The Gartner Vendor Briefing Process Gets Easier

One of the biggest challenges AR leaders face is analyst availability. It’s especially challenging when a vendor crosses multiple markets and needs to brief several analysts at once.

Peter Kalinowski

Preface: In 2009 we cited this article as one of the most useful articles by analysts with tips on Analyst Relations. Over the decade since then, the article’s fallen offline. In 2020, when we started the research for our book, we asked the author’s permission to cite it. To help readers see the analyst’s comments in context, we reprint it below. “Peter Kalinowski is now a Managing Vice President at Gartner.”

In the previous issue, we provided advice on how AR leaders can prepare their senior managers to maximize the value of Gartner vendor briefings. In this interview, Peter Kalinowski, who heads the Gartner Vendor Briefings program, talks about changes that make the briefing process even more efficient and effective.

By way of review, what is the purpose of vendor briefings?

Fundamentally, vendor briefings keep Gartner analysts up-to-date about a vendor’s products and/or services. And while that’s important, vendor briefings do a lot more. They inform Gartner research in all areas such as emerging technologies, disruptive business models or how technology is changing society and the workforce. Briefings that provide overviews of a vendor’s customer implementations or pilots also impact our research and our ability to advise clients. Overall, vendor briefings have broader application than people realize.

Why and how have changes in the vendor briefing process been implemented?

One of the biggest challenges AR leaders face is analyst availability. It’s especially challenging when a vendor crosses multiple markets and needs to brief several analysts at once. In response to this challenge, we’ve done several things:

  • We’ve broadened analyst awareness of vendor briefings by giving our global research community access to all presentations and audio recorded briefings (worldwide) which are tagged to our internal knowledge management system. The vendor’s scheduled briefing is also posted to a public Gartner calendar that any analyst can review.
  • It’s easier to submit a request with a briefing application form that is now available online and has been simplified for efficiency. (Click here.)
  • The scheduling process has been streamlined by combining the polling of analyst interest and scheduling into a single step. Briefings are scheduled and confirmed immediately upon analyst confirmation. For time-sensitive requests, we typically provide tentative analyst availability within three business days.

What prompted these changes?

AR feedback. Both clients and non-clients provided ideas and input at our last AR forum on how they would like to work with us. They spoke and we took action.

How else has Gartner made it easier for vendors that need to brief multiple analysts?

We’ve given these vendor types a single point of contact, similar to the account manager model you see in sales organizations. Analyst relations managers that manage multiple analyst briefings asked for less bureaucracy. This change makes their life easier.

Can AR professionals expect this positive reaction to feedback to continue?

Absolutely. We have integrated AR feedback as a regular part of our AR forums. All feedback gets captured and prioritized for action.

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