I’ll admit, I’m not the best product person, but luckily, I’m a solid bizdev. So, let me share some tips on how to stop being an amateur bizdev and hack any niche in any market.
- First Rule: Get a Fancy Badge: Whatever it takes, get yourself into a space where you can quickly earn some recognizable title — whether it’s membership in an association, mentorship, volunteering, or being on a jury. That way, people will be like, "Oh, that’s who you are!" instead of thinking you’re nobody.
- More Personal Clout: Once you’ve got that badge, it’s easier to keep stacking up credibility. People love free hours from seemingly respectable folks.
- Find a Broad Network: Join a large networking organization, preferably with lots of chapters or batches. My case is specific, but you can draw parallels. Build a database, sort by GDP or whatever metric you prefer, and start from the bottom. Those at the lower end will be more receptive, especially given your previous achievements.
- Move Up the Ladder: Gradually move up the list, skipping a few ranks weekly to speed up the process. Along the way, publicly thank your connections, but don’t try to sell anything just yet.
- Expand Your Circle: Look at others who have partnered with your connections, approach them, and say something like, "Hey, I noticed we share a partner; maybe we should chat?" And then, have that chat.
- Build Similar Contacts: Now, gather contacts in the same segment, tied to specific cities or countries, depending on your market. Share who you’re working with and suggest taking things forward—this time with clear hints about money.
- Follow-Up: While you’re working on step 6 (which can take a while), loop back to those who helped you early on (from steps 1-4) and tell them what progress you’ve made. Suggest transitioning to a commercial partnership.
Depending on your market, PR support, content marketing, outreach volume, and resources, this process should take 6-12 months. The next 6-12 months will be figuring out the conversion rates to paying relationships, but we can talk about that later.
I’m not quite there yet with converting all this into a stable cash flow, but my logo is already among the respectable ones. That’s a win for SEO, branding, traffic, trust, and future outreach.
For outreach and bizdev assistance, hit me up here.
