There’s a growing gap between how products are built and how they’re bought. Buyers rely more on AI, engage later with sellers, and expect value to show up faster — while product teams juggle roadmaps, launches, and adoption metrics that weren’t designed for this reality. The pressure is on product leaders to rethink not just what they build but how they can position their products to win in a changing go-to-market (GTM) landscape.
B2B Summit North America is a chance to close that gap. If you’re attending, this guide will help you prioritize the sessions and experiences that matter most.
Start With The Keynotes To Reframe Product’s Role In GTM
The B2B Summit keynotes establish a shared understanding of how GTM dynamics are changing — and how marketing, revenue, and product leaders must align and adapt. For product leaders, these sessions are especially valuable because they connect product strategy to the broader GTM system that you must navigate and influence — one in which buyers form preferences earlier, AI-driven search has reshaped visibility, and traditional handoffs no longer hold.
Attending the keynotes builds a strong foundation for the rest of the event. They provide the context that many breakout sessions, workshops, and hallway conversations build on — and help product leaders step back from features and roadmaps to see the environment their products must succeed in.
Translate Big Shifts Into Product Strategy Moves
If your day-to-day is roadmaps, launches, and adoption, it’s easy to treat GTM change as someone else’s problem — until it shows up as longer sales cycles, tougher differentiation, and buyers asking for proof earlier than expected. Several product-relevant sessions are designed to make those shifts concrete.
“From Products To Platforms: Stories From The Trenches” explores what happens when portfolio strategies evolve toward integrated platforms, including the design, adoption, and GTM challenges that come with that shift. “A Candid Look At Honeywell’s GTM Transformation” adds a practical case study on moving from product-centric planning to an audience-focused GTM strategy that simplifies revenue generation and improves customer value.
Meanwhile, sessions like “Proving AI Value: Moving From Activity Metrics To Business Impact” help product leaders evaluate whether they’re measuring what actually matters and evolve measurement strategies to connect AI activity to workflow improvements and business impact. If your organization is aiming to use AI as a competitive advantage or launch products faster and more effectively, these sessions help turn ambition into decisions you can operationalize.
Make Proof Of Value A Product Capability
B2B buyers are demanding experiential proof earlier — and product teams increasingly own the moments where that proof is delivered: trials, proofs of concept, onboarding, and in-product value realization. A few Summit sessions speak directly to that reality.
“Growth Through Try-Before-You-Buy Experiences” examines why trials and proofs of concept often fail — and what cross-functional collaboration looks like when proof is treated as a growth strategy rather than a sales tactic. “Align Pre- And Postsales Teams To Power Early Value Realization” extends this thinking into postsale, focusing on continuity between presale context and onboarding so customers reach value faster — where product, customer success, and sales motions either reinforce each other or quietly unravel.
Use Workshops And Roundtables To Pressure-Test Your Next Decisions
Analyst-led workshops and roundtables are where insight turns into action. Workshops give participants hands-on opportunities to apply frameworks to their own business context and leave with concrete approaches they can put to work immediately. Roundtables, meanwhile, are small, focused discussions that allow peers to explore ideas, compare experiences, and surface practical options for moving forward.
For product leaders, these formats offer rare opportunities to learn not just from other product teams but also from marketing and revenue counterparts wrestling with the same GTM realities. Spots are limited, and preregistration is required — so it’s worth planning ahead.
Don’t Skip The Special Programs
Beyond sessions, Summit offers special programs designed to help leaders apply ideas, build relationships, and experience key concepts in more tangible ways. New this year is a simulated, immersive buying environment that puts you directly in your buyers’ shoes — helping surface disconnects between buyer expectations and provider reality.
Curated experiences like the Forrester Women’s Leadership Program and the invite-only Executive Leadership Exchange offer more focused environments for discussion, reflection, and community-building across product, marketing, sales, and customer leadership.
Get Inspired (And Steal Smartly) From The Award Winners
If you want examples of what “good” looks like when GTM demands real cross-functional change, make time for the awards programming.
The B2B Return On Integration Honors recognize organizations that achieved exceptional results by aligning product, marketing, sales, and customer engagement. The B2B Programs Of The Year Awards spotlight functional excellence — including a category for portfolio marketing and product — and offer a closer look at how teams applied frameworks and best practices to drive growth and adoption.
Think of these sessions as pattern libraries: real-world examples you can learn from, adapt, and apply.
Network Like A Product Leader (Translation: Solve Real Problems With Real People)
For product leaders, networking is most valuable when it helps answer questions you can’t easily Google:
How are other teams evolving their operating models as GTM changes?
What does cross-functional alignment look like in practice — and what’s the least painful way to get there?
Which metrics are teams actually using to prove value and drive adoption?
B2B Summit creates both structured and informal moments for those conversations — from Marketplace networking breaks to receptions and special programs designed for deeper peer exchange.
Use One-On-One Analyst Meetings To Sharpen Your Product Decisions
A 20-minute one-on-one with a Forrester analyst can be one of the most efficient ways for product leaders to validate — or challenge — their priorities. These conversations are focused and practical, whether you’re looking for feedback on product strategy, guidance on AI and data investments, or help navigating GTM alignment challenges.
For leaders balancing roadmap trade-offs, launch decisions, or organizational change, this is a chance to pressure-test assumptions with someone who’s seen what works (and what doesn’t) across many organizations.
Walk The Marketplace With A Product Lens
The B2B Summit Marketplace offers a fast way for product leaders to see how the ecosystem is evolving. With solutions spanning data, AI, buyer intelligence, content, analytics, and GTM technology, it’s a useful environment for spotting patterns: where platforms are converging, how AI is being embedded into products, and which capabilities are becoming table stakes.
An early walk-through can help you identify vendors worth deeper conversations — not necessarily to buy but to inform product strategy and competitive awareness.
Have Fun!
B2B Summit is an intense few days, and product leaders benefit from stepping out of decision mode now and then. Summit offers built-in moments to recharge and connect more informally, from networking receptions and onsite activities to the annual concert (featuring The Fray this year). If you can, carve out time to explore Phoenix — a change of scenery can help complex product and GTM challenges click into focus.
If you haven’t registered yet, do so now to hear as soon as our workshops, roundtables, and analyst one-on-one slots become available. Looking forward to seeing you in Phoenix!
