How to master the Analyst Briefing – From the Analysts themselves

The benefit of briefing an analyst is twofold: As they play an important role in influencing a buyer’s purchasing decision, it is paramount that they have an accurate perspective of your company and the solutions you offer.   As they know the market exceptionally well, they can offer counsel to guide you – including future roadmaps, messaging and even route to market.   Eskenzi has been helping our clients to develop world-beating approaches to analyst relations, both as part of their individual programs, and the IT Security CISO and Analyst Forum, which we’ve been hosting for over a decade.   The following points will provide the key elements, based on extensive interviews with analysts themselves, of a successful analyst briefing.  

1. Customise the briefing to the analyst: “Ideally, talk about customers and, if possible, name them – and this can be kept confidential. Where and how are they using a vendor’s offering? What did they need in place, and what hurdles did they have to overcome?” 
2. Be prepared to answer questions and follow up with in-depth information if requested: Know in advance of the briefing what the key points you want the analyst to understand are and remember about the strengths of your product offering in the market and build the presentation to deliver those points.” 
3. Leave the analysts with 3 or 4 salient points: “Analysts draw information from all kinds of sources, but for vendors, provide points they will remember and hit them home: Keep presentations brief and offer electronic copies of documentation.” 
4. For experienced analysts, don’t waste time: “For analysts with many years of experience in information security, let’s not spend precious time on slides that talk about “increasing threats” etc. – let’s spend more of the available time talking about your approach, your challenges, maybe I can share some of our research that would be helpful to you. Consider whether you really need to include facts or opinions from another analyst firm (e.g., “according to Gartner”) when you’re speaking to someone from a different firm.” It should be planned for there to be time left at the end of the briefing for any questions plus an open discussion to learn what the analyst thinks about what you have said.”  
5. Be honest about products and services: “Strip away the marketing and what is left? Much time can be saved by cutting to the chase and there is an intrinsic NDA, part of the analyst’s code”.  
6. Don’t overload the presentation: “Too much market analysis and propaganda that the analyst already knows, and discounts can put them off engaging.”  
7. Keep in mind not all analysts are the same: “Analysts differ – some are more technically oriented, some investment oriented, etc. Know a little bit about the analyst’s company (and the analyst) and try to have someone available who can speak to the topics that intersect with areas where the vendor has a market offering and where the analyst is strong.” 

One caveat we’d add to this is that all analyst conversations are different, as are all media interviews. What works well for one conversation may not work for another. However, considering these points in advance of an analyst conversation will at least provide you with a baseline from which to begin preparation.