Marshall Erickson

In this article, we focus on biochar business development success drivers. Actions, capturing more sales and building a consistent, growing sales pipeline. We skip the basic biz dev 101 stuff and go right to biochar-specific actions.

Let’s first define the biochar environment.  In North America, biochar is new and evolving.  It has many promising applications, some more established than others.  Unlike other materials, it’s not a proven, low risk, accepted application. It can be tricky, and application outcomes vary depending on biochar characteristics and how it’s deployed.  There are a lot of misconceptions and misinformation out there.  

End-Users, solution providers, project funders, and others get uneasy about change, unknowns, and complexity. All need to feel comfortable that biochar will work for them. 

While the big distribution/sales relationship is great, it’s not there for everyone.  The goal is (1) building a growing, diverse pipeline of high-quality sales prospects, and (2) closing a lot of sales.

Biochar requires a specific business development approach and skillset to make this happen.   Here we present key success drivers. 

Focus on practical, science-backed, proven solutions.  Specific solution categories and viable prospects within these categories.  Biochar is a valuable soil amendment in certain situations. It’s great in conservation practices when deployed the right way in the right situation. Details make a difference.  It must make operations and financial sense.  Focus on the “right” prospects and solutions. You’ll save time and close more sales.

Know how to work the biochar use network and each player.  Sales grow when a community does more projects using biochar.Projects involve end-users, solution providers, project funders, and others. Being able to effectively work in this environment increases sales success.  It may make sense for you to lead biochar use/sales development in your community or region.  You need a combination of deep biochar knowledge, project application experience, and strong sales/marketing skills on your team. 

Make sure you have a complete team.  As stated, biochar is new and can be complex. Buyers process through a combination of technical, operations, financial, and risk/reward considerations.  Being able to effectively address these in a way resonating with your audience closes more sales.  Biochar application experience increases credibility and sales.  Biochar knowledge covers the entire cycle (source, production, use). Knowing the science of biochar production and use is beneficial. As is understanding operations and financial considerations in its use across various application scenarios.  Contract or hire to fill gaps.

Do these actions, and you’ll have a consistent, growing biochar revenue stream.  It’s all about execution. Contract or hire to fill gaps and generate the results you want.