Dr. Efrem Mallach has released the 20th anniversary edition of his original and definitive guide to high tech industry analyst relations. His new book, “Win Them Over: A Survival Guide for Corporate Analyst Relations/Consultant Relations Programs” (ISBN-10: 090637801X, ISBN-13: 978-0906378014) is described and sold at Amazon. I’m inclined to think that it is even better than the original. However, I’m stunned by the lofty price and annoyed at the stealth-like release.
The list price for Win Them Over is $500. New and used are priced at $427.07. That’s completely out of line with the other analyst relations books available today on the market. Each book has earned solid reviews by outstanding analyst relations professionals as an excellent source of information on AR best practices, terminology and basic strategy for vendors and agencies. These books include:
- Getting Results from your Analyst Relations Strategies by Louis Columbus (about $12.00 for hardcopy)
- Influencing the Influencers by Bill Hopkins (about $50 for hardcopy)
- Maximizing the Value of Analyst Relations by Geoff Roach and Lisa Perri (about $41 for PDF).
I have decided there are three ways to resolve the Win Them Over price tag:
First, the $500 list price is a typo that has been promulgated across the online bookseller sites. Lighthouse AR should sue the Internet and refund any easy marks who actually paid $500 for this book.
Second, the $500 price includes a teleconference or other interactive learning experience with Dr. Mallach. Lighthouse AR should clone Dr. Mallach or at least outsource to a really good impersonator.
Third, the $500 price includes a private sunset cruise around the Boston Harbor with Efrem and a couple of the Celtics. The Summer League games are over, so this is a pleasant possibility. Lighthouse AR should not try to rock the boat.
Now, speaking of boats, what to say about the launch of this landmark book? Unfortunately, I cannot find evidence of a proper launch. I couldn’t find a publisher’s press release, and did not get an offer for a free press/blogger review copy. Amazon doesn’t offer buyers any extras, either: no sleeve notes, peeking at inside pages, reader reviews, or reader ratings (see the Amazon listing at www.amazon.com/Win-Them-Over-Corporate-Consultant/dp/090637801X).
A decision to have a closely held launch is a disservice to this book and to the analyst relations community. Plus, a stealth launch is rarely the right marketing strategy for a high priced commodity. Granted, I could have missed the launch. After all, I missed the rise and fall of the slang “jiggy”.
I still have my original copy of Dr. Mallach’s first book. I am willing to speculate that this new 20th anniversary edition of Win Them Over is packed with advice and information nuggets of interest to analyst relations practioners. However, I am not willing to recommend it — or any hardcopy book about analyst relations — at this price.
Tags: none
July 30th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Agreement on reducing the book price — and/or, adding an opportunity to engage with Dr. Mallach — at the ARmadgeddon blog.
A night with Efrem will cost you an arm and a leg, posted July 30, 2007.
(I’m adding manually, as they didn’t use the TB link.)
On a related note, James Taylor — the virtuoso at Fair Isaac and the Enterprise Decision Management blog, not the one signed to Columbia Records — has posed the question, “What makes you decide to buy a technical/business book?” at LinkedIn. Well worth checking out if you are promoting a book or report.
August 9th, 2007 at 11:35 am
I can’t see how one could make a profit at a lower price: it seems that other specialist literature on AR costs eight times more than Efrem’s book.
http://analystrelations.blogspot.com/2007/08/on-price-elasticity-and-other-things.html
How come you didn’t complain about that?
August 9th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Duncan, Your post hasn’t convinced me. For example, if you were going to compare the book with Forrester, you would select the Forrester “Analyst Relations” roleview service. That’s not a reasonable comparison. In fact, purchasing a slew of indvidual reports runs counter to basic AR counsel.
Despite my issues with your argument, I do admire your willingness to take on your newest competitor, aka Forrester, in your blog. You don’t really believe that KCG has a larger and more robust sales channel into the tech providers than Forrester, do you?
August 15th, 2007 at 1:47 am
Barbara,
The Roleview service is more costly than Efrem’s book. if it is a better comparison, then it’s one that tends towards my view that the pricing for Efrem’s book is just one of many available pricepoints, and that that’s not rational standpoint for disputing one or another.
Clearly Forrester has a better sales channel into tech providers however Bill’s book will be of primary interest to AR managers. While AR managers are influencers on some some vendors’ purchasing from Forrester, they are not a major buyer community. I do think that Tekrati, KCG and Lighthouse will have mapped the *AR community* better than Forrester.
Also, remember that KCG is a volume business: while other AR firms like ourselves, Analyst Strategy and so on focus on fewer than 100 firms KCG sells its courses and books to thousand. It’s highly adapted towards the needs of vendor organisations in the mid-market and low-end, which Forrester is not.
