Making the analysts work for you

How well do the people who represent your company handle their contact with the analysts? Do they have the skills, confidence and experience to make every opportunity count?

Some of your executives, marketing people and product managers may have a natural talent for building these relationships. But analyst engagement won’t be their day job, and this is not an area where the gifted amateur is likely to succeed.

The stakes are high. Analysts are consulted in over 80% of all enterprise IT buying decisions. Getting it right can make the difference between a strong referral pipeline and a dustbowl of wasted opportunities.

To make the most of your interaction with the analyst community, you need all your spokespeople to know the game and know what they’re doing. They need to understand the crucial differences between talking to analysts and dealing with prospects or journalists. They need to know what information the analysts need and how they can get them on side. Subject knowledge and a passing familiarity with industry analysts will not be enough.

Those who lead your initiatives must be able to help the analysts understand your business vision and market engagement strategy, as well as your offering. The analyst needs to feel confident about your business, products and services and be clear about where and how you fit particular market needs.

For us, analyst engagement is the day job. It’s what we do – and it’s what we know, better than anybody. We know the conventions and the psychology, when to push and when to back off. We know the pressures the analysts are under and the evidence that’s needed to gain their confidence.

Our team, entirely made up of former senior Gartner analysts and executives, has worked with 250 companies in the last 10 years, helping each of them build and shape their essential story. With our experience, expertise and assistance, these clients have been able to exploit the full potential of the analyst channel and achieve positive, tangible results – from accelerated sales growth to improved MQ positions.

Online training to transform your spokesperson performance

Our online training is aimed at anyone charged with the task of representing your company and engaging with the analysts – briefing them, participating in analyst days or meeting analysts one-to-one, online, at the office or at events.

The training will enable these individuals to up their game, confidently applying their business knowledge and experience in the right way to develop analysts’ understanding and appreciation of your business.

Each workshop is delivered live online (e.g. Zoom, GoToMeeting, Teams) by one of our former senior analysts lasting 3.5 hours, including our briefing best practices module or 2 hours without. To make each session as interactive as possible we limit the attendees to 2 to 3 per session. Alternatively, the workshop can be delivered on-site.

The intensive online workshop covers:

  • How the analysts impact your business
  • Who are the analysts and what do they really do?
  • The critical differences between analyst, media and prospect communications
  • What information you should communicate for maximum impact and why
  • Analyst briefing best practices (optional module)

If you would like further information, please email Andrea Thomas.

To find out more about our services and discuss how we can help you, contact us now.

“I would recommend them to anyone, except the competition!”

CMO