End-to-End Evaluation Support
De-risk your major evaluation with strategic step-by-step support services designed to help you maximize your placement, from pre-kickoff to publication.
A few millimeters can move markets.
Industry Analysts shape categories, shift buyer perceptions, and ultimately either improve or impair company value.
We help companies put their best foot forward with critical influencers from Forrester, Gartner, and more — earning the vital millimeters that shift analyst placements up and to the right.
Let's TalkAbout
Elena Hutchison
Elena saw firsthand the power of analyst influence to move markets in her role as Chief Strategy Officer at Medallia. Under her leadership, Medallia made Analyst Relations a key strategic function — earning leader placements across multiple Forrester Waves and Gartner MQs along the way (and earning Elena a coveted spot on the NYSE balcony during Medallia's IPO).
Today, Elena works with companies that are ready to uplevel their engagement with critical influencers at Forrester, Gartner, IDC, and beyond.
- Her experience as a practitioner across all company stages means her advice is hands-on, tactical, and scrappy.
- Her unique mix of marketing, strategy, and sales expertise means she can create a consistent, compelling story out of your inquiries, demos, briefing content, and even roadmap and strategy.
- She has sat in the executive suite — she's not afraid to tell senior leaders exactly what they need to do to optimize coverage, even when the conversations are hard.
What we do
Services
Wave and MQ Post-Mortem
Didn't land where you hoped to? We help you analyze what happened and design the right plan to improve for next time.
Briefing Content Design
Ensure your briefing content is on message and your spokespeople are ready to perform. We level up your demos, slideware, and overall presentation to maximize impact.
Annual Strategy Planning
A project-based engagement to help you craft an effective and efficient AR strategy for the year (perfect for startups looking for an expert strategy you can execute yourselves).
Year-Round Program Support
We work through a member of your team to provide Analyst Relations guidance year-round. You get expert AR strategy year-round, without the full-time hire.
Executive Coaching for AR Pros
1:1 coaching for Analyst Relations Professionals looking to uplevel their executive presence and organizational influence.
In their words
What clients say
“Elena was an invaluable resource through our Wave — she helped us see around corners and kept our executives in line.”
$500M B2B SaaS Company in their first Forrester Wave
“While Elena has superb takes on the ‘blocking and tackling’ aspects of day-to-day AR execution, she’s also keenly aware of how to articulate the ROI and business benefit of AR — incredibly useful in reporting up on the value of a program. She knows it’s all about outcome, not simply output, and she shares expertise on what to measure.”
Director of Analyst Relations, Global Ecommerce Company. Executive Coaching Client.
“Elena helped us design a Gartner Peer Insights strategy that didn’t sacrifice the work we’d done to build up G2.”
Director of Product Marketing
Book a free 30-minute meeting to discuss your program goals — no matter your size or stage.
Writing
From the blog
How to Decline an Analyst Evaluation
A practical, step-by-step guide to saying no to a major analyst evaluation and minimizing the risk on both sides of the decision.
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Why You Shouldn’t Let AI Write Your Wave or Magic Quadrant Responses
I’m a big AI promoter. But for a Gartner Magic Quadrant or Forrester Wave, letting AI do the thinking is a trap. Here’s how to use it well instead.
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Before You Buy That Gartner Subscription: 3 Tests Every Startup Should Run
A Gartner subscription is rarely $75K by the time you’re done. Three honest tests to run before you write that check.
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How to Brief a Forrester or Gartner Analyst
You can brief Forrester and Gartner analysts for free — but only if your request is compelling enough for them to accept. Here’s how to write one that lands.
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My Five-Slide Analyst Briefing Deck (Yes, It’s Possible)
If you can’t explain who you are, what you sell, and why you matter in five slides, your story isn’t crisp enough yet. Here’s the deck I’d build.
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The Existential Threat to Analyst Relations We Aren’t Talking About
The real threat to Gartner and Forrester isn’t ChatGPT replacing analysts — it’s product-led growth, shorter contracts, and AI letting teams build software themselves.
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