Presales vs. Sales: The Dynamic Duo Driving Growth

When it comes to driving revenue growth, sales often gets the glory. And rightfully so – those final negotiations and contract signings are the moments of truth that every company celebrates.

However, there is an unsung hero working diligently behind the scenes to pave the path for sales success: presales. This critical function goes by many names – sales engineering, solution consulting, technical sales – but whatever you call it, presales plays an indispensable role in closing deals and delighting customers.

In fact, according to research by the Sales Enablement Collective, organizations with a dedicated presales team see:

• 34% higher win rates
• 24% shorter sales cycles
• 32% larger average deal size

Clearly, this dynamic duo of presales and sales is a one-two punch that leads to outsized outcomes. But what exactly is the difference between these two intertwined functions? Let‘s explore.

Presales is the Technical Yin to Sales‘ Commercial Yang

At a high level, presales and sales share the same ultimate goal – winning new business. But they approach this objective with distinct focuses:

Presales is responsible for the technical win – ensuring the solution is the right fit for the customer‘s environment and will deliver the desired business outcomes. Their mission is to instill confidence that the product can meet, and exceed, the customer‘s requirements.

Sales is responsible for the commercial win – obtaining buy-in from economic decision makers and procurement, and formalizing the partnership with a signed contract. Their focus is on business value, pricing and terms.

While sales is busy building relationships and overcoming commercial objections, presales is rolling up their sleeves and doing the technical heavy lifting to architect and validate the solution. To illustrate this division of duties, here is a comparison of some typical presales and sales activities:

Presales Activities	Sales Activities
Technical discovery and needs analysis	Business discovery and needs analysis
Solution design and configuration	Commercial structuring and pricing
Product demonstrations and walkthroughs	Business value articulation and ROI
Proof-of-concepts and pilots	Negotiation and contract redlines
RFP and security questionnaire responses	Relationship building and stakeholder mapping
Reference calls with technical buyers	Closing and procurement process

As you can see, presales and sales each play to their strengths to divide and conquer the work required to bring in a new customer. But this does not mean they operate in silos – far from it. The magic happens in the moments when presales and sales come together.

The Presales and Sales Partnership in Action

The relationship between presales and sales is not a relay race – it‘s a tango. From first touch to closed won, these two functions must move in lockstep to earn the customer‘s trust and business.

According to Bob Riefstahl, founder of 2Win! Global, a leading presales training firm, "The highest performing sales teams recognize that presales is not a supporting role, but rather an equal partner in winning the deal. Presales brings deep technical expertise and credibility that complement sales‘ business and relationship prowess."

This dynamic is especially apparent when you look at how presales and sales interact across different stages of the sales cycle:

Early Stage (Prospect/Qualify)

• Presales joins intro call with sales rep to ask technical qualification questions
• Sales focuses on business qualifiers like budget, authority, need and timeline
• Together they decide whether to advance the opportunity based on technical fit and sales methodology

Mid Stage (Demo/Validate)

• Presales delivers tailored product demos and builds custom proof-of-concepts
• Sales articulates business value and ROI of proposed solution
• Continuous feedback loop between presales and sales based on customer reactions and objections

Late Stage (Negotiate/Close)

• Presales serves as technical advisor and subject matter expert to customer stakeholders
• Sales focuses on commercial negotiations and legal contracts
• Tight alignment ensures the final contract aligns to the validated solution

Post-Sale (Onboard/Implement)

• Presales transitions technical details to implementation team to ensure seamless handoff
• Sales serves as escalation point and maintains relationship with economic buyer
• Regular check-ins between presales and sales to optimize solution and identify expansion opportunities

At each phase, presales and sales are in constant communication, sharing insights from customer conversations, strategizing on win themes, and mobilizing the right resources. Their joint planning and real-time collaboration are the secrets to more efficient deals.

Structuring Presales for Maximum Impact

Now that we‘ve established the ‘what‘ and ‘why‘ of presales, let‘s discuss the ‘who‘ and ‘how‘. What does an effective presales organization look like? And how do you foster a thriving presales and sales partnership?

Presales teams come in all shapes and sizes depending on the company‘s go-to-market model, product complexity, and resource constraints. