Once you are registered for BIO-Europe 2023, November 6–8, 2023 in Munich, the gateway to the global biopharma community, it is time to make the most of partneringONE, the powerful partnering platform to line up a host of potential meetings that could be transformative for your business. But with the ability to send up to 150 invites, and a fantastic variety of over 5,000 attendees from over 2,200 companies to send them to, it can be challenging to ensure success. So, here are some top tips to help you use the gold standard partneringONE platform to achieve your corporate goals at BIO-Europe, the industry’s biggest and best gathering of biopharma professional in Europe, this year in Munich. Read our last blog Partnering with Lions and Panthers at BIO-Europe for even more tips.
- Take Time to Train: Especially if you are new to partneringONE, check out the online video tutorials. An hour there now will save you hours later, and you’ll soon be expert on using all the neat features which have been designed, with extensive feedback from users, to help you do business development, better. Even if you have used the system many times, check in on the training site in case there’s something new, or a great new tip about something as simple, but effective, as colour coding your prospects. Think of this as warming up with some basic stretches before you start doing anything more athletic.
- Check the Clock: If you have used the system before, there is a wealth of useful information from your previous efforts that can help maximise the return from your current ones. One little icon that people sometimes miss is one of the most powerful tools on the platform. Look for the clock icon and the word ‘history’ above the name of the company when you view its details. If that is there, check closely what happened last time you approached them. If they said no, or never responded, think twice about trying again. You may be better off focussing your efforts on others who may be more receptive to your invite. Check the clock to help you choose your invites wisely.
- Say the Right Thing: Whilst it may seem tempting to send 150 identical invites and sitting back to see what happens, you will have a much better response rate if you tailor your invites with a personal touch. At the very least check your prospect is the right type of organisation for what you want to talk about. There is little point sending an invite to a company working in cancer asking if they would like to talk about licensing a cardiovascular asset.
- Pick a Panel or Two: Many companies present at BIO-Europe, including on panels. If your prospect is going to be talking on a panel, check what that is all about, and ideally go see them live. Add that panel to your calendar so partneringONE® cleverly blocks out the time slot, and, if a meeting is secured, time your meeting to take place afterwards. Why? Because it is so more impactful, and memorable, to say, ‘that was fascinating what you said yesterday about sustainability in the vaccines supply chain’, than ‘good luck tomorrow on your panel.
- Learn from LinkedIn: For prospects that look promising, take five minutes to see what the company has said recently on LinkedIn. That could give you a good opening line for your invite, such as, ‘congratulations on your impressive recent financing’ or ‘great to see you have just partnered with Mammoth biotech, we’ve been working with them for years’. It shows the recipient you have done at least some research about them, and it is so quick and easy to do. And remember to follow the company on LinkedIn. If they say yes to a partnering meeting, check for updates a few days before you meet in person at BIO-Europe, so if there has been some great news, you’ll be up to speed about it, and will look smart and informed in the meeting.
- Jayne, not Jane: People are rightly put off if you spell their name wrong, plus it sends a bad signal about attention to detail. BIO-Europe’s 5,000+ delegates come from all around the world, representing over 60 countries. Check you have spelt the name right in the invite and pay attention to any letters with accents, such as in Åse, Jürgen, and Stéphane. Do not allow your spellchecker to auto-correct them to something else! It should be as easy as ÅB́Ç with copy and paste to ensure a name is correct but be careful you have not copied the name from the previous invite you sent, so that you are now writing entirely the wrong name on your next invite! Writing to Jane when you meant John is a guaranteed way to waste a precious invite.
- Set your Calendar: Ensure you are building breaks into your partnering calendar. Do you really want to do six partnering meetings in a row, without a bio break, from 08:00 on the first day? After you have just flown in from a very different time zone? Seriously? You have gone to all that trouble on partneringONE to secure a potentially life changing meeting, and you really must make the most of the moment to shine, and secure new business. That is not going to happen if you overbook your diary on the first day. Be kind to yourself and manage your diary so you have a manageable flow of meetings over the entire event. You will maintain better productivity and concentration for when you really need it. Remember, it is not the quantity of meetings that matters, but their quality, and an aspect of quality is about performing well in a meeting. And remember too that it is a big partnering hall, and it can take more than a few seconds to move from red booth 63 to green booth 702.
- Save Space for Serendipity: One of the best things about attending BIO-Europe in person is the ability to meet, entirely by chance, people you’d like to connect with whilst having lunch on a group table, or queuing for coffee at an exhibition stand, or whilst enjoying the opening reception on the Sunday night. Keep some time free on each day which could be used to book in a meeting following one of these ‘serendipity’ encounters.
- Be Open for Meetings: If you do not want any contact from any type of service provider at all, then check the tick box that says ‘not open to meetings with service providers’. But that says to everyone from CROs to recruiters, and patent attorneys to public relations specialists, that you don’t want a meeting. Does your company not need any support from service providers? BIO-Europe is the perfect opportunity to meet service providers in person, and you may be pleasantly surprised at the value they could quickly bring to your business.
- Start at the End: Just because lists tend to be shown from A to Z, that does not mean you have to send your invites in that order. You may find there are fewer competing invites to the companies at the other end of the alphabet, so a better chance of success. Connect with Zebra Biologics before you try and catch the eye of Aardvark Therapeutics.
Ready to partner? Partnering is already open and in full swing for BIO-Europe 2023. Register now to get started!