Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BUILD REVENUE-GENERATING PARTNERSHIPS

Corporations have profited from strong business development strategies for years. So it's no surprise that of the half-million new businesses created each year, the most successful ones are driven by business development. Now, savvy professionals on the business side of a startuphave a reliable guide to perfecting the partnershipstrategies that will quickly add value to any company.

Pitching & Closing gives you concrete actionsteps for mastering the specific skill set today's business-development professionals need to define their roles and meet revenue expectations. Written in practical terms by playmakers at Twitter and SocialRank, this A-to-Z guide walks you through forging relationships, pitching a company's product, building a network, sourcing deals, making rejection positive, and staying cool while closinglarge deals. Firsthand accounts from business development executives across many industries, from tech to television to finance, bring to life such topics as:

  • How to consistently identify and land the best strategic alliances for your business
  • Why people say "yes" and why they say "no"
  • Etiquette for making introductions and reaching out to people in ways that elicit responses
  • Monitoring core metrics to know where to invest your time

In addition to implementable advice and techniques from the top minds in the industry, this complete resource features an entire section of best practices for every step of the partnering process. Make your moves with the confidence of having a team of experts at your back.

The road from startup to IPO starts with Pitching & Closing.

PRAISE FOR PITCHING & CLOSING

"This book is a must-read for anyone in the business of transforming professional relationships into powerful strategic partnerships." — Adam Bain, President of Global Revenue at Twitter

"Pitching & Closing does a phenomenal job of giving you a seat in the room during some of the biggest business development deals of late. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a deep understanding of business development in the world of startups." — Dylan Smith, CFO of Box

"Pitching & Closing is the definitive guide to partnerships for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders." — Adam Braun, Founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise

"An honest and insightful look at the delicate and complex handling of business development [that] guides readers on how to turn good ideas into greatpartnerships." — Kyle Kelly, Business Development & Analysis at Zappos.com

"Alex Taub and Ellen DaSilva have written the bible for business development in startup land—a well-researched, easily accessible accounting of best practicesand tips of the trade from the people who are leaders in opening and closing deals that define some of the most exciting new companies on the landscape." — Laurie Racine, Board Member, Creative Commons

"I never thought I'd read a book that not only explains how nuanced business development can be, but also actually gives you what you need to take teams big and small to grow their business through partnerships. Impressive and fun to read." — Paul Murphy, CEO of Dots and Partner at Betaworks

1117270141
Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BUILD REVENUE-GENERATING PARTNERSHIPS

Corporations have profited from strong business development strategies for years. So it's no surprise that of the half-million new businesses created each year, the most successful ones are driven by business development. Now, savvy professionals on the business side of a startuphave a reliable guide to perfecting the partnershipstrategies that will quickly add value to any company.

Pitching & Closing gives you concrete actionsteps for mastering the specific skill set today's business-development professionals need to define their roles and meet revenue expectations. Written in practical terms by playmakers at Twitter and SocialRank, this A-to-Z guide walks you through forging relationships, pitching a company's product, building a network, sourcing deals, making rejection positive, and staying cool while closinglarge deals. Firsthand accounts from business development executives across many industries, from tech to television to finance, bring to life such topics as:

  • How to consistently identify and land the best strategic alliances for your business
  • Why people say "yes" and why they say "no"
  • Etiquette for making introductions and reaching out to people in ways that elicit responses
  • Monitoring core metrics to know where to invest your time

In addition to implementable advice and techniques from the top minds in the industry, this complete resource features an entire section of best practices for every step of the partnering process. Make your moves with the confidence of having a team of experts at your back.

The road from startup to IPO starts with Pitching & Closing.

PRAISE FOR PITCHING & CLOSING

"This book is a must-read for anyone in the business of transforming professional relationships into powerful strategic partnerships." — Adam Bain, President of Global Revenue at Twitter

"Pitching & Closing does a phenomenal job of giving you a seat in the room during some of the biggest business development deals of late. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a deep understanding of business development in the world of startups." — Dylan Smith, CFO of Box

"Pitching & Closing is the definitive guide to partnerships for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders." — Adam Braun, Founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise

"An honest and insightful look at the delicate and complex handling of business development [that] guides readers on how to turn good ideas into greatpartnerships." — Kyle Kelly, Business Development & Analysis at Zappos.com

"Alex Taub and Ellen DaSilva have written the bible for business development in startup land—a well-researched, easily accessible accounting of best practicesand tips of the trade from the people who are leaders in opening and closing deals that define some of the most exciting new companies on the landscape." — Laurie Racine, Board Member, Creative Commons

"I never thought I'd read a book that not only explains how nuanced business development can be, but also actually gives you what you need to take teams big and small to grow their business through partnerships. Impressive and fun to read." — Paul Murphy, CEO of Dots and Partner at Betaworks

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Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

Pitching and Closing: Everything You Need to Know About Business Development, Partnerships, and Making Deals that Matter

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Overview

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BUILD REVENUE-GENERATING PARTNERSHIPS

Corporations have profited from strong business development strategies for years. So it's no surprise that of the half-million new businesses created each year, the most successful ones are driven by business development. Now, savvy professionals on the business side of a startuphave a reliable guide to perfecting the partnershipstrategies that will quickly add value to any company.

