Meet Naima: Your guide to partnering success with partneringONE
We sat down with Naima Ahmed, Senior Partnering Success Manager, to dive into how she helps our clients achieve results with the partneringONE Partnering Lab, our tailored coaching service which supports teams in achieving great ROI at our events.
What is the Partnering Lab?
Simply put, I help teams get the most out of their partnering efforts - tailored to their goals. This can vary a lot across clients so one day is never the same as another.
Some users are searching for opportunities but are short on time so I focus on crafting searches and setting up alerts which send new matches straight to their inbox.
For other clients it’s about managing their prospects and meeting data so I can help streamline their partnering workflows.
For those new to partnering, it might be a case of standing out from the crowd and securing meetings, so I guide them through partnering best practice.
It really depends on what our users need, but our goal is to help teams achieve the most from their partnering event attendance.
How long have you been with partneringONE?
I first joined partneringONE in 2014 on the partnering services team and later worked in product delivery at Informa. I returned in 2023 to lead Partnering Success, which has been a great opportunity to help clients improve their partnering strategy and work with teams to achieve real results.
What can a client expect from the Partnering Lab
The Partnering Lab includes 5 sessions of up to 60 minutes each which focus on developing solutions to current pain points and removing blockers to success. I start with an analysis of current and past activity on partneringONE to design a bespoke training program aligned with the team's goals.
All sessions are confidential and can cover a range of topics including creating an impactful profile, the best ways to use search, how to send relevant meeting requests, and more. Sessions are recording for future use by the client, and the company can invite as many team members as they like to participate in the training.
Can you tell us about a client success story that has really stood out to you?
One client was struggling to secure meetings, using a scattergun approach to outreach. I worked with them to identify prospects whose goals aligned with their own. Then we refined their messaging, and focused their outreach. At their first event, they had only a handful of meetings. By their next event? Their accepted meetings increased by 300%—helping fill their partnering pipeline.
What else does Partnering Success offer?
Along with the Partnering Lab our team offers
- Training resources to help you master the platform and partnering in general
- Support via email for quick troubleshooting.
- Exclusive product updates and the opportunity to shape new features based on your feedback.
What’s a standout partnering moment for you?
My focus is on understanding how our clients utilise the partneringONE platform and using this as a baseline for evaluation. One client, for example, had an incomplete profile; their headshot was missing, their company logo had not been uploaded, and their out-licensing assets were listed under the company profile, rather than in the ‘Biopharma/Biotech’ asset section. While these are simple elements that many overlook, they are important to address. Additionally, the client was unfamiliar with partnering best practices and the partnering timeline within the context of the lifecycle. I started by gaining a comprehensive understanding of the client’s partnering objectives, and then guided them through the process. We successfully met their goals which proved to be highly rewarding for both of us.