Elena Hutchison - Analyst Relations Explained

Our Guest: Elena Hutchison, formerly an Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Medallia, is now the Founder of Up/Right Analyst Relations. The firm offers coaching, consulting, and fractional analyst relations services, specifically designed to enhance companies' engagement with Gartner, Forrester, and other industry leaders.

Episode Topics:
  • Understanding the analyst relations function beyond quadrants + how analyst firms serve their own customers
  • Elena’s insights on the accuracy of Gartner’s Magic Quadrants and Forrester’s Wave
  • Elena expands on her “Most Important Sales Cycle of the Year” post 
  • Should companies always participate in an analyst Request for Information (RFI)?
  • How can early + mid-stage companies best work with analyst firms?
  • How analysts evaluate emerging vendors within categories + significance of vendor financial stability
  • The value of customer stories around ROI when collaborating with analysts
  • How to gain buy-in for an analyst relations program?
  • Understanding the timeline for tangible, positive results from an analyst relations program.
  • Elena’s insights on the differences between the largest analyst firms and niche analyst firms.

Resources:

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Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Lead Routing Software, Sales Training + Onboarding Software, Sales Conversation Intelligence Software, and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software

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Elena Hutchison - Analyst Relations Explained
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