time for your presentation, you talk about the value of your product, what is unique about it and your intentions.

“Then you need a good round-up,” Huse Bondeson says.

This is an important part of the meeting.

“Concluding: ‘So: you will mention to your CSO that I will contact her next week to discuss X. Then we will decide on how to proceed’ is a very clear way to make sure you are both on the same page,” Huse Bondeson says.