| By John Ryan |
Article Rating: |
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| June 10, 2009 10:00 AM EDT |
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2,160 |
For some companies over the years, it became good fashion to give analysts a hard time or feel intimidated by them. Analysts for the most part are pretty good at helping provider companies think through issues. This is great news for a provider who is trying to frame their story and tell it in a way that works for the buyer.
A strong majority of analysts are quite collegial, friendly and want to be helpful. You may run into a few that overstate their importance but they will be running with the minority. They are also for the most part bright, inquisitive and quite knowledgeable about any kind of buyer in their area of coverage. The reason they are so knowledgeable is that they talk to buyers on an almost daily basis. They are in fact helping those same set of buyers and personas decide on their best path to success.
Regardless of whether the provider can get the analyst to mention the provider’s offerings during the discussion with a buyer, the least they can do is give the provider direction. Time after time providers will visit an analyst and give them the company spiel only to leave the meeting wondering why the analyst wasn’t coming along for the ride. It’s simple. When working with an analyst, it’s a terrific idea to ask precise questions and then stop talking. Let the analyst talk a bit and open the door for the provider to participate with follow up questions.
By focusing on the buyers during the discussion and how the provider is trying to understand the buyer's needs, the analyst will want to help. The analyst is a person who is by trade a bit of an intellectual. They are expected to consider something very carefully before proceeding with an opinion. By showing them the provider’s solutions and how the provider is methodically going to capture more buyers, the analyst will be seeing that process is being served. Open the door at each step to allow the analyst to give the provider some ideas.
The more the provider allows the analysts to become part of the strategic solution, the analysts will be intellectually involved. As a result, the analysts are more interested in the provider’s success and more likely to comment on the provider’s capabilities to potential buyers.
John is an experienced leader with a strong background of defining and executing company strategies. He is especially skilled in channel management, market analysis, brand marketing and selling technology products and services. He has successfully served in a number of executive positions and has been in management for 20 years. John is currently writing a book on increasing revenue generation. He has been a co-author of a comprehensive marketing methodology for high tech companies and has helped venture capitalists and private equity firms gauge their technology investments. In 2004, John served as Vice President of Marketing for the NA arm of the $6B IT Services division of Siemens, AG. John served on the board of directors at WebTrends, purchased by NetIQ (NTIQ) for $1 billion in 2001. WebTrends was highly successful dominating the web site analysis and reporting space. Prior to WebTrends, John was the Vice President of Marketing for Tivoli Systems. John has worked as a contracted consultant for established companies, start ups and top analyst firms.
John can be reached at john@johnwryan.com or you can follow him on Twitter @buyersteps
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