One signature away from an expensive analyst contract
Nobody at the firm specialized in the market this company sells into. Here is the check to run before you sign, and the question almost nobody asks.
A client was one signature away from an expensive analyst contract. I asked whether the firm had an analyst who actually covered their market.
It took some pushing to get an answer. There wasn't an analyst. Not thin coverage, not somebody stretched across four categories. Nobody at the firm specialized in the market this company sells into.
Run the check first
Name the analyst who owns your category. Then read what that person has published in the last eighteen months. The abstracts of the gated research are free. Does the work show they understand where the market is going and who you're up against?
Then go shopping. We booked multiple introductory briefings across big and mid-size firms like Gartner, Forrester, Omdia and Futuriom, plus the small specialists who only cover one thing and cover it properly.
Three questions on every call
- Is this analyst an expert in your space, or adjacent to it? Adjacent is not the same, and you can hear the difference in the first ten minutes.
- Are they credible with the people who buy from you? Not credible in general. Credible with your buyer.
- Does their research calendar have anything on it you care about? Ask. Most will tell you, and what they don't say is easy enough to find.
The question almost nobody asks
Covering your category and having pull with your buyer are two different purchases, and firms are often strong at one and weak at the other. So find out who pays them. A firm funded mostly by vendors has influence with vendors.
Ask during the sales call how many end-user inquiries they get on your market. Then ask your own sales team whose research turns up in their deals. They'll know.
You're not buying a logo for your slide. You're buying one analyst's expertise. Find out whose before you sign.
Holly Hagerman · Managing Partner, Connect Marketing
We landed on one firm with several real experts in that market, people already in the buyer conversations this client cared about.
And here's what that looks like from the other side. In the last three months, analysts have told two of our clients on inquiries that buyers are calling the analyst about that exact category. That's the signal you're paying for.
An introductory briefing costs you an hour. Firms will take the meeting, and you'll learn more in that hour than in any amount of time reading sales contracts.