The Trust Economy: Winning in CGT When Capital is Scarce

This roundtable was co-hosted by Olmec Connections and Cell & Gene Council. Article written by Nicola Ambler, Director of Olmec Connections.

The cell and gene therapy industry faces a stark reality.

As investment dollars freeze and purchasing decisions face unprecedented scrutiny, every deal now carries the weight of company survival. Traditional sales approaches that worked in the abundance of 2021 are failing spectacularly in 2025's harsh reality.

In this unforgiving market, trust has become the only currency that matters and the difference between being seen as "just another vendor" versus an indispensable partner.

Last week, we brought together six commercial leaders across the CGT ecosystem; an eclectic mix of commercial directors, VPs of sales, marketing leaders, (plus the voice of the customer in the shape of a biotech CTO) got together for a brutally honest 90-minute discussion. We delved into what's actually working and impacting purchasing decisions when capital is scarce.

The discussion revealed a fundamental shift in how business is getting done in our industry.

Here are the headlines:

• Trust has replaced price as the primary currency in purchasing decisions

• 99% of successful deals come through relationships, not cold outreach

• Flexible commercial models are essential when customers can't afford traditional pricing

• Technical credibility is non-negotiable for connecting with customers

• Customers want problem-solving content, not product pitches

• The buying committee extends beyond technical contacts

• Authentic expertise beats marketing budgets for building credibility

This article summarises the conversation into two sections: the reality of purchasing decisions today and the approaches to building trust and credibility that will position your brand as partner of choice.

How Purchasing Decisions Really Happen

The funding crisis has fundamentally altered customer psychology. Where companies once evaluated multiple "nice to have" solutions alongside mission-critical purchases, today's reality demands exclusive focus on initiatives that directly impact the lond (and sometimes short!) term survival of the company.

This shift goes beyond budget constraints, it's about organizational risk tolerance. Every purchasing decision is now scrutinized through the lens of whether it genuinely keeps the lights on or moves the company toward its next funding milestone.

Relationship-driven deal flow has become the dominant pattern. The most successful commercial teams have abandoned traditional pipeline-building tactics in favour of cultivating genuine industry relationships over months and years.

This isn't networking for the sake of it, rather moving towards becoming a trusted advisor who understands customer challenges deeply enough to propose solutions before they're even requested. The cold outreach campaigns that might have generated interest in abundant markets now face immediate scepticism from overwhelmed decision-makers.

The buying committee has expanded beyond traditional boundaries. Technical stakeholders who historically drove purchasing decisions now find themselves part of a broader evaluation team that includes financial, operational, and strategic voices:

• CFOs scrutinize every expenditure for immediate ROI

• Procurement teams evaluate supplier stability and contingency planning

• Quality departments assess regulatory compliance implications

• Commercial teams that only engage with their primary technical contact often discover late-stage objections from stakeholders they never knew existed

Commercial model flexibility has become a competitive necessity. Traditional pricing structures, particularly large upfront investments, simply don't align with customer funding realities.

The most successful suppliers are restructuring deals around customer cash flow constraints, offering creative arrangements that share risk and align payment schedules with development milestones. This requires suppliers to understand not just their customers' technical needs, but their financial runway and business model constraints.

The customer perspective on this shift is stark. As one biotech CTO explained:

"We can't afford massive upfront costs... Without any kind of assurance that it's going to work for our product. So, we have a lot of conversations with new and exciting technology companies like 'we would love to engage in this, but we need to know that you've got some degree of longevity and we're going to have to come to some arrangement where we can try it without having to bulk out £150,000 to buy a bit of kit."

Partnership viability concerns override feature comparisons. Customers are making supplier decisions based on long-term sustainability rather than immediate technical superiority. They're evaluating business continuity plans, financial stability, and succession strategies because their own product development depends on supplier longevity.

This has shifted evaluation criteria from "what can you do for us today?" to "will you be here when we need you in three years?"

