Sucking Less at BDBuilding better habits for creating and maintaining high-value relationships

Ben Drucker

@bendrucker

Founder, Valet.io

ben@valet.io

I EXCEL ATMAKING THE INITIAL CONNECTION

Finding Smart People Asking for a Meeting

Offering Help

I STRUGGLE WITHMAINTAING THE RELATIONSHIP

Making the Right “Ask” Keeping in Regular Communication

Defining + Expressing My Expectations

B U T

IT’S ALL ABOUTME.DERIVING VALUEIS JUST AS IMPORTANT ASCREATING VALUE

3 Relationship Buckets

Mentors

Peers

Customers

Founders and operators who can help me with big problems because they have been in my shoes and see the big picture.

Friends who keep me sane, motivated, and expose me to new things. Best source of future team members.

Anyone who makes money from my product, both directly (paying customers) and indirectly (consultants).

I’m kicking one bucket off my list: Partners.

Relationships are built between

PEOPLEN O T

COMPANIES

Why?

Mentor Checklist☐ Deep knowledge of one of my customer segments:

nonprofits, education, politics

☐ Deep knowledge of one of my core infrastructure components: payments, databases, enterprise APIs

☐ Experience building software, managing products, and scaling teams

☐ Able to devote time to me on a regular basis

☐ Cares enough to ask hard questions and make honest observations

Maintaining Mentor RelationshipsAfter the First Meeting

Ad hoc conversations don’t provide lasting value. Anyone who passes the checklist will have something new to offer as I hit new milestones. Agree on a regular interval, venue, and length for discussions.

Before Each Discussion (48-72 hours in advance)

☐Email: Send latest metrics, news, and other updates. “Catching up” is a poor use of face-to-face or phone time.

☐Brainstorm: What are we going to talk about? List 2-3 company growth topics and 2-3 founder/personal topics.

☐Research: What’s my ask? Can I leverage their relationships to solve a problem?

Returning Value for MentorsReciprocating Substantively

A good mentor is not expecting any immediate gain from the relationship. Adding unexpected value builds a stronger bond.

Where Can I Add Value?• Hiring: I know a lot of talented people and can help spread the

word or actively source candidates.

• Domain Expertise: I have valuable on-the-ground knowledge and can help a founder/investor understand a new space.

• Tech: I get to use a lot of bleeding edge technology and can advise more mature companies on new products.

Peer Checklist☐ Hearing about their work motivates me to work

harder

☐ Deep passion for solving a problem and share their domain expertise with me

☐ Asks to introduce me to people in their network who could help me

☐ Takes risks to pursue big rewards

☐ Tells me when to relax, take a break, and enjoy myself

Customer Checklist

☐ Willing to experiment with new ideas and products

☐ Has the bandwidth to use the product effectively

☐ Wants to grow, not just fulfill a temporary need

☐ Has big ideas about how to use technology, but needs help actually implementing it

☐ Refers me to other customers without me asking

Tools

`

RelateIQRelationship Management

GmailEmail

NumbersSpreadsheets

TinyLetterNewsletter

Bucket Goals

MENTOR PEER CUSTOMER

SIZE 5 25 20

COMMUNICATION FREQUENCY

Bi-Monthly 1 email, 1 call

Bi-Monthly 1 social, 1 email

Weekly email, monthly call

ASKSVision + Management

Influencer Intros New Ideas

IntroductionsProduct Feedback

Referrals

I GIVERecruiting Connections

New Tools/Ideas Proof of Impact

New Ideas Domain Expertise

Introductions

Tech Expertise Personal Attention

Fundraising Expertise

OVERCOME Fear of being refused or ignored

Being guarded/posturing

Lying to avoid disappointing a

customer

HONESTYThe Golden Rule

Acknowledging hard problems is the first step towards solving hard problems.