Ask buyers where analysts made a difference

A closed opportunity tells you who won. It does not, by itself, tell you how the buyer reached the decision. Price, product fit and the sales process may all appear in the closing notes. External advice deserves the same attention when it played a role.

For analyst relations, that creates a practical opportunity: add a small number of questions to the existing win/loss interview. The aim is to understand which information mattered, when it entered the process and what the buyer did with it. That gives AR a better basis for deciding whom to brief and which evidence to prepare.

Start with the buyer’s decision

Begin broadly. Ask which sources helped the buying team understand the problem and assess its options. Give the buyer room to mention peers, advisers, research, previous experience or other inputs. Starting with a named analyst firm risks directing the answer before you have understood the decision.

Where analysts come up, distinguish the route. Reading a report, speaking directly to an analyst and hearing a colleague repeat an analyst’s view are different experiences. Record which one happened. A reference to a research firm should not automatically become a claim that an individual analyst recommended or rejected your company.

Then locate the influence in the buying process. Did the research help define the requirements? Did it introduce a vendor? Did it prompt a technical check or reinforce a choice already made? Those answers point to different actions. A missing capability and an outdated description of an existing capability need different responses.

Five questions to add

• Which external sources, if any, helped you evaluate the options?
• Where analyst research or advice was involved, what did you use and approximately when?
• What did it help you decide, question or investigate?
• Did it affect the shortlist, the evaluation criteria or the final choice? How?
• What other factors mattered alongside that input?

These questions belong within the conversation. Follow the buyer’s answer rather than insisting on every question. If the buyer cannot recall a source or does not wish to discuss advice, record that limit.

Turn the answers into decisions

Keep a short record of the source, the stage of the decision, the reported effect and the evidence available. Distinguish the buyer’s account from the salesperson’s interpretation. Review both wins and losses; successful deals can reveal useful information gaps too.

Consider an illustrative situation: a buyer says a report helped establish its shortlist, but a security assessment determined the final selection. AR has evidence that research played a role in discovery. It does not have evidence that AR caused the sale, or that the report resolved the buyer’s security requirements.

Across interviews, look for recurring questions and sources. Use them to review analyst coverage, strengthen briefing evidence and improve the guidance available to sales. Keep the sample size and its limitations visible when reporting patterns.

The value of this work is a better next decision. A buyer’s explanation can tell you where the market understands your company, where it has incomplete information and where the product itself needs attention.

Explore the wider guidance in the Kea AR Knowledge Map.

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