By Karen Deyo, VP of Product, Israel BD, LSN
You’ve registered for a partnering conference.
You’ve filled out a profile in the partnering system detailing who you are and what your company does.
You’ve researched the investors in attendance and built a list of targets to book meetings with.
You hit “Request a Meeting” and freeze.
What message will increase your chances of the investor accepting the request?
Partnering is an involved process with multiple steps that must be taken to ensure optimal results. These steps often require major time investment, and we forget that, even after the hours we’ve poured into the process, none of it matters without a compelling message to pique the interest of a potential partner. Furthermore, this is a process that requires a plan for following up, since, as with any outreach, it will likely take more than one message to the investors to receive a response. These messages should be clear and concise, no more than a paragraph, highlighting your company and what makes it unique.
Life Science Nation (LSN) has developed and consolidated your partnering outreach into four separate messages:
- Introduction: The first message is the one where you introduce yourself and your company, as well as request a meeting. It’s ok if your target investor does not respond immediately (hence this system). To help them understand your position, it’s important to include the following:
- Company tagline (5-6 words explaining who you are and what you do)
- Elevator pitch (1-3 sentences describing the company and tech)
- Technology differentiation, product innovation, or market position
- Raise and milestone information
- Follow Up 1 (Product/Tech): Why is your product and technology unique? Is it first-in-class? Best-in-class? This is your opportunity to dive into your company’s differentiated value.
- Follow Up 2 (Management/Team): Highlight your management and team. How have your people had a notable impact on the business development? What makes your people special?
- Follow Up 3 (One Pager): Condense all the important messages you’ve already shared into a one-page tear sheet for quick and easy reference later.
It should go without saying that the perfect message is meaningless without a well-researched and formulated target list and marketing collateral at the ready. Think of the perfect message like how an athlete approaches the arena on game day. It’s the starting shot of a long and exciting process. It won’t replace the training and conditioning that got you to game day, but it’ll ensure you’re off with a competitive edge.
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