Pitching & Closing gives you concrete actionsteps for mastering the specific skill set today's business-development professionals need to define their roles and meet revenue expectations. Written in practical terms by playmakers at Twitter and SocialRank, this A-to-Z guide walks you through forging relationships, pitching a company's product, building a network, sourcing deals, making rejection positive, and staying cool while closinglarge deals. Firsthand accounts from business development executives across many industries, from tech to television to finance, bring to life such topics as:

  • How to consistently identify and land the best strategic alliances for your business
  • Why people say "yes" and why they say "no"
  • Etiquette for making introductions and reaching out to people in ways that elicit responses
  • Monitoring core metrics to know where to invest your time

In addition to implementable advice and techniques from the top minds in the industry, this complete resource features an entire section of best practices for every step of the partnering process. Make your moves with the confidence of having a team of experts at your back.

The road from startup to IPO starts with Pitching & Closing.

PRAISE FOR PITCHING & CLOSING

"This book is a must-read for anyone in the business of transforming professional relationships into powerful strategic partnerships." — Adam Bain, President of Global Revenue at Twitter

"Pitching & Closing does a phenomenal job of giving you a seat in the room during some of the biggest business development deals of late. Anyone who reads this book will come away with a deep understanding of business development in the world of startups." — Dylan Smith, CFO of Box

"Pitching & Closing is the definitive guide to partnerships for the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders." — Adam Braun, Founder and CEO of Pencils of Promise

"An honest and insightful look at the delicate and complex handling of business development [that] guides readers on how to turn good ideas into greatpartnerships." — Kyle Kelly, Business Development & Analysis at Zappos.com

"Alex Taub and Ellen DaSilva have written the bible for business development in startup land—a well-researched, easily accessible accounting of best practicesand tips of the trade from the people who are leaders in opening and closing deals that define some of the most exciting new companies on the landscape." — Laurie Racine, Board Member, Creative Commons

"I never thought I'd read a book that not only explains how nuanced business development can be, but also actually gives you what you need to take teams big and small to grow their business through partnerships. Impressive and fun to read." — Paul Murphy, CEO of Dots and Partner at Betaworks


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780071822374
Publisher: McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date: 07/25/2014
Pages: 288
Product dimensions: 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Alex Taub is the cofounder of SocialRank, a tool that helps brands find out better information about thepeople who follow them on social networks. Alex previously led business development and partnerships for onlineintegrations at Dwolla, one of the fastest growing startups in the country. Alex contributes to the Forbes Entrepreneur section twice a month.

Ellen DaSilva is a senior analyst of the businessoperations team at Twitter, which strategically targetsrevenue opportunities for -the company. Ellen's pastpositions include investment banking at Barclays Capital and financial planning at Hillary Clinton for President.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

Part 1 Business Development

1 What is Business Development? 2

2 Types of Business Development 6

3 BD Team Structure 13

4 Business Development Versus Sales 18

5 Networking 23

6 International BD 32

7 Finding Your BD Mentor 35

8 APIs and BD 38

9 A Career in BD 44

10 Digital Identity 51

Part 2 Introduction to Partnerships

11 Understanding Other Companies 56

12 Four Golden Rules of Partnerships 59

13 Three Types of Partnerships 66

14 Identifying the Right Person at the Partner Company 71

15 Partner Feedback 76

16 Doing a Deal Versus Doing the Best Deal 80

17 Sincere Selling 82

18 Vapor Sales 85

Part 3 Pitching and Closing

19 Pipelines and Prepitch Execution 90

20 Making the Pitch and Closing the Deal 98

21 The Legality of Deal Making: Contracts and Beyond 113

22 Launching Deals and Compounding Effects 123

23 Keeping the Deal 128

Part 4 Best Practices: Preparation and Execution

24 Introductions: Best Practices 134

25 Reaching Out and Corresponding 139

26 Following Up and Other Best Practices for Correspondence 145

27 Persistence 152

28 Rejection 155

29 Being Helpful and Adding Value 160

30 Feeling the Pulse of the Market 162

31 The "Shiny Things" Disease 164

32 Internal Communication 166

33 Working with Big Companies 170

34 Working with the Press 173

35 "Launch Partner" Strategy 177

36 Turning a Nice to Have into a Need to Have 181

Part 5 War Stories

37 Introduction to War Stories 184

38 Large-Company BD Kristal Bergfield 186

39 Entrepreneurship and BD Scott Britton 191

40 The Ultimate Connector Charlie O'Donnell 197

41 BD and the Legal World Richard Bloom 201

42 Trendsetter Partnerships Gary Vaynerchuk 206

43 From BD to Founder Tristan Walker 209

44 Day 1 Enterpreneur Shaival Shah 213

45 Dorm Room Deal Maker Andrew N. Ferenci 219

46 Sports, Private Jets, and Philanthropy Jesse Itzler 223

47 Music BD and Internation Relations Zeeshan Zaidi 228

48 Banking to BD Nicole Cook 234

49 BD and Sales Eric Friedmand 238

50 Intern to VP Erin Pettigrew 241

Sources 245

Index 253

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