Building Trust and Credibility

Technical credibility serves as the foundation for all commercial relationships. In an industry where decision-makers are often PhD scientists with decades of experience, surface-level product knowledge isn't sufficient.

Suppliers must demonstrate deep understanding of not just their own technology, but the broader scientific challenges their customers face. This means commercial teams need to engage in substantive technical discussions about regulatory pathways, manufacturing complexities, and industry-wide scientific challenges.

One strategic lead from a major supplier emphasized the critical role of technical expertise in commercial success:

"If you don't know the science, you would not connect with your customer. And how do you connect with the science, and you get to the number which eventually we need... but then there is a way and methodology and that is what my primary goal is here as a technical expert, educating my sales team... know the why and then you'll get there."

Content strategy has evolved from promotion to problem-solving. The most forward-thinking brands have long since shifted their marketing priories to a thought leadership approach, addressing industry-wide challenges rather than highlighting product features. This includes providing insights on regulatory changes, sharing perspectives on technical bottlenecks, and offering analysis of market trends.

Customers engage with content that helps them understand their environment better, not content that promotes specific solutions. The key is demonstrating industry expertise that extends beyond your immediate commercial interests, thereby positioning your organisation as a trusted, knowledgeable partner.

The customer's advice on this point is crystal clear:

"Bring me a solution to a problem that they have, not another 'me too' thing... Really know what you're selling and what problem you're solving. Anyone can make media. Not everyone can design media."

Trust erosion happens faster than trust building. Suppliers who over-promise capabilities or disappear after closing deals create lasting damage that extends beyond individual relationships. The CGT community is small and interconnected so reputation damage spreads quickly through informal networks.

Conversely, suppliers who consistently deliver on commitments and maintain engagement throughout the customer lifecycle build trust that generates referrals and repeat business.

Authentic relationship building requires patient investment. The most successful commercial approaches involve genuine participation in industry discourse without immediate commercial objectives. Attending smaller, focused events, and contributing meaningful insights to industry discussions build relationships based on mutual respect rather than transaction potential.

These relationships often take years to develop but generate the most sustainable commercial outcomes.

Collaborative value creation has replaced competitive positioning. The most trusted suppliers position themselves as industry collaborators rather than vendors. They share insights about market trends, make introductions between complementary organizations, and contribute to industry-wide problem-solving efforts.

This collaborative approach builds credibility and positions suppliers as essential industry participants rather than external service providers.

This collaborative mindset was perhaps best captured by one technology executive who emphasized the industry-first mentality required:

"Trust is the residue of promises kept... if people adopt other people's technologies and get to cost of goods and scale and quality, that's great. It's not about people buying our products, it's about solving that challenge that is plaguing the industry right now."

Checklist:

✅ Audit your content strategy. Replace product-focused content with industry insights, commentary, and genuine problem-solving perspectives that resonate with your customers.

✅ Develop flexible commercial models. Create risk-sharing arrangements, milestone-based payments, and creative value exchanges that work with constrained customer budgets.

✅ Map the complete buying committee. Identify and engage CFOs, procurement, quality teams, and other stakeholders beyond your primary technical contact.

✅ Invest in technical credibility. Ensure your commercial teams understand the science deeply enough to have consultative conversations, not just sales pitches.

✅ Focus on relationship quality over pipeline quantity. Build deeper connections with 10-20 key prospects rather than chasing 400 leads.

✅ Attend smaller, focused networking events. Prioritize smaller, more focused industry gatherings where authentic conversations can happen without transaction pressure.

✅ Establish post-sale support protocols. Guarantee response times and maintain engagement after deals close to build long-term trust.

✅ Be transparent about business continuity. Especially for startups, have honest conversations about funding runway, succession planning, and contingency strategies.

The Bottom Line

The CGT industry has fundamentally shifted from abundance to scarcity. Trust has become the only currency that matters.

Those brands mastering educational content that genuinely empowers customers and building trust through genuine partnerships are the ones maintaining commercial momentum while competitors fade.

Those clinging to transactional sales models will struggle.