How to prepare for an ideal analyst briefing
An ideal analyst briefing is mostly won before you log on. Here’s what the preparation should cover.
An ideal analyst briefing is mostly won before you log on, in the five minutes of prep most teams skip. Here's what those five minutes should cover.
- Before the callKnow the format. Research the analyst. Send the deck 24 hours ahead.
- At the openingClose the loop on prior feedback and lead with the buyer’s problem.
- At the closeRepeat the positioning you want the analyst to remember.
Know which call you booked
Know which call you booked. A briefing and an inquiry pull in opposite directions. In a briefing, you talk and the analyst listens, on the record, and no advice comes back. In an inquiry, you ask and they advise, under NDA. Show up to one ready to do the other and you waste both. You can read more about that in last week’s post.
Know the analyst
Check what the analyst actually covers. Read their recent notes before the invite goes out, not after they stop you mid-call. If you work with an agency, this part is their job. A good one hands you a briefing sheet before every call: what the analyst covers, what they've published in the last few months, the through-line in their thinking, and the questions they're likely to press on.
Lead with the buyer’s problem
Open with the problem your buyer is living, then show what you do about it. Analysts see the market every day, so your take on their market isn't the draw. Your view of the customer's problem is. Lead with your tech and you lose them before the demo.
Make your positioning memorable
Say your positioning in the first minute, and say it again in the last. Open on the challenge, close on the one sentence you want the analyst repeating after you log off. That last line is what they'll remember.
Close the loop
If you've talked to this analyst before, open by closing the loop: last time you told us X, here's what we did about it. Nothing earns a spot in their research faster than proof you actually listened.
Get the mechanics right
Two mechanics that signal you're ready. Send the deck 24 hours ahead, so the live time goes to discussion instead of you reading slides at them. And keep it tight. If your deck is 40 slides, you've already lost the room.
Open on the challenge, close on the one sentence you want the analyst repeating after you log off.
Holly Hagerman · Managing Partner, Connect Marketing