“Don’t sell, help people buy” - Chris Fralic

On Friday, I came across a presentation called “Biz Dev for Startups” by Chris Fralic, a Partner at First Round Capital.  The presentation caught my eye for three reasons.

1. First, I just been hanging out with the crew from First Round at their Cincinnati Office Hours.


2. Second, Chris is a guy who knows a thing or two about Biz Dev, having previously held that responsibility at eBay, del.icio.us / Yahoo and TED Conferences.


3. Third, too many people misunderstand the difference between Business Development and Sales… especially companies that are trying to get a Brand Manager’s attention.

It is that last point that I think people really need to keep in mind.  As Chris outlines in his below presentation, Business Development is an “Exchange of Value” while Sales is generally just about generating revenue.

Every week, I probably get a dozen cold calls from companies that have a Sales mindset and our looking to tap into the bank account of our brands. Few of these brands get in the door.

But contrast that with the rare company