We have been more successful at the Marcus Evans Summit than other events

“The Marcus Evans format is very effective, a very concentrated way to meet potential new clients. We have started new projects with one to two groups from every Evolution Summit we have attended” said Matt Marano, Chief Commercial Officer, Rosa & Co LLC, a solution provider at Marcus Evans Evolution Summits in North America.

What possibilities and business opportunities did the Summits bring your way?

Before attending the Evolution Summit, we had done most of our business with large pharma companies, but had gradually realized that smaller companies also had a very clear need for our portfolio. There was a good opportunity for us to gain new business. Our goal at the Summit was to gain traction with smaller organizations that had clinical pipelines, and we were very successful with that. Every Summit has led to at least one new client that was not on our radar.

If you had approached them directly, would they have given you the same chance to work together?

It is difficult to know, but one of the advantages of the Evolution Summit and one of the reasons why we attend, is that the decision-makers know they will meet vendors like us on the sell side, and are open to new solutions.

They receive information on all the solution providers beforehand, so they already know who we are, we know what they do, and we start our scheduled conversation with more knowledge than just a cold call. The real value lies in the behind-the-scenes work that Marcus Evans does to make it easier for warm conversations to take place.

Is it difficult to access decision-makers in this industry?

It tends to be very difficult, because the decision-makers you want to speak to tend to be busy, and perhaps in a different location. With smaller companies, it can be a bit easier to get an audience, but the Evolution Summit gets all those decision-makers in the same room. The speed dating format works really well to start building a relationship.

How would you compare the Summit with other industry events?

In my experience, the Evolution Summit is one of the very best, if not the best I have worked with. It is a very resource effective strategy for us. Our experience has been very positive, and I cannot say the same about other conferences in this field, including some of the big names. Most of the time, their focus has been on in-licensing or out-licensing a program, so the conversation with a service provider like us is further down their list of priorities. The Evolution Summit is very different. People are actually showing up because they are actively interested in exploring service and product providers they should work with. It is much more focused than other events, and has been a lot more successful.

Any comments on the Marcus Evans team?

They work very hard, and it is clear they understand, especially for a player like us, that the investment we are making is not a minor one. They want to help us succeed. We do not feel that we are left out on our own. I have nothing but positives to say.

 Find out more about the upcoming Evolution Summit.