Your Analyst Evaluation is the Most Important Sales Cycle of the Year

I took a nontraditional path to Analyst Relations (though I’m not sure there’s really a “traditional” one is there?)

For me - I was one of my company’s top Sales Engineers (also known as PreSales or Solutions Consultants). My day job was working side-by-side with our best sales people directly with prospective customers - showing off our technology, helping to scope programs that would be impactful, staying close with my customers once they became customers so I could ensure they actually realized the value we promised.

In that role, I had a front row seat to the importance of Analyst evaluations. Medallia had placed very well in a 2011 Forrester Wave, the first of its kind in our space, and just after that placement the company secured a critical Series B investment from Sequoia Capital. That Wave was an important indicator that our market was maturing and that we were a leading technology option for our customers, as validated by a prominent unbiased third party. We used it in basically every sales presentation, and we saw clear evidence that buyers were using it to create their vendor shortlists as well as to vet vendor quality.

Fast forward to 2016 and that 2011 Wave was about to be repeated (what a glorious 5 year gap between evaluations!). We knew we could not afford to backslide in our placement, so our wise leadership team (with the strong support of our Venture Capital partners at Sequoia and the rest of our board) resourced this evaluation process the way we would any other critical sales cycle. Starting by staffing it with an experienced Sales Engineer (yours truly!)

It was a lightbulb moment for me to see how similar a major evaluation cycle is to a B2B SaaS sales cycle. Both include opportunities to shape criteria starting long before the formal process, followed by a formal questionnaire (like an RFP), a big briefing (like the RFP presentation and demo), some kind of references (both formal and informal), and ultimately (hopefully) the moment of victory where you “win” in the end.

Here are the plays from my “seller” toolkit that I used in that first evaluation (and in every evaluation since):

1. Bring in the A-Team: When you’re in the most important sales cycle of the year, you use your A-players: the best Sales Engineer, the best customer success folks, a key executive or two to convey the strategic importance of the opportunity.

   In an analyst evaluation, this includes top talent for each of The 6 Key Players You Must Recruit to Your Wave or MQ team. Analyst Evaluations touch every sales cycle all year - smart executives and leaders understand that they are worth investing significant resources in.

2. Extensive Preparation and Excruciating Attention to Detail: When we were preparing for a major customer pitch, our sales teams would commonly prep for weeks, meeting regularly to share notes and hone our messages, and eventually running complete dry runs of our presentation with brutally honest (and highly useful) feedback. Analyst Evaluation briefings deserve no less focus - this is not a time to wing it with respect to content or messaging.

   One of my proudest briefing moments ever (and one that resulted in a sole leader position) involved no less than 6 presenters in a three hour briefing. We managed to take a break during the briefing as scheduled, answered questions throughout, and we stuck the landing with less than 30 seconds to spare. That doesn’t happen by accident - it happens because of diligent preparation and practice, and a team that is dug in to take feedback and keep improving.

3. Open Ears: In any sales situation, listening to the client is essential. Similarly, during an analyst evaluation, it's crucial to be receptive to the analyst's questions, concerns, and feedback. By actively listening and adapting your approach, you can address potential issues and improve your chances of success.

   Note that the best time to do this comes long before the evaluation kicks off, by using strategic analyst inquiries and advisory sessions to understand likely concerns and objections.

   See also…

4. Be Early to the Game: When I was selling, we always took it as a very bad sign if an RFP just showed up and we hadn’t played a role in shaping it. The same applies to analyst evaluations. If you wait until a landscape invitation to start your preparation, you start at a significant disadvantage. Not only have you lost a very valuable opportunity to proactively shape the evaluation criteria, you’re also likely now handcuffed by evaluation rules, and the analyst won’t be allowed to engage with you directly at all to share their pre-evaluation biases and thoughts.

   I think about major evaluations as a year-long process that kicks off about 6 months before a landscape invitation ever arrives.

5. Have Some Fun: Buyers buy from people they like, and I believe Analysts also react positively to teams that show some creativity and genuinely seem like they enjoy working together. When I was in sales, I used to name demo personas after athletes or celebrities - anything to elicit a smile from my buyer and a little moment that made the presentation fun. Can you find some ways to bring a little fun and personality into your briefing?

Use these tips to take a page out of the playbook of your company’s best sales people and make a strong impression in your Forrester Wave, Gartner Magic Quadrant, or any other major evaluation.

Upward (and to the right!)

-Elena