How IT Presales Teams Create Value

SEs: How often have you been introduced as the 'product expert' to your potential customers? This is a common challenge I've seen in presales, where solution engineers are often boxed into the role of "product experts." But it is a major misconception! The belief that presales is just about product knowledge severely limits our contribution and perceived customer value. Once tagged as the "product folks" - both with customers and internally - it is significantly harder to unfold our full potential. In really, we can do much more than just understand the product. 👁️ We offer insights, follow industry trends. 🧭 We guide our customers through their buying journey. 👋 We play a key role in helping our champions foresee and navigate challenges, increasing trust and confidence in our ability to meet their objectives while mitigating known risks. But being seen only as product experts hinders us to become the trusted advisor. In a time where customer experience is crucial and buying enterprise software has become more complex than ever, this view needs a change! It's about more than just the product or pricing; it's about the journey and the solutions we offer. It's time to rethink how we introduce and perceive our Solution Engineers. Internally, we need to recognize and value their wider role in delivering exceptional customer experiences. Externally, it's important to position them as the highly valuable asset they are. By leveraging the full range of their skills and insights - going beyond the demo - we can enhance our sales strategy and create a unique customer buying journey that will become a key differentiator. Let's move beyond the 'product expert' label - and unlock the full potential our SE community can provide to their customers and sales organisation!

In complex sales, deals aren’t won in late-stage pricing discussions. They’re won—or lost—early, in how well we qualify, shape, and align. That’s why forward-thinking companies are repositioning Solution Engineering as a strategic driver, not just a technical resource. In today’s environment: Presales = translation layer between product complexity and customer clarity Presales = filter that protects you from bloated CAC and unqualified pipeline Presales = truth serum for your ICP, messaging, and win-rate assumptions Presales = enabler of faster implementation and lower cost-to-serve But this only works if we stop treating SEs like demo jockeys. The best revenue teams are: ✅ Involving SEs earlier in the process! ✅ Pairing SE capacity with deal size and complexity! ✅ Using presales insights to shape GTM strategy—not just individual deals! ✅ Protecting SE bandwidth so they work where impact is highest! Because here’s the truth: You don’t scale revenue with just more sellers. You scale it by designing better deals.

Forget “Always Be Closing.” The best sellers today live by a different mantra: Always Be Educating. In a world flooded with templated emails, generic LinkedIn messages, and spammy cold calls, prospects have built up walls. Breaking through? It requires value - real, tangible value - before you ever ask for the meeting. Here’s how top teams are executing ABE: 1. Thought leadership over pitching: Instead of leading with “Can we schedule time?” reps are sharing insights...deep-dive research, industry trends, and actionable frameworks that actually help prospects do their jobs better. One team we work with here at Sales Assembly spends 4-5 months creating in-depth reports tailored to their ICP. These reports don’t push product. They educate. 2. No CTA? No problem. ABE isn’t about the hard sell. It’s about creating moments where the prospect wants to engage. “Saw this report on AI in healthcare - thought it might be useful.” No ask. Just value. And guess what? Prospects respond. More than you’d expect. 3. Hyper personalization at scale: Leveraging AI tools, teams are analyzing prospects’ challenges and tailoring educational content that speaks directly to them. It’s not just “Hey, I saw your company raised Series B.” It’s “Congrats on the Series B! Many SaaS companies at your stage face [insert challenge]. Here’s a breakdown of how others are navigating it.” 4. The ABE flywheel: - Educate first. - Build trust. - Create curiosity. - Earn the conversation. It’s slower than “spray and pray” tactics, but the ROI? Massive. Higher open rates. Better response rates. And prospects that want to talk because you’ve already given them value. In 2025, it’s not about who’s the loudest. It’s about who’s the most helpful.

