Pros
- IT execs trust Gartner, and will give you an incredible view inside of their worlds. - This is an excellent learning opportunity for people early on in their careers, or who want to break into tech. - Also excellent for the “working retired.” Once you’ve learned the ropes, plenty of senior reps put in 15-20 hrs/wk. - The brand is highly regarded within IT, and has powerful influence in the market. - Gartner has had 40+ quarters of consecutive double-digit growth.
Cons
- Because of Gartner’s “proven success” evidenced by double-digit growth, the company believes it knows the “right things to do” and shows no interest or investment in evolving – even where change is sorely needed. - Gartner is not a client-first organization. Sales is expected to bring in revenue at any cost, regardless of what is good or valuable for the client. - There is no sales leadership – only sales management. Almost all Sales Manager are first-time managers. They manage their team members like entry-level salespeople, in a "constant coaching" model. - Gartner is militaristic in its hierarchy. Instruction comes top down, and there is no upward channel for feedback. - Sales Operations are the worst I’ve seen in my career – Gartner has no CRM; bookings are filled with errors; commission is always late – and no one’s held accountable. - The business model is showing its age. Gartner publishes long, boring reports and its research methodology can’t keep up with emerging tech. Gartner could evolve and do awesome things here, but has chosen not to. - In Strategic Accounts/AGE Gartner seeks to be a “strategic partner” to companies. This will never be fully realized because Gartner exists on a private island, while the ecosystem of ISV and SIs and Consultants carries on. The organization is severely over-promising and under-delivering. - SMB/MSE and Major Accounts/ALE have a localized model, so that global companies have a different sales rep in every state. - Gartner’s service delivery org is highly segmented in order to create as many VP positions in Fort Myers, FL as possible, even though this fractured model is bad for salespeople and bad for clients. - Gartner’s failed to capitalize on the CEB acquisition. Rather than fostering cross-selling opportunities, they incentivize salespeople to compete with their peers.