When an industry analyst wants to cover a brand or business, it is a good sign that the products and services are making an impact. A company that gets coverage in Gartner or Forrester promotes its value and credibility within a market or industry.

The advantage a brand gains from coverage via an analyst is tough to quantify in the context of revenue. However, the fact is that analysts have connections to the right people. That is the people who might invest in your business and buy into your products and services. Inclusion in an analyst report or research paper can be more valuable than writing hundreds of blog posts with the potential market reach. When a large enterprise approaches an analyst asking about the best products or services, you want to be on their list.

Building a relationship with analysts is a topic in its own right. In this article, the focus will be the best way to pitch to analysts effectively to help secure your long term goals.

Analysts are not the same as journalists

The critical thing to remember when pitching to an analyst is that they are not looking for an award-winning news story. The analyst is not a journalist, and this is where marketing professionals can quickly go wrong when delivering their pitch.

David Rossiter manages analyst relations for several Havard clients and has put together a comprehensive view here. In short, a journalist wants to know anything that makes a good story, whereas the analyst needs data and information.

The job of an analyst is to pull data together and present the trends of an industry in a more meaningful way. If a business feeds an analyst an overview of the company background with some spiel about why they are the best, chances are there won’t be much interest.

What interests an analyst?

When speaking with an analyst, they do not need to know about your leadership team, organization structure, or business roots. If there comes the point where they decide to feature you, the analyst may ask for additional information at that time.

The focus of a pitch must be on the things an analyst wants to know such as;

• What are the business challenges that your solution solves?
• What research have you done in the industry space that shows why your solution solves a problem?
• Is there data to back-up your product or service?
• What concerns are there for your business?
• What are the assumptions you have made about the market?

An analyst knows the industry they focus on and need something unique and inspiring from your pitch. While you know your company better than them, an analyst probably knows the other fifty companies in your sector very well. They can cut apart fact and fiction.

Senior Analyst at ESG, Nik Rouda, says the best approach is to “talk to me like I’m your grandmother that doesn’t know anything about your company.” Some of the topics will be new to the analyst and some well known, so when pitching, a business needs to establish the right depth.

Being prepared

Going into a meeting or pitch with an analyst without preparation is destined for failure. Firstly, a research firm like Gartner will be looking for large businesses to satisfy their enterprise customers. If your brand doesn’t fit the mold of the analyst firm, pitch elsewhere rather than chasing them down.
Second, if you visit the analyst firm website, it will provide a list of analysts by their coverage area. Going back to Gartner, they have a fully searchable database. When looking to pitch your business, make sure it is to the relevant analyst. Research them on LinkedIn and find out what their interests are, posts they like and share.
Finally, if you are going to refer to reports like the Forrester Wave in your pitch, make sure you read them. It is common for marketers to skim read publications for the essential bits, but analysts will know them inside and out. In doing the same, you will prepare yourself for the questions that follow. Similarly, if your goal is to appear in the Magic Quadrant, gear the pitch towards the end game and show that you understand the criteria for achieving that.

Don’t just tell them, show them

If you want to demonstrate to the analyst that your business is better than the competition, show them. There is no harm in explaining why you are pitching to them if it provides the necessary facts for the analyst to consider featuring you. The ideal option would be to present a case study from a high profile user.

Prove that you are there for the long-term

Analysts will have spoken to many businesses and vendors from their time in the industry. Your business pitch to them needs to present the case as to why you will be around for the long-haul. The analyst will not want to feature a product or service that isn’t going to stick around for their customers.

The best tactic in a pitch is to be open and honest about where your business is today. If you show passion for a product and prove its worth, they will buy into it. Don’t tell an analyst that you are a multi-billion dollar business on day one, as they will see straight through the marketing spiel.

Summary

This article gives some main themes for businesses looking to pitch to analysts. The job of an analyst is to validate the viability of your business, ensuring that it is credible to feature with their firm. Your pitch needs to give them the confidence that pursuing a relationship with you is for their benefit. Analysts have the network and connections to help you achieve your goals. Putting the work in at the beginning will pay dividends in the long run.