7 Essential Steps to Successfully Submit a Forrester Wave Evaluation

Forrester Wave evaluations can make or break a vendor’s market reputation, influencing decisions for buyers around the globe. Success isn’t accidental—it requires a deliberate, step-by-step strategy to showcase strengths and stand out from the competition. Spotlight Analyst Relations partners with clients to navigate this process, ensuring submissions are not only accurate and compelling but also positioned to deliver measurable ROI and lasting analyst impact.

Verify eligibility and set clear objectives

Check inclusion criteria and market relevance

• Identify the specific Forrester Wave you intend to enter (e.g., “Recurring Billing Solutions”).
• List the official inclusion criteria published by Forrester (revenue thresholds, product maturity, geographic coverage).
• Cross‑check your product’s market relevance by mapping key buyer use‑cases to the Wave’s focus areas.
• Include a statistic that illustrates the proportion of vendors that fail eligibility due to mismatched market scope [1].
• Define “inclusion criteria” as the set of quantitative and qualitative thresholds a vendor must meet to be considered for evaluation.

Align Wave goals with business objectives

• Articulate three measurable objectives (e.g., increase qualified pipeline by 15%, boost brand awareness among enterprise buyers, secure leadership positioning).
• Tie each objective to a specific internal stakeholder (sales, product, marketing).
• Reference Forrester’s shift to customer‑feedback as a third evaluation dimension and explain how this aligns with a customer‑centric growth strategy [2].
• Use a short bullet list to show the alignment matrix (Objective ↔ Business KPI ↔ Analyst Insight).

Assemble a cross‑functional Wave team

Identify key stakeholders (AR, product, sales, legal)

• List the core functions that must be represented on the team.
• Provide a brief role description for each stakeholder (e.g., “AR lead – manages analyst relationships and briefing logistics”).
• Mention that early analyst engagement is a proven success factor; cite the recommendation from Forrester research [1].
• Define “cross‑functional” as collaboration across multiple business units to ensure comprehensive coverage of evidence.

Assign roles, responsibilities, and timelines

• Create a RACI chart (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for the entire Wave process.
• Set realistic milestones (e.g., “Complete evidence inventory by week 2”, “Finalize demo script by week 4”).
• Suggest using Spotlight RFI Assist to automate timeline tracking and task assignment.
• Highlight that a clear timeline reduces the average preparation time by up to 30% according to industry surveys [6].

Collect documentation and secure customer references

Gather product briefs, demos, metrics, and case studies

• Inventory all existing artifacts (datasheets, ROI calculators, architecture diagrams).
• Prioritize items that map directly to Forrester’s evaluation criteria (current offering, strategy, customer feedback).
• Recommend pulling the latest metrics from internal systems (e.g., Salesforce, Google Analytics) via Spotlight RFI Assist.
• Cite the BillingPlatform example of achieving perfect scores by leveraging comprehensive metric documentation [9].

Prepare and brief reference customers

• Identify 3‑5 customers whose use‑cases match the Wave’s focus areas.
• Provide a briefing template that includes talking points, success metrics, and expected question types.
• Emphasize that Forrester contacts references directly, so briefed customers must be ready to speak to specific outcomes [1].
• Define “reference customer” as a vetted client who agrees to validate your solution’s value to the analyst.

Fill out the scorecard and prepare analyst briefings

Craft evidence‑driven questionnaire responses

• Use the “evidence‑first” approach: every claim must be backed by a document, metric, or quote.
• Leverage AI‑generated drafts from Spotlight RFI Assist, then edit for tone and brand alignment.
• Insert a sample response structure: claim → evidence → impact statement.
• Reference the weighted scorecard concept and note that granular evidence improves the scoring algorithm [2].

Schedule and rehearse briefings and demos

• Book briefing slots at least six weeks before the analyst’s evaluation window.
• Conduct a dry‑run with all SMEs, focusing on time‑boxing each demo segment.
• Capture feedback in a shared spreadsheet and iterate using Spotlights’ collaboration features.
• Mention that firms that rehearse achieve a 20% higher likelihood of a “Leader” placement [6].

Submit, track, and amplify the Wave results

Submit through Forrester portal and manage citation review

• Walk through the step‑by‑step portal upload process (file format, naming conventions).
• Highlight the importance of reviewing citation links for broken URLs; Spotlight RFI Assist can auto‑validate links.
• Advise monitoring the analyst’s follow‑up requests within 48 hours to avoid delays.

Leverage results for marketing, sales enablement, and ROI

• Outline a multi‑channel amplification plan (website banner, gated report, social snippets).
• Include a KPI table (e.g., “Leads generated”, “Opportunity conversion rate”, “Brand impression lift”).
• Suggest quoting the Forrester Wave score in sales decks to increase win rates, referencing the industry average uplift of 12% for vendors with published scores [7].
• Define “amplify” as the coordinated use of earned, owned, and paid assets to maximize the visibility of the evaluation outcome.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the process for managing a Forrester Wave submission?

Example Answer: Managing a Forrester Wave submission involves verifying eligibility, assembling a cross‑functional team, gathering evidence, completing the scorecard, briefing analysts, and finally submitting and promoting the results.

What documentation is required for Wave evaluations?

Example Answer: Required documentation includes product briefs, architecture diagrams, performance metrics, ROI case studies, and vetted customer references that directly address Forrester’s evaluation criteria.

What are best practices for the Forrester scorecard?

Example Answer: Best practices are to provide evidence for every claim, align responses with the weighted criteria, use concise language, and leverage AI‑assisted drafting tools to ensure consistency and speed.

How do Forrester Waves differ from Magic Quadrants?

Example Answer: Forrester Waves use a three‑dimensional, weighted scorecard (current offering, strategy, customer feedback) and categorize vendors into three buckets, while Magic Quadrants plot vendors on two axes (completeness of vision, ability to execute) and use four categories.

What should I do if I miss a deadline or receive a low score?

Example Answer: If you miss a deadline, contact the analyst immediately to explore a reschedule; for a low score, request detailed feedback, adjust your evidence, and plan a remediation cycle for the next Wave.

How can I repurpose Wave content while staying compliant?

Example Answer: Repurpose Wave content by creating gated PDFs, slide decks, and social posts that cite the Forrester report, include proper attribution, and avoid altering the original analyst statements.