
Inquiries are a highly valuable opportunity for technology and services vendors to gain actionable insights from industry analysts and are a key building block for a successful AR program. Much of the engagement between vendors and analysts is driven by industry analysts research agendas. But inquiries (paid engagements that are usually part of a research and advisory subscription) give the vendor the opportunity to set the agenda for an analyst conversation and gain insights on a given topic. A survey of IIAR> members shows however, that these inquiry opportunities are dramatically under-used, with a lack of emphasis on gaining insights and value from inquiry calls.
This new IIAR> Best Practices Paper will be presented in a webinar co-hosted by Sarita Kincaid (LinkedIn, @saritakAR) / VP of Corporate Communications, SugarCRM, Robin Schaffer (LinkedIn, @robinjs19) / Principal AR Consultant, Schaffer AR and Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn) / IIAR> Co-Founder and Founder Starsight Communications.
When: THURSDAY 19th MAY 2022, 0800 PST / 1100 EST / 1600 BST / 0100 AEST (other time zones)

The IIAR> survey showed that the most common focus for inquiry calls is on general market trends and on building relationships with the analyst, while more specific objectives such as customer deal intelligence and M&A feedback, are less commonly used. If AR managers are to get full value from their firms’ investment in inquiry time, then they must proactively plan and manage this valuable resource from contract negotiation through to driving action on insights for their business.
Sections in the paper cover planning an inquiry session, understanding the different types of inquiry, navigating the inquiry guidelines for specific analyst firms, using inquiry time to maximum effect, and internalising the insights gained from an inquiry to benefit your organisation. In addition to the vast experience of Robin, Sarita and Ludovic, the paper draws upon inputs from a wide range of IIAR> members who have shared their tips and best practices for getting the most out of the inquiry process and the following contributors. This paper concludes with actionable advice for all AR pros including how to review their contractual inquiry time, analyse inquiry usage, draw up an inquiry template, drive action on insights that can be incorporated into the business and much more. Appendices includes a table of analyst firms’ inquiry policies, and a template for an inquiry request.
Key learnings and best practices
- Why AR managers should know the different types of inquiry
- What the different inquiry rules are for each analyst firm
- How to identify the best analyst for each inquiry
- How to plan the inquiry objectives and agenda in advance
- When to synchronise inquiries with your business calendar
- How to maximise the value of inquiry time
- How best to internalise inquiries within your organisation
- Why it’s important to be proactive with inquiries
Authors
- Ludovic Leforestier (@lludovic, LinkedIn) / IIAR> Co-Founder and Board Member, Founder, Starsight Communications
- Sarita Kincaid (LinkedIn, @saritakAR) / Senior Director, Analyst Relations, SugarCRM
- Robin Schaffer (LinkedIn, @robinjs19) / Principal AR Consultant, Schaffer AR
Date
- May 2021
Links
Other IIAR> Best Practices Papers
- IIAR> Best Practice Paper on Running a Briefing
- IIAR> Best Practices Paper: Building an effective AR plan
- See the full list here.
Analysts on analyst briefings -and more
- [GUEST POST] Key Requirements for Vendors When Briefing by Natalie Petouhoff / Constellation
- [Guest Post] Maximizing the impact of an analyst briefing – 1 of 2 by Richard Stiennon
- [Guest Post] Maximizing the impact of an analyst briefing – 2 of 2 by Richard Stiennon
- The hype cycle of Vendor Briefing Requests
- How to structure a briefing?
- [GUEST POST] Vendors: suggestions to maximize briefing value by Carol Rozell / Gartner
- [GUEST POST] Briefing tips and best practices from Lisa Rowan / IDC
Other posts on analyst relations best practices
display-posts category=”ar-best-practices” include_date=”false” posts_per_page=”30”]
You must log in to post a comment.