When you’re targeting enterprise buyers but haven’t engaged successfully – or even started to engage – with IT analyst firms like Gartner, Forrester and IDC, you’re competing with one hand tied behind your back.
Over 80% of enterprise software purchases involve analyst input, yet most growth-stage vendors don’t realize how deeply analysts shape buying decisions – long before prospects ever contact you. Enterprise buyers complete 70% of their research independently, including consulting analysts to define problems, identify solutions and build shortlists. If analysts don’t understand your differentiation, you’re excluded from consideration before evaluation begins.
This resource center provides best practice guidance on why analyst engagement matters, how analyst influence actually works, which firms to engage with and what ROI to expect. Whether you’re at an early stage in building your enterprise pipeline or already selling to Fortune 1000 accounts, these resources will help you with your analyst strategy that accelerates deals and creates competitive advantage.
Most opportunities you never know about. Enterprise buyers complete 70% of their research before contacting any vendors. Discover why analyst visibility determines whether you’re ever even considered.
Most opportunities you never know about. Enterprise buyers complete 70% of their research before contacting any vendors. Discover why analyst visibility determines whether you’re ever even considered.
Gartner and Forrester definitely aren’t the whole story. Understand the specialized firms, regional analysts and vertical experts who influence enterprise purchases in your specific market and how you can use them to create business success.
Further Resources
Further Resources
Analyst insights reach buyers through AI search, industry media, consultants, peer networks and events – not just reports. Learn how this ecosystem shapes purchasing decisions before you’re in the room.
What’s the business impact of analyst visibility? Better understand how investment of time, and occasionally money, can deliver significant ROI and how to calculate that for your own business.
At the simplest level analyst can influence who considers you and your likelihood of closing that deal. This simple calculator allows you to ballpark this for your own firm.
Often analysts are just added to the list of PR contacts. Yet this fails pretty much every time as what they do, what they need to do that, and their methods of influence are wholly different.
The principal method of engaging analysts is to brief them. That is to explain your clients, business, differentiated value proposition and vision to address buyer needs.
In this webinar three specialist firms shared case examples of how they have specifically delivered business impact and results to clients that you could emulate.
About The Skills Connection
As a team of former senior analysts, with over 150 years of experience at Gartner alone, we offer our knowledge and expertise to help technology companies improve their relationships with the analyst community and better engage with the market to drive enterprise referrals.