Patricio Hernandez-Barron

I'm sure this is something you've already asked, but do you know if they have a timeline for releasing a MQ? My point is, depending on their response, you may want to address your analyst strategy in different ways: A) Let's say, they don't have one but they're preparing for one in the next year or so. In analyst years, you know and can assume that much of it is already in the works. So, you may want to start asking which are the parameters by which they'll be measuring vendors. Perhaps they won't share this right away and are super straightforward, but that's where your creativity comes into play to get them to either spill or point you to them. Then of course, once you have an insight on those parameters, as everyone else suggests, schedule demos, validation on case studies or any worthy content (touching upon those winning parameters), and even have them pitch in on some of your roadmap submissions (highlight potential features that strengthen your position under their eval. criteria). Tbh, a lot of it comes down to staying top of mind with your best foot forward (the exact foot they're looking to see). B) They're not nearly close and they believe it may take a couple of years depending on how the market is moving (this was my case at one point). If that's the case, clearly you don't want to hold your breath for it, but as many other peers suggest, again, stay top of mind. Many of those round tables, webinars, or co-branded opportunities come at a pretty price, but there are other more casual tactics that can still get you a presence. For instance, another tactic that I liked to use was to discuss exploratory use cases for your technology. This can also open doors to other analyst engagements and many times this cross-collaborative work amongst themselves can help you a ton because they can internally claim this relationship growth/pollination, as opposed to your firm talking to one and just one analyst (they obviously don't want that). Again, how can you grow yourself in their minds... I can tell you that one of the most rewarding experiences I had was when an executive at a top bank mentioned that Gartner helped them narrow down their list of vendors, and "of course, you were in there". I can't speak for others' experiences, but in Enterprise B2B, this reaffirmed our leadership why Product Marketing and Analyst relations were key for securing those whales. Hope this helps 🙏