Being-number-oneAs we often cite in our various articles and videos, survey after survey shows that analysts are influential in over half of all enterprise IT decisions. For most technology firms this quite simply means the analysts can help make or break more than half of their sales pipeline.

Ensuring that the analyst community is supporting your case, rather than killing your opportunities, is a long-term game. Many companies we talk to abandon engagement because the one or two interactions they had bore no fruit, so the whole exercise was dismissed as being impossible. But the truth is few companies get results on day one. Analysts need to build confidence in you, they need to see evidence of relevance, and they need to feel that suggesting your name to their clients is safe and not risky.

PR Week published a more detailed article written by our Managing Director, Simon Levin, discussing the key elements that you need to think about when engaging the analyst community. It talks about the right timing and the right process. It can hopefully help you to plan your campaign and avoid the common pitfalls.