Five More Basics for a Successful Analyst Relations Briefing
In a recent post titled “Five Basics for a Good Analyst Briefing,” we looked at some of the key fundamentals for a good analyst briefing. Today, I bring you five more basics in the list of best practices that you can adopt to ensure your company is putting its best foot forward in its analyst relations efforts.
#1 – Let the analyst talk
While the purpose of a vendor briefing is for companies to tell analysts about their products, savvy vendors recognize that analysts have something useful to say and deserve a listen. Too many companies plow through dozens of slides sticking tightly to their scripts and often end the call without the analyst getting one word in. Most senior analysts will not let this happen and will interrupt if they have questions or comments. But don’t make them do that. Good etiquette means you should pause often and ask whether the analyst has something to say. Better yet, make sure you plan to schedule time at the end of your briefing to specifically hear from the analyst, who can provide valuable insight and direction for your company. Contrary to common perception, analysts try to add value on their calls whether or not the vendor is a paying client.
#2 -Respect the analyst’s time
Bottom line, industry analysts are among the most busy folks you’ll work with – and if they’re not, they’re probably not worth your company’s time. In addition to tracking hundreds of vendors, they’re busy answering client inquiries, doing research, giving presentations/webinars, working on consulting projects, and writing reports. It’s a known fact that analysts spend a lot of time on vendor briefings although they often prefer to be doing their other work. Therefore, it’s essential to schedule only the amount of time needed and abide by the schedule by starting and ending meetings on time. Also, make sure your technology works; delays around incorrect Web conferencing logins, for example, are irritating and usually avoidable. TIP: resend web conferencing details about 10 minutes before the call so the information is at the top of the analyst’s e-mail box (Gartner analysts most particularly appreciate this).
#3 – Prepare a proper agenda and follow it
Having a proper agenda will help keep your analyst briefings on track. When possible, this agenda should go to the analyst ahead of time for approval. While this is not a popular practice, the agenda provides a tool for vendors and analysts to keep the briefings under control and make sure important topics are not overlooked. Too many vendors focus exclusively on their technology. It’s important to ensure that non-technology subjects like company, customers, financials, investors, management and industry backdrop are included in the briefing to ensure analysts have the proper perspective.
#4- Go easy on the PowerPoint® slides
Nothing makes an analyst more frustrated than when they see that a vendor briefing presentation contains more slides than there are minutes allotted for the briefing. Too many slides leaves the analyst confused and not completely sure what is important for their takeaway. You need to make sure your presentation conveys a clear message and gets to the points you think are most important. The best briefings supplement the presenters, not vice versa. Many analysts want to see your product in action; but of course these product demonstrations should be manageable and support the business messages you are promoting. Again, make sure that there is time for questions and discussion to hear from the analyst so you know if he/she has understood your presentation and make sure to get the valuable information they can offer.
#5 – Follow up with the analyst
It’s amazing that many times after a vendor expends extensive effort to find and brief an analyst, they do nothing to follow up after their initial call. Companies should continue to build the relationship by keeping analysts aware of news and asking for their opinions or ideas when appropriate. It is a fallacy that analysts will only give ideas to paying clients. While paying vendor clients do receive more involved interactions, most analysts are willing to have meaningful discussions with non-paying vendors after a briefing. Companies should strive to build memorable connections with analysts which are achieved by faithful, honest and interesting communications.
Bottomline: analysts are top influencers with your customers and among industry peers—nothing should be spared in applying correct etiquette to ensure you make the most of your valuable time with these high-powered people.
