Reaching top-tier business press with key messages and core competencies once a quarter is a lofty goal for almost any small private company. It's especially challenging when the company competes in a crowded market like cyber security, comprised of a few behemoths, a handful of growing mid-sized companies, and countless small firms and start-ups all clamoring for recognition.

Yet Reston, Va.-based iDEFENSE, the nation's leading security intelligence provider, appeared in four high-visibility features in Forbes - including a cover story - in five months.

So how did a 45-person private company get such valuable press where well-known competitors did not? The following lessons can apply to small, medium and large businesses seeking to influence the media and gain recognition as an industry leader.

Scratch the Media's Back First
Companies are often in difficult positions with business press: Establishing a new reporter relationship, while understanding the real possibility that the time and energy spent could go for naught. After all, business press reporters gather three to 10 times the information and sources than appears in print.

Still, it's up to the company to put in the effort - providing information, lining up an executive interview and/or arranging a tour - so the reporter can trust the company from the outset and count on it for key information. Ultimately, whoever has the best information and is accommodating will make the story.

Walk the Talk
Smaller companies face an inherent disadvantage against larger, public entities: business press reporters and readers simply know more about national companies than specialized shops. The giants, in most cases, have built their reputations over several years, and therefore are often reporters' first sources.

For iDEFENSE to gain mind share - and precious page space - in multiple stories, it offered its best case studies. The company gave Forbes access to dozens of threat reports, key cases of how its intelligence thwarted cyber attacks, and up-to-date developments on emerging threats.

Similarly, a small company often has to exceed what larger companies offer to establish its reputation. And as iDEFENSE did, a business may have to offer an ace in the hole that can only be used once. But played for the right story at the right time, this will achieve maximum validation and value in print.

Open the Kimono
iDEFENSE gave a Forbes reporter an extensive behind- the-scenes on-site tour, showing how it gleans and analyzes information, and then turns data into actionable intelligence. The reporter had direct access to the CEO, multiple team directors, analysts and researchers. The team invested several hours, walking the reporter through introductory and complicated questions. The result: two stories written by the same reporter, both including the CEO's quotes and a photograph.

While there's always some risk in revealing the inner workings of a company, small firms have much to gain. Reporters see that the company is committed to the story, and can ask questions to those on the front lines. While this access is more glamorous for cyber security companies, other businesses still have a wealth of talent to showcase, such as engineers, developers and sneak peeks at upcoming projects.

Third-Party Endorsements
Regardless of how well a company toots it own horn, the noise will only echo without a confirming source. In addition to providing corroborating information publicly available, iDEFENSE lined up industry sources to validate the company's accounts of past events, allowing the reporter to accurately credit iDEFENSE's role.

Most seasoned reporters require a second (or third or fourth) source, preferably ones that can speak on the record. Depending on the story, though, reporters will accept off-the-record comments. In either case, all companies need third parties to validate case studies and support their work.

Driving Results
Successful business press coverage will remain more art than science: finessing messages and information to shape the story, flexibility and patience from the PR team and the company's spokespeople, and developing a trusting relationship with a reporter. Going in with the proper expectations on what's required, and being able to deliver them, will directly correlate to a company's long-term success at cracking the country's top publications.