OAC can identify and help develop strategies to maximize opportunities for doing business with other companies.  The scope of business development projects often includes present and prospective customers, suppliers, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and strategic alliances.  Business development research projects typically address the following types of information.

What is the customer's strategic plan?

·         What are the customer's most important objectives in pursuing the specific business opportunity?

·         What is the customer's current situation concerning the specific business opportunity, including the purchase of specified products/services?

·         How does the customer see your products/services fitting into its intermediate to longer-term business strategy?

·         What are the most important factors affecting the customer's decision?

·         What are the quality and quality issues involved in the decision?

·         What are the maximum price and minimum terms the customer's strategic plan is willing to accept?

·         Does the customer have a hidden agenda regarding the specific business opportunity?

·         What is the customer's timetable and what are the factors driving this timetable.

What is the customer's view of your company and its products/services?

·         What is the customer's evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of your company and its products/services?

·         What were the basis and contributing factors for this evaluation?

·         Is there any member of the key decision making team who has a bias against your company, and if so, what is the reason for this negative view?

·         Is the customer team influenced by any external advisor's recommendation, and if so, is the recommendation positive or negative?

What is the customer's negotiating strategy and tactical action plan?

·         What are the customer's negotiating strategy and tactics to produce the price and terms it wants in the contract?

·         What flexibility in negotiating price and terms does the customer's strategic plan allow in negotiating the contract?

·         What is the customer's level of commitment to ensuring the negotiations result in a contract?

·         What are the internal reasons, pressures and other motivations behind the commitment to negotiate and complete a contract?

·         Which terms are negotiable, which are not, and why?

·         Has the customer's negotiating team set any benchmarks, timelines or scheduled a deadline for the negotiations?

·         Are any alternatives to the present negotiations under serious consideration?

What are the competitive issues?

·         How does your company rank among those companies considered for the contract?

·         What are the advantages that the customer considers the competition has over your company?

·         What are the advantages that the customer considers your company has over the competition?

·         What is the customer's evaluation of completing a transaction with your company and the competitor; what are the pivotal issues, concerns, roadblocks, advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and preferences?

What does the customer know about your company?

·         What is the customer's level of knowledge about your company in regard to this business opportunity?

·         Does the negotiating team have a source of confidential information inside your company?