In practice, we are not competing with KCG or Forrester. Clients have very different experiences of working with each AR service, and that explains the very strong demographic and psychographic clusters that separate the clients we typically sell to. That’s also why Lighthouse keeps the door open to collaboration with other participants in the AR community, since we can benefit by co-operating to educate the market.
My point remains: what pricing will be better? Next year Efrem will be publishing an expanded 21st anniversary edition, which will be a large-format paperback. That will cost less to produce than the hardback, of course, but we will also take out the webinar that’s bundled with the hardback. However, there’s still a limited market, and demand is not highly price elastic. We would not sell three times as many at $100 as we would at $300.
I’m open to suggestions…
Duncan.
August 27th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Duncan,
Three factual errors in your commentary:
1. KCG is NOT a volume business – we work with an average of 100 clients per year on an average of 200 projects. Almost all Lighthouse clients are also KCG clients – the opposite is obviously not true.
2. KCG is not mid market or low end focused – 90% plus of our revenue comes from tech companies ranked in the top 100 although our books and seminar seats remain attractive to smaller vendors.
3. KCG is highly partner centric – including several of the world’s largest Tech PR firms, one of the world’s largest market research firms and your own former APAC partner.
Please try and check your facts more carefully in future – as an “ex analyst” you should know better!
And on the book pricing – the simple answer is – you cannot expect to make money or even break even from this kind of publishing. KCG invested close to $50,000 to produce the first practical guide to AR. We do not expect to recover most of that investment. We thought the market needed a quality book at a reasonable price to help codify our methodology in the marketplace and that was what we produced – to significant industry acclaim.
With all due respect to Ephraim, he freely admits in recent interviews that he spends the vast majority of his time as a professor of MIS at MIT, and very little on AR. His book is a college textbook, not a real world guide therefore the price is irrelevant to college students and the content is irrelevant to AR professionals in the field.
Stephen England
President & Partner
KCG
england@knowledgecap.com
512 / 334 5943 direct
512 / 431 1877 cell
August 29th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Stephen,
I don’t think we disagree. Perhaps you need to read what I wrote more closely, or define terms.
In comparison with other AR consultancies, which is the only meaningful comparison, KCG is a volume business. For example, since June 2005 your business has claimed to have worked with 700+ plus firms since being founded in 1998. In your note above, you say that KCG works with around 100 firms a year, which fits with the claim made in 2005. However, those 100 firms a year can only total several hundred over time if the vast majority of clients only work with KCG once. That’s what I call a volume business. When the vast majority of buyers don’t repurchase, then you need a throughput of new buyers. If KCG is not a volume AR business, then who is? What would a volume AR business look like?
In contrast, the vast, vast majority of our vendor clients are repeat clients - even including our training business - and I think that’s the same for every other analyst relations consultancy, but seems not to be the case for KCG.
And your business *is* the only AR consultancy adapted to the mid-market. I didn’t say that you *only or mainly* sell there (which is the your red herring); but you are the only AR consultancy selling systematically/notably into the mid-market and lower. If KCG is not the AR consultancy most adapted to the mid-market, then who is? Certainly not Forrester: that’s the point I was making.
As for co-operation with others in the AR community, I think our approaches are self-evident. You have channel partners. Lighthouse and other AR consultancies are working in others ways too: we are promoting the IIAR, DARA and SPAR in our websletters and blogs; our boardroom discussions, newsletters and courses are open to those firms who return that courtesy to us; and so on.
On pricing, I think we agree that one can’t make money with your approach. However, we can generate a small surplus with our pricing.
Your respect for Efrem is noted. He’s spent the vast majority of the last 20 years working in analyst relations. Despite returning to academia in recent years, he’s has been continuously involved in AR, and his book also draws on the collective experience of his clients and colleague. His book is not currently used as a college textbook; though it would be great if it were.
The notion that the content of Efrem’s book is *irrelevant* is fascinating. Have you read the book? I didn’t think so….
The points remain:
- Only KCG is well adapted to the sell the sort of volumes that make this sort of book commercially viable, and even they aim not to make money on it.
- As a business, Lighthouse has an obligation to its owners and clients to be profitable. Kensington Group and SageCircle went out of business. If they had been profitable, it would have been in no-one’s interest for the businesses to close.
August 29th, 2007 at 9:20 am
P.S. When I write “Only KCG is well adapted to the sell the sort of volumes that make this sort of book commercially viable” I mean a $50 book with a print run of thousands. At the $200 to $500 dollar range, the minimum economic scale is lower.
For example, imagine if the marginal unit cost for a book is $25, and the fixed cost is $50,000. At a retail price of $50 dollars each unit generates $25 in contribution. After selling 2,000 copies you break even. If the unit cost is $425, then each copy generates $400 in contribution. You would break even after 125 copies.
Duncan.