2009 February | David Chan

The Changing Landscape of Business Development

February 15th, 2009 By DavidChan

Business is done today at warp speed. People are connected not only through the telephone, but also via the Internet, fax machines, cell phones, and, for some, even over satellite transmission. In fact, I was at an event hosted by Leigh Steinberg, where the troops in Iraq had an opportunity to speak live via satellite with a number of celebrities here in the United States. Talk about expediency!

These technologies have dramatically changed the way in which business development is conducted. I remember in the not too distant past that I would pick up the phone, call a business colleague, drive or fly to their office to meet with him / her, sign a contract, return to train and then do the cycle over again to start driving sales. Of course, there are a number steps left out for the sake of brevity.

The business development cycle today remains the same as before, but the tools have changed and the “time to market” significantly compressed. For example, let’s take tools such as Facebook, Plaxo or LinkedIn. The old, physical business card rolodex has been replaced by a number of sleek, interactive web applications. These applications, of course, allow you to instantly find your business associates and their contact details. No more need to search around for their latest information … instant gratification here.

The fax machine as we know it has been replaced with direct fax to and from your email, including the signature page(s). No longer do you need to print out the contract, sign it, find a fax machine, and then send it. A convenient feature of faxing to and from your email is the ability to be anywhere in the world … not tethered to your fax machine.

Let’s talk about training and meetings. In the past, it was almost a certainty that as part of your business development efforts, training and meetings happened in-person. It was hard to imagine having a meeting or training, for example, without a whiteboard or sharing PowerPoint slides. Today, on demand software, such as Yugma, GoToMeeting, or Webex have changed this landscape forever. Not only can your colleagues participate in an online meeting, but one can share PowerPoint slides, collaborate on a whiteboard, switch presenters and even record the meeting for documentation and download at a later date.

While we’re on the topic of online meetings and training, what about hosting a conference call? Not only is this aspect of business development easier, it’s even free. Companies like InstantConference.com or FreeConference.com allow you to set up and record conference calls for nothing, nada. You can even host as many as 150 participants at one time.

And … what about mobile / cell phones? I remember the old days of the “brick” phones. At that time few people could have imagined that a “brick” could ever be a useful device for every day phone calls, let alone business development. Yet, now the mobile device is one of the most productive business development tools of all. It’s especially true given how the device has evolved into the new “computer”. For some, these devices have replaced their need for a regular phone line.

There are plenty more examples of how these advances in technology have changed the business development landscape. The net result has been more productivity for a lot less money.

Business Unusual

February 14th, 2009 By DavidChan

How many times can you re-invent yourself? How many times do you need to? For all its wonder and technological advances, the 21st century has ushered in a new era of uncertainty and undeniable change. I’m not just talking about Obama-type “change”, but about the way in which we change ourselves to adapt to this new and continually evolving world.

I’ve had a decent run in my high tech career, working for global brand companies like Hewlett Packard and Oracle and a high flying mobile startup, Everypath. These companies forced me to adapt and learn new skills … quickly. Back then, there was also an undercurrent of contempt by the sales organization if you were in business development, alliances or marketing. The hypothesis was that the sales organization brought in the money and everyone else was simply an expense item.

The Internet and, increasingly, mobile technology, has switched this dynamic. Compounding this role reversal is our lousy economy and the fact that nobody’s buying … everybody’s selling. At least, you would think so, if you look through your old dusty lenses of the past.

A sea change is afoot. Some will miss the opportunity; others will catch the wave and ride it. Business development is the new sales. Marketing is the new sales. Alliances are the new sales. The Internet and “digital everything” has opened up new market opportunities across the globe.

Ponder this. At 1:01pm PST, a writer in San Francisco publishes a book online and at 1:02pm PST someone in the Philippines can buy it. A singer in Shanghai, China performs at an outdoor concert, while bar goers in London, England, students in their dorm rooms and couch potatoes at home tune in at lunchtime LIVE … over their broadband connections. Or, a nutrition company launches a new health bar and instantly it has over 10,000 new affiliates pushing its product across the globe.

This is the new business development model. In order to capitalize on this wave, you need to view the world through different lenses. It’s now about analyzing demographics and buying behaviors of the people on the Internet … MARKETING. It’s about building ALLINACES with companies that have products and services. And, it’s about developing new ways to connect and work with teams from around the globe … BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.

There will be many who will bemoan the fact that the world has changed … that jobs are increasingly being shipped overseas … that they can’t adapt. But, there will also be a lucky few who take the leap and reap the benefits.

The Recording Industry … Re-Incarnated

February 13th, 2009 By DavidChan Leave a Comment

Every industry has gone through a major overhaul over the last five to ten years. Industries from high tech software; real estate and lending and movies and videos have all felt some level of impact. One of the industries hardest hit is the music recording industry. Internet broadband speeds, digitization of music, and proliferation of MP3 players have all contributed to significant loss of revenue to musicians, songwriters, labels, retail stores, radio stations and more.

Simultaneously, the same events that have contributed to this lost revenue have also compressed the value chain associated with this industry. Now a musician who wants to get his or her music “heard” can just plug in a mike, flip on an electronic keyboard, switch the dial to record and upload to YouTube or Vimeo … Voila, instant “channel”. In this era of digital music uploads and downloads, business development takes on a whole meaning.

But, hold on! Don’t I need a manager anymore? And, what about the Label … aren’t they supposed to help me get my CDs into the record stores? Who’s going to make sure that the radio stations play my music? Who’s going to manage business development for me to make sure I can make money at my craft?

The music industry is walking a slippery slope. Business development in the old days of the music industry was performed by an artist’s manager. His / her job was to get the artist a contract with a Label and get the music into the radio stations. The Label’s job was to press the CD and on and on.

Developing new business today means creating a whole new value proposition in this industry. For example, the major recording Labels are all but gone. CD production is pretty much a thing of the past, thanks to digitization. Internet radio stations and XM radio are eating away at traditional analog radio stations. Even, music publishers are feeling the pinch.

Creating business development opportunities requires thinking outside the box in this new era. As a manager, one should consider how to propagate your artist’s music across multiple Internet and mobile channels. How many “friends” will want to connect to your artist and which ones do you select.

As a music publisher, you can develop business opportunities for your clients through interlinking each artist in your portfolio with each other. In essence, you’d be creating your own Internet music world. That, could in turn, accelerate your clients’ popularity and exposure to more fans.

If you’re the artist, you can take control of your own destiny and business development efforts by creating online profiles for targeted audiences to which you want to connect. Every tool that you’ll need is available online from MySpace to Facebook and YouTube.

The Internet is truly the largest democratic nation in the world. By its very nature of openness and “free speech” anyone has the opportunity to be heard. It’s up to the individual to use the tools and seize the opportunity.