I recently spoke on a panel with Inverness Graham’s Matt Moran about best practices for sourcing private equity investment opportunities. The focus of our discussion ranged from what technologies we use to empower more effective and efficient business development efforts to how we motivate the entire team to generate investment opportunities regardless of their aptitude for BD. The conference was chaired by Milestone Partner’s Dan Ryan, another business development pro who has a proven track record of success. Here’s a synopsis of what Dan discussed. To read more please see the attached presentation.
Why should firms hire a dedicated business development professional?
- Quality of actionable deal flow is one of the top factors for a fund’s success
- Consistent deal volume
- Intermediary community is still very fragmented
- Brand / message consistency – particularly important in changing market
- Feet on the street – network with relevant lenders, service providers, competitors, etc.
What makes a great head of business development?
Professional attributes:
- Corporate finance background
- Must be able to speak intelligently about investment opportunities and portfolio companies
- Intimate knowledge of firm’s investment philosophy/criteria
- Strong network or ability to quickly build one
- Can act as an effective liaison between deal sources and investment committee
- Ability to champion a deal (selectively)
- Ability to champion a banker for sell-side mandate (selectively)
Personal attributes:
- Organized
- Open-minded/thoughtful
- Executive presence
- People person
- Ability to let guard down/have fun
- Building rapport with deal sources is important
Click on the link below to access Dan’s presentation:
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