At Microsoft, I created a framework called "Book of Dreams." Each one was a Portfolio of Future Value: Sales and field teams worldwide used them to shape multi-million-dollar digital transformation conversations. One banking team attributed $60M in new pipeline in the first six months. The building block of every Book of Dreams was a single pattern. The 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻. Here's how it works: 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Technology → Features → Hope customers care. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: Customer Pain → Desired Outcomes → Business Value → Solutions. That single flip changes everything. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 What is painful 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺? Not what you think is painful. What customers and employees are 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨. → Missing information → Too much manual work → Fragmented tools → Slow response times Pain creates urgency. Pain reveals opportunity. No pain = no scenario worth building. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 Here's the part most people miss. 𝗡𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆. Just outcomes: → Better visibility → Better decisions → Better experiences → Smoother journeys If you name the technology too early, you constrain the innovation. Describe the destination first. The path will follow. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 Every scenario has a leader who owns it. The CMO cares about loyalty and acquisition. The COO cares about productivity and margin. The CPO cares about retention and time-to-value. Name the role. Name what they need. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 One scenario is an idea. Ten scenarios, organized by Customer, Employee, and Operations, is a 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. Not features. Not a roadmap. A strategic map of 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥. This is what leaders can actually prioritize. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: Traditional planning forces you to compete at the feature level. This model keeps the focus on: Experience → Outcomes → Value. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿: It answers the hardest question in innovation: "𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁?" Instead of debating ideas, leaders see: → the problem → the desired outcome → the business value And can prioritize the scenarios that create the most impact. The Customer Scenario Pattern: Current State → Customer Pain Desired Future State → Better Outcomes Stakeholder Value → Business Impact Portfolio of Scenarios → Future Value Roadmap I built this at Microsoft. I've taught it to leaders around the world. It works in every industry. At every scale. Start with customer reality. The solutions will find themselves. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵?

Every team needs an operating system. Without one, people can run fast, but not in the same direction. For my org, I built an OS we can all anchor to: DRIVES. D = Discovery & Dry Run. Every deal is won or lost on discovery. And every demo deserves a rehearsal. No skipping the fundamentals. R = Revenue. Solutions isn’t “sales support.” We are a revenue engine. Our impact should be visible in pipeline and ARR. I = Innovation. Stop defaulting to the same flow. Every customer deserves a fresh angle of showing value. V = Value. Tie everything back to business outcomes. Tech alone doesn’t win. Solving a real problem does. E = Execution. A brilliant demo without disciplined execution is a wasted opportunity. S = Stories. Capture and share wins, losses, competitive insights. Knowledge hoarded is knowledge lost. Now when we walk into a deal review or a team call, we’re all asking: - Did we discover deeply enough? - Where’s the revenue impact? - What’s the story we’ll take back to the team? A shared theme turns principles into practice. P.S: Yes it is Formula 1 inspired 😉 #presalesevolution

There’s a lot of talk about metrics in presales, but I believe the most relevant ones aren’t the ones you can easily count. In my opinion, qualitative metrics far outweigh the quantitative ones when it comes to evaluating presales performance. Here’s why: It’s Not About the Numbers: The number of demos I deliver doesn’t tell you how effective I am. Nor does the number of activities logged. Volume isn’t performance. The Real Measure of Success: We should be judged on how well we persuade our audience that our solution is the best fit for their needs. It’s about influence, storytelling, and creating trust. How quickly can I attain trusted advisor status. The Satisfaction Factor: Another key measure is the satisfaction of the sales partners we support. Are we collaborative? Are we helping move deals forward effectively? Do our sellers want to work with us? The Quota Dilemma: Quota attainment often feels like a catch-all metric, but it includes so many factors outside of our control. While it’s important, it shouldn’t be the major factor in evaluating presales performance. These thoughts align closely with the ideas I shared in A Friendly Human in Presales. In the book, I emphasize the importance of influence, empathy, and connection – qualities that don’t show up in a dashboard but have an enormous impact on our success. At the end of the day, presales isn’t just about what we do – it’s about how we do it. It’s about the value we bring to the table, the relationships we build, and the trust we earn. What are your thoughts? Are we focusing on the right metrics in presales, or is it time to rethink how we measure success? #PresalesMetrics #SalesEngineering #Presales #Leadership #FriendlyHuman #StorytellingInSales

If you think charging for presales scares clients away, you're selling yourself short. The most profitable service firms I know have discovered the opposite. Clients who pay for presales work value your expertise more, not less. I recently spoke with a group of IT services leaders (much like the attentive audience in the photo) about this counterintuitive truth. One firm shared that implementing a presales fee structure increased their deal conversion by 20% while reducing scope creep by over 30%. Here's why it works: Charging for presales qualifies serious prospects immediately. When a client invests in discovery, they're demonstrating commitment to the relationship, not just shopping around. Paid discovery enables thorough risk assessment. Data shows 60-70% of project overruns originate from unidentified risks during free, rushed presales work. A proper paid discovery phase creates the space for identifying these risks before they become expensive problems. The key is transparency in your approach. Structure presales as tiered packages (Basic, Standard, Comprehensive) with clear deliverables for each. Make fees creditable toward the final project to ease adoption. Frame it as a risk-reduction investment that benefits everyone - not a cost. Your best clients will appreciate the professionalism, while the price-shoppers will self-select out of your pipeline. Have you experimented with charging for presales work? What objections or concerns have held you back from implementing this approach in your services business?

I've watched VP Presales teams rebuild their demos after SKO for more than 20 years. The ones who hit their year-end number all made very different moves in the first 30 days. They all started from a familiar place: - €300M to €500M SaaS companies - Global Solution Consultancy teams - Demo conversion stuck around 35% to 40% And the pressure was real: - New positioning announced, but SCs did not know how to demo it - Q1 quota up 25%, but conversion stayed flat - 90 days to prove SKO was not just a costly event When we reviewed their demos, the pattern was always the same: - Feature tours showing how to configure the platform - No value messaging tying features to business outcomes - Buyers leaving confused and overwhelmed - SCs spending time with people who could not actually buy Leadership knew their teams could do better. They told us: “Our SCs have very different backgrounds. Some know the product deeply but struggle to tell a business story. Others can sell but lack product depth. We don’t have specialists in every region” Here's what the successful VPs did before touching a single slide: 1. Diagnose baseline We reviewed real demos from every Solution Consultant to see: -How they adjusted to critical business issues -Whether they created urgency -How they framed value That allowed leadership to group people by skill level and helped us design training that matched reality. 2. Separate qualification from demonstration Right after SKO, sales and presales aligned on what had to be true before an SC joined a deal. Before any SC got assigned, AEs had to answer: What pain are we solving? Who's the champion? What's their budget authority? No pain diagnosis = no demo. Old sequence: AE books meeting → SC discovers + demos → deal stalls New sequence: AE finds pain → pain finds champion → champion finds budget → SC proves solution 3. Rebuild narratives and develop skills Every SC identified their 3 focus areas for skill development. After our tailored demo training, teams shifted to: Starting with customer summary, not product overview Showing outcome first, not features Tying everything to business value Saving technical depth for when it actually mattered They didn't stop at training: Online refreshers and masterclasses kept skills sharp Management coached through adoption 90 days later: - Significant increase in demo conversion rate - Shorter sales cycles - SCs working on winnable deals - Board meeting: targets hit While other VPs blamed pipeline, these VPs fixed conversion. This is how successful VP Sales leaders hit their year-end number. Q1 ends in 6 weeks. Your board meeting is in 4 weeks. You can spend Q2 explaining why you missed Q1. Or you can fix this now. I've spent 20 years fixing demo conversion for B2B SaaS companies across Europe. If your demo conversion is at 35% and your board meeting is approaching, DM me "SKO." I'll show you the two moves that started the transformation for teams who hit 55%+ within the quarter.

I've been in revenue leadership long enough to know the difference between a tool and a shift. Most presales AI we see in the market right now is productivity wrapping → a faster way for sales engineers to do what they were already doing. Useful. Not transformative. What Homerun Presales is building is something different. And as a CRO it's the first time I've seen technology that actually mirrors how I think about deploying a presales org. The insight is simple: The knowledge your best SEs carry shouldn't live in their heads. It should be connected… Personas ↔️ value drivers  ↔️  proof points  Competitive signals  ↔️  use cases  ↔️  plays Outcomes  ↔️  patterns  ↔️  process optimization And it should get smarter 🧠 every time an SE works a deal. What really matters to me is the accountability layer. Every recommendation the system makes leaves a trace. An SE can see why a play was called. They can challenge it. And when they do, the system updates. That's not just AI. That's your best SE's instincts encoded into institutional memory with a feedback loop. 😎

If I were the CEO of a scaling professional services firm today, my first move to drive revenue wouldn't be hiring more AEs. It would be investing in the Pre-Sales function. For a long time, professional services relied on "Vibes and Rizz." You had a smooth-talking salesperson and a generic slide deck. That worked when buyers were less informed and technology was less complex. Those days are over. Buyers are more savvy than they have ever been. They aren’t looking for a "general demo" or a high-level vision of what’s possible. They are looking for a roadmap to ROI. Here is why your pre-sales team needs to be your most talented practitioners: 1. The Death of the Generalist: A general demo feels like a waste of time to a modern buyer. They want to see how the technology handles their specific edge cases, their data, and their messy legacy systems. 2. Trust is the New Currency: When a practitioner who deeply understands the tech is on the call, the energy changes. They aren't just selling; they are architecting. That builds a level of trust that "charisma" can’t touch. 3. Protecting the Delivery Team: Scaling fails when sales closes "bad" revenue. Technical pre-sales experts ensure that what is sold is actually deliverable. This reduces churn, protects your margins, and keeps your delivery team from burning out. In 2026, you don't win deals on the golf course. You win by demonstrating you can solve their problem before the contract is even signed. Stop hiring more "closers" and start hiring more "architects."