Case Study:
IPH Group

Executive Summary

From 2023 to 2025, Remarkable Results partnered with IPH Group, a leading intellectual property (IP) services provider, to enhance business development (BD) capabilities, strengthen client engagement processes, and improve strategic IP advisory services. The initiative was designed to equip IPH professionals—primarily patent attorneys, BD teams, and senior advisors—with structured approaches to business growth, industry engagement, and commercial IP strategy.  

By refining BD frameworks, improving industry engagement strategies, and embedding commercialisation best practices, our work enabled IPH professionals to better articulate the value of IP protection, develop stronger client relationships, and expand revenue opportunities.  

Our experience leading BD transformation in highly specialised, regulated industries such as IP law and commercialisation reinforces our ability to support universities. While this project was focused on helping IPH strengthen its own BD capability, the insights and strategies we developed are directly relevant to universities looking to enhance their BD efforts, industry partnerships, and IP commercialisation pathways.  

Background

IPH Group is the largest intellectual property services group in the Asia-Pacific, operating across Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. The firm provides expert patent, trade mark, and commercial IP advisory services to a wide range of clients, including corporations, startups, research institutions, and legal professionals.  

As the IP landscape becomes more competitive and commercially driven, IPH recognised the need to:

• Strengthen business development & relationship management capabilities  

• Improve the effectiveness of client engagement strategies  

• Equip patent attorneys and BD teams with structured BD methodologies  

• Enhance advisory services to help clients protect and leverage IP effectively  

From 2023 to 2025, Remarkable Results worked with IPH leaders, patent attorneys, and BD professionals to develop and implement a structured BD capability uplift programme that aligned industry engagement, IP advisory services, and commercial IP strategies.  

Challenges

IPH faced several key BD and engagement challenges that necessitated a structured, scalable transformation:  

• Limited BD & Sales Capabilities Among IP Professionals:  Many patent attorneys and senior advisors were highly technical but required stronger skills in business development, relationship management, and strategic client engagement

• Need for a More Structured Approach to Industry Engagement:  IPH professionals needed a repeatable, scalable BD process for engaging corporate clients, legal teams, and commercialisation stakeholders

• Gaps in IP Strategy Communication & Value Articulation:  IP professionals required training in how to translate complex IP protection strategies into commercially compelling value propositions

• Expanding Role of IP in Industry Partnerships & Commercial Strategy:  With growing interest in IP monetisation, licensing, and technology transfer, IPH needed to equip its teams with frameworks for advising clients on commercial pathways

• Lack of Standardised BD Processes & KPIs for Client Engagement:  BD activities across different IPH firms were not always aligned, making it difficult to measure success and track revenue impact.  

The BD Capability & IP Strategy Transformation Solution  

To address these challenges, we designed a custom BD and industry engagement framework tailored for IP professionals, focusing on:  

• Business Development Capability Uplift for IP Attorneys & BD Teams  

• Industry Engagement & Strategic Relationship Management  

• IP Advisory & Commercialisation Best Practices  

• Standardised BD Processes, KPIs & Performance Tracking.

1. BD Capability Uplift for IP Attorneys & BD Teams  

• BD Training & Sales Coaching for IP Professionals:  

  • Designed and delivered structured BD training for patent attorneys, BD managers, and senior advisors

  • Focused on client relationship management, opportunity qualification, and consultative sales techniques.  

• Building a Consultative BD Approach in IP Law:  

  • Developed practical frameworks for identifying client needs, articulating value, and structuring IP service engagements.  

2. Industry Engagement & Strategic Relationship Management  

• Structured BD Playbook for IPH Professionals:  Created a step-by-step industry engagement playbook for IP professionals to follow in client acquisition, opportunity development, and long-term relationship management

• Corporate Engagement & High-Value IP Advisory Strategies:  Provided frameworks for strengthening engagement with corporate legal teams, technology companies, and industry bodies.  

3. Standardised BD Processes, KPIs & Performance Tracking  

• Defining BD Success Metrics & Performance Standards:  Developed a structured KPI framework to measure BD activity, client engagement success, and revenue impact 

• Aligning BD Strategies Across IPH Firms:  Ensured consistent BD methodologies and performance tracking across different firms within the IPH network.  

Implementation Timeline

Phase 1: BD Strategy & Industry Engagement Foundations (2023)  

• Mapped key BD capability gaps and structured a tailored BD training & industry engagement programme

• Developed a custom BD playbook & consulting framework for IP professionals.  

Phase 2: Training Delivery & BD Process Implementation (2024)  

• Delivered interactive BD training workshops for IP professionals

• Implemented standardised BD methodologies across IPH firms

• Conducted real-world BD simulations & live engagement coaching.  

Phase 3: Embedding, KPI Tracking & Long-Term Adoption (2025)  

• Provided ongoing BD coaching & reinforcement

• Monitored BD performance metrics & client engagement success rates

• Ensured alignment between BD strategy, IP advisory, and commercialisation opportunities where relevant.  

Outcomes & Impact

The IPH BD & Industry Engagement Capability Uplift (2023–2025) delivered measurable improvements in BD effectiveness, client engagement, and strategic IP advisory services:  

• Stronger Industry & Client Engagement Capabilities:  

  • Increased relationship depth with corporate clients, law firms, and technology companies  

  • Enhanced ability to translate IP strategy into compelling client value propositions.  

• Improved BD Skills Across IPH Professionals:  

  • Trained over 100 IP attorneys, BD professionals, and legal advisors in structured BD methodologies 

  • Increased opportunity qualification & deal conversion rates.  

• More Structured Approach to IP Commercialisation & Advisory Services:  

  • Developed clearer pathways for IP monetisation where appropriate 

  • Provided practical frameworks for licensing discussions and technology transfer advisory.  

Why This Matters for Universities

• We bring industry best practices in BD and client engagement to the university sector

• Our work in IP protection and commercialisation informs our approach to research engagement and industry partnerships  

• By working with leaders in the IP industry, we ensure universities benefit from real-world BD strategies.  

Conclusion

Our work with IPH (2023–2025) demonstrates how we apply world-class BD strategies to highly specialised professional services sectors, reinforcing our expertise in structured BD, strategic relationship management, and industry engagement.  

For universities looking to strengthen their BD and IP engagement strategies, our industry-first approach ensures best-practice BD, stakeholder engagement, and commercial impact.