Presales, the Art of Successful Sales

For those readers who have been in sales Tech for a while, these lines will sound very familiar. But for those who haven't heard the term: Pre-sales so far in their lives, I think it is worth to read it through.

In most B2B softwares (and some B2C companies as well) there is a (hidden) function (should we name it sub-function?) named Pre-sales (more recently evolved to Solution Consulting). Often people do not even know the existence. Those who know it, when hearing "pre-sales," they immediately think demo. A scripted slick walkthrough of a tool.

A technical validation exercise; a technical person supporting the sales cycle; an add-on individual in a(nother) meeting; a role in the background 🪛. That perception couldn't be further from the truth — and it's time to change it.

Pre-sales is not just a step in the sales process. It is the engine that drives it. Yet too often, pre-sales professionals remain the unsung heroes of the revenue team: critical to success, but not recognized enough for the value they really bring.

The pre-sales job is an art, not a side task. Not everybody can do it. Many tries (or asked to do it) for lack of better options. Not everybody knows how to do it properly. 🧑‍🎨

The true Art of Pre-sales 🎨 goes far beyond demonstrating software. It’s about understanding people at a profound level — uncovering real pain points that even the buyer might not have fully articulated yet. 🌠

It’s about asking the right questions, reading between the lines, reading-understanding-capturing the room, piecing together challenges that buyers themselves sometimes struggle to connect.

Pre-sales is where discovery becomes strategy💫; where technology becomes storytelling📖; where deals🤝 are truly won, or lost.

A great pre-sales professional doesn't just "demo." They translate complex solutions into clear, relatable value for every buying persona — from the CTO worried about scalability to the CFO focused on ROI. They navigate technical objections, align use cases to strategic goals, and craft a journey so intuitive that buying feels natural.

They are characters on stage, performing their best track. No matter if there is an agenda or not; no matter if they are invited to a "important meeting" only minutes before the start 🕑, no matter if they are not debriefed or preped, true pre-sales are brave, fearless, they know their value and what they can do.

More often than not, it is the first sensible voice to deliver some insightful light to Prospects; to pronounce (the first) "NO! dear Prospect...and here is why"🆘 to questions or/and unachivable requests; to bring back the (derailed) conversation to the right and meaningful track; to (re)set tangible expectations; to demo-nstrate that somthing is possible.

Pre-Sales is the mind 🧠behind and beyond the appearance.

And yet, despite being a cornerstone of success, pre-sales teams are often viewed as secondary to "core" Sales, "a supporting function..." many consider it. Their influence is underestimated, their career paths are muddied, and their departments are frequently tucked under Sales without the autonomy they deserve.

In leading organizations, forward-thinking leaders are recognizing that Pre-Sales should be an independent function, not just an extension of Sales; should seat at the "big-boy" table👩‍💼; should have the voice directly correlated to the value they generate.

• Pre-Sales deserves its own leadership, its own strategy, its own seat at the table.
• Pre-Sales should be nurtured, grown, and measured by how it empowers both customers and sellers — not just by how many demos it delivers.

Most of the industry has not realized or admitted yet that Sales and Presales are fundamentally two different jobs. They are driven by different values, expectations and drivers 🤑. Their career growth are not similar, their interests are diverse, their focus as well. More often than not, those who have been pre-sales in the past perform much better in a sales positions, than the other way around (as they know "what" they are talking about).

In the short to mid term, when Pre-Sales is empowered, sales cycles shorten, win rates soar, customer relationships deepen, and technology truly serves business outcomes. In the long term, due to their forward looking attitutide and curiosity, pre-sales represents a mine of (product, market, approaches) ideas and opportunities to discover. 💡💡💡

So next time, instead of bringing in another external Executive, firm, specialist, consultant, what if we do not simply go and ask (include, promote, listen to, etc etc) to the team that live, breathe, perform every day in the Market, positioning and selling (the) technology? How revolutionazing (or clever) would that be? 🌌

The future belongs to companies that treat Pre-Sales not as a support act, but as a strategic protagonist of the company, prospects and customers journeies.

Because, during a sales process, when you have a problem, you go to Pre-sales... then:

Recognize it. Elevate it. Invest in it. 🪴
Because Pre-Sales isn’t behind the scenes. Pre-Sales is the scene. 🧑‍🎤