Putting together an advisory board? You’ve come to the right place. At CTC, we’ve been delivering expert advisory board solutions for over 30 years. Here are 7 quick tips to immediately add value to your next project:
1. Start with the End in Mind
- Clearly define objectives and desired outcomes.
- What does success look like? How will it be measured?
- Are you refining a clinical development plan? Interpreting trial data? Identifying educational gaps?
- Outcome-driven objectives will shape everything from advisor selection to agenda design.
- Clear goals ensure insights are actionable and aligned with internal strategy.
2. Recruit the Right Mix of Advisors
- Aim for diversity in experience, geography, gender, age, specialty and mindset.
- Diversity of thought (pluralism) leads to richer discussion, reduces bias, and avoids echo chambers.
- Include both early-career and seasoned KOLs to gather a range of perspectives.
3. Invest in Pre-Meeting Preparation
- Share a concise pre-read with background data, meeting goals, and key questions - advisors offer more valuable insights when they're well-informed.
- Use a pre-meeting survey to gather individual feedback.
- Strong pre-work maximizes live meeting time for deeper discussion and complex problem-solving.
4. Facilitate Thoughtfully
- Use open-ended questions and call on specific advisors to initiate conversation.
- Engage quieter participants and manage dominant voices.
- If a KOL is moderating, ensure they're prepped on the content and meeting objectives.
- Advisors appreciate clarity. Be direct.
- Consider agency support to develop high-impact discussion questions.
5. Run Creative Workshops
- Integrate creative workshop formats to boost engagement.
- Workshop insights often differ from plenary discussions.
- Breakout rooms (virtual or in-person) allow more voices to be heard and energize the agenda.
- For virtual boards, prioritize strong moderation and interactive elements like polling.
6. Capture and Analyze Insights
- Capture notes in real-time, focusing on key action items.
- Follow up with a brief internal email summarizing the most important takeaways.
- Create a professional meeting report with key themes, critical insights, and strategic recommendations.
- Synthesize insights into clear next steps:
- How can the advisors' direction inform tactics and strategy?
- Keep the report concise and digestible.
CTC has an example advisory board report that you can download for free as a template!
7. Thank the Advisors and Debrief
- Send a personalized thank-you message to advisors.
- Debrief internally and with your agency partner to determine next steps.
Want to elevate your next advisory board? Let's talk. At CTC, we help pharma teams design and deliver high-impact engagements that drive strategy forward.