Business Development Consulting

I had the great fortune to be a part of an early stage web techologies start up as one of my first real experiences out of college. It was a web technology very similar to WordPress before there was WordPress and I was part of the business development team that had negotiated the better part of a sales and licensing deal with the Better Business Bureau for website services to members…

I was even more fortunate to experience what spectacular failure looks like early in my career when the company suddenly folded soon after those negotiations due to a lack of funding from our primary (read only) investor. 

That was a hard but important lesson. One that I’ve carried with me as I’ve gone on to serve many future clients and businesses throughout my career. Most of my clients have been start ups or fledgling small businesses.

Some of those were fantastic successes (and sometimes I helped with that).

All of them produced their own light bulb moments in business development.

My first suit and tie job was recruiting commission only sales representatives for financial services. I was exposed to what is widely regarded as one of the most elite sales training programs available and while role industry was not a good fit for me, I have made some of those principles a backbone of my broader business approach. 

After a couple years with the start up mentioned above, I began working with a record label in their marketing and promotions department. The stable act did approximately 200 dates annually. I built a 1200 person national street team to manage grassroots campaigns for local market tour promotions. I coordinated tour promotions with local promoters, local radio advertising, and local TV. Some of the albums I helped to promote reached top 10 Billboard for category. I also heavily contributed to the development of a network of six artist websites with fan forums, as well as the creation of exclusive VIP fan experiences. 

I repeated these contributions with many artists and artist management firms for the next several years; culminating in dozens of tours and albums promoted and marketed. 

I have expanded those skills to categories as diverse as dental marketing to cannabis. I have also built sales teams for small regional ventures. I once showed a new sales rep an activity schedule and a prediction of increased sales as a result and was only off by $600 maximum across three months of forecasting on multiple six figure sales. I understand sales coaching.

I have straddled most roles between “sales” and “marketing”.

Whether it’s negotiating amenable rates or identifying a future partner, I have a breadth of experience connecting clients with the right vendor for their needs. 

I’ve directly managed large accounts for print, advertising (placement and creative), manufacturing, foreign manufacturing, and more.

I have some experience and like to think I have a knack for identifying when the right vendor might become something more. (see below)

I’ve helped to craft the final position for operational improvements, sponsored deals, supply and manufacturing agreements, co-promotions, and many other partnered ventures. From something as simple as trading some logo position for some cheap or free creative work to assisting with the analysis and negotiations for partnered equity, I have helped businesses nurture all kinds of partners, large and small. 

This is where I feel business development genuinely lives up to its name.

One of my early sales mentors once gave me the best advice: “Be the guy who’s got a guy.”

The message for business being: you may not be the one in a position to help a friend, colleague, or prospect in need in that particular moment. But, if you know someone who is and you can help that person connect with that valuable resource, then you become someone that person can rely on in the future… eventually when they do need the thing you can offer.

That really struck me and it’s something I’ve tried to practice where ever practicable. That habit served me well when I eventually needed to start sourcing teams for myself. I found two things:

1. I have an extensive network to call upon for a variety of talent pools; particularly in small business operations and marketing.
   
   
2. That practice has earned me a certain degree of reciprocal referral trust. If I don’t know someone, someone I know almost certainly does.

We can get it done.