Biz Dev For Dummies (Like Myself)

I read a great blog post by Charlie O’Donnell today called Seven Ways to Rock Your Current Job (I highly recommend reading it!). One of the ways that you can rock your job, according to Charlie,  is to write about your experiences there. The idea is that if you’re writing about your work, you’ll  now have an extra outlet to store your thoughts, causing you to notice more of your patterns throughout the day–what works and creates success and what doesn’t.  So while I’ve had a fun time musing about the startup scene that I’ve come to see through the TEC lens, I thought it might be cool to switch it up and start writing more about the Biz Dev work that I’ve been doing at Kiip.

I joke a lot with the fellow TEC-lings that I spend most of the day playing iPhone and Andriod games (or as I like to call it, “market research”) while at work. This is only partly true. My job is to either find awesome game developers out there or begin speaking with the ones that have already reached out to us. The ultimate goal is to sign them on and integrate the Kiip reward network so they can make their uber-fun games even better. Below are a few tips that I’ve picked up from work and that have already helped me in this endeavor.

Getting in the Trenches

If you’re looking to make partnerships in a particular industry, I think a great way to do so is to simply dive in and learn as much as you can. To be honest, I didn’t know a whole lot about the gaming industry (especially within mobile) before I started at Kiip, but delving into the scene has already helped a lot. This means reading up on the trade news, seeing which developers and apps are hot today and gone tomorrow, and even attending local meetups (this last one is especially important).

Know Thy (Potential) Partner

I think one of the greatest benefits that all startups have is that the teams are small and there is a great amount of flexibility to work with. When we reach out to developers, we aren’t restricted to using monotonous corporate languag–we can alter our tone on a case-by-case basis when talking with developers. To make the most of this advantage, it helps to get to know the individual or company before you even begin the initial discussion. “How can I help you?” is something that you should always be asking when researching potential partners. In my case, if I’m’ looking at an indie developer that has a large amount of passion for his or her games, then I would take the approach of mentioning that Kiip could really help to improve the gaming environment. If it’s a more established company, then I would probably lean towards the fact that Kiip could help supplement their revenues. The company’s value proposition should always be placed in the context of the other party’s needs. This is something that Jack, a fellow BDer at Kiip, has helped me to learn, and it’s already been paying off.

ABC: Always Be Closing

I’m still learning as much as I can in this area, and am still trying to figure out the best way to close deals. My current approach is to let the developers test out the reward system themselves and only offer help if they ask for it or they have been inactive for a certain amount of time. I’m going to start playing playing a more active role in this step, and see if this proves to have any better results when it comes to moving conversations on to the next phases. So stay tuned until next time!