Paul N. Lockhart

A quick reminder for the SE community 👋 Presales Collective and Navattic are collecting real-world data for the 2026 State of Demo Automation Report. SCs are spending more time customizing demos than ever. Demo automation is taking off. But the industry still lacks real benchmarks. Your input helps set the standard for where presales is today and where it is headed in 2026. If you have not filled out the survey yet, you still have time. It takes about five minutes and helps us better understand SE workloads, demo prep, and how demo automation is evolving across teams. 📊 Add your voice here: https://lnkd.in/gsw6mjV3 We’re excited to be partnering with Navattic on this initiative and bringing clarity to the future of demo automation.

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The MSP Channel doesn’t have a product problem… It has a maturity gap. Vendors are innovating. Distributors are enabling. But many MSPs are still operating on founder-dependent models that weren’t built for: • AI-driven complexity • Security-first expectations • Enterprise procurement standards • Recurring revenue discipline The next phase of channel growth won’t come from adding SKUs. It will come from helping MSPs move from Founder-Dependent → Enterprise-Ready. That shift is operational. And it’s financial. Enterprise-ready providers command materially different valuation multiples — not because of tools, but because of: • Standardized delivery • Packaged business outcomes • Embedded security • Leadership depth • Repeatable systems This is the path from MSP → BSP. The distributors and vendors who invest in raising operational maturity across their partner base will shape the next decade of channel growth. Curious how others in the ecosystem are thinking about operational maturity at scale? #MSP #ChannelPartners #ManagedServices #Cybersecurity #AI #BSP #ITLeadership #Distribution

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Presales aren’t dead—but they’re no longer a dealbreaker. In today’s market, developers are rethinking how they approach finance and presales are under pressure. Longer sales cycles, cautious buyers, and lender restrictions are slowing down great projects. That’s why smart developers are turning to non-bank solutions that work around rigid presale rules, not within them. At Development Finance Partners, we’ve helped clients secure funding with as little as 0–30% presales, using tailored deal structures that satisfy lenders and keep developments moving. We look beyond formulas—we assess deals on their strength, not just stats. 📍 If presales are stalling your next project, it’s time to talk strategy. 🔗https://lnkd.in/g86-23zK #Presales #ConstructionFinance #DevelopmentFinance #DFPInsights

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Lots of SCs get frustrated when AEs don’t intro them. But let’s be honest — Lots of SCs don't fully leveraging the intro when they do get one. Remember - even within the Presales community, we don’t fully understand each other’s titles. Assume your SC/SE/SA title tells them NOTHING! Instead, give them your elevator pitch: ✅ What you are ✅ What that actually means ✅ Why you’re here ✅ A little something memorable Not only does this frame your role clearly — It also primes the room for WHY you’re about to ask 47 million questions in the remaining 58 minutes of yet another Zoom call. On my Diary of a Sales Engineer episode, Sameer, Ryan, and I swapped SC elevator pitches. Here’s what mine looked like when I was a Fintech SC: “Hi, I’m Alice Egan, Senior Solutions Consultant. I’m a [product] and tech ecosystem expert. I’m here to make sure our solution is the best fit for you by really understanding what you’re trying to solve, what you need to connect to, and why. Also yes - American accent but I'm in two years deep working with London fintech, so I've probably seen your exact use case before." ✅ Title ✅ What that actually means ✅ Value ✅ Something memorable ✅ Street cred Bonus tip? Bring a lil' background into it. Former paralegal now selling legal software? Say it. Former Hill staffer now selling to PubSec? Lead with it. Former support agent turned SC at Zendesk? I often started with that. Buyers don’t care about your title. They care about trust. Relevance. Connection. Your intro is your chance to create that. So… what’s your elevator pitch? 👇

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Without structure, accountability never sticks. Here’s the cadence we teach MSP sales leaders to enforce accountability: ✔️ Monthly team reviews → wins, scorecards, pipeline exceptions, decisions ✔️ Weekly 1:1s → close gaps and unstick stalled deals ✔️ Clear consequences → on target = autonomy, off target = coaching, repeated misses = PIP Most MSPs skip one of these. That’s why nothing changes. In our Oct 9 webinar at 11:30 a.m. ET, we’ll give you the templates to install this cadence and the leadership tools to keep it from falling apart next quarter. 👉 Registration link in comments

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𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐒𝐈𝐬 ≠ 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬  99.9% of ISV/OEM Partner Sellers—when they think about building pipeline with GSI partners—the *very first thing* that comes to their mind is:  👉 “Let’s share a list of accounts.”  That’s a **NO NO.**  Not their fault. For years, Partner Sellers have been tuned to think about pipeline with GSIs in this narrow way. But GSIs don’t move on lists—they move on **systems, sources, and scale.**  Today, I am sharing some proven tips for ISV/OEM Partner sellers to build pipeline with GSIs:  Tip 1: Never think on an account-by-account basis.   Tip 2: Always start with *sources* of pipeline.   Tip 3: Remember, a source can be:   - A particular person inside the GSI organization - An enablement session with a GSI team   - A specific segment in an industry vertical   - A portfolio leader driving a theme  Now the reality fact: Every Partner seller at the start of a quarter, often feels that account-by-account strategy is already exhausted. That’s when the best Partner Sellers stay **creative and innovative**—finding new sources, new plays, and new energy.  "𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐒𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚."- Harit Nandra 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐈𝐒𝐕/𝐎𝐄𝐌 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧—𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭 & 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦, 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐆𝐒𝐈𝐬. Happy Selling with GSIs!  

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