Our most common activity is helping clients to put together analyst briefings that get the analysts’ attention and lead to improved understanding of, and appreciation for, our clients’ products and services. Do it right, and the analyst is engaged, looking forward to your next interaction. Do it wrong and see how difficult getting your next briefing opportunity will be. This is clearly a high risk/high reward opportunity.
At first glance it seems like a pretty straightforward task. But our many years of experience as analysts taught us that this is far from true. For every one good, useful briefing there are at least twenty irrelevant, briefings that are really just a sales pitch, or a press pitch lacking any insight or useful information.
The issue is simply one of audience. The analysts are a very specific audience; and they have very specific interests and very specific needs. Great briefings recognize this, and marry insight about your business to the needs and research cycles of the relevant analysts for your business.
So how do you ensure your briefings are on point?
Over the years, we have seen a wide range of articles and blog posts on briefing best practices. They come from analysts, in firms both large and small, and include tips that are both highly insightful and utterly misleading. Read them all and you would end up paralyzed by the volume of dos and don’ts. Your head would be spinning from the myriad of different structures each analyst, journalist or blogger is peddling. The problem being, for every one that recommends you turn left, there is another that says turn right!
Help!
Having listened to thousands of briefings collectively as an analyst group – and yes, I truly do mean thousands – this is an area we feel very passionate about. Every year, we build over 100 briefing decks with our clients, and the reactions and results they generate are electric. “This is the best briefing we have ever received”, “This is the model every briefing should follow”, “Thank-you, that provided me with exactly what I needed” – these are just a few of the comments we have heard as response from analysts to these briefings.
We know we can’t build every briefing or be there for every company. But, we would love to see every briefing generate the results people want. Communicating effectively and creating real impact is why we started in this business.
Join Us on November 3rd for a Free, 30 Minute Webinar to Learn the Secrets
If you want to build briefings that analysts will value, appreciate, remember and act upon, please join us on November 3rd. We will be delivering a free 30-minute webinar to look at the mistakes people make, and set out the framework of the best practices we follow. You can register now at http://bit.ly/1vgBxqp
To access the webinar recording – please register first. Already registered? You can access this recording in our Members area.
Leave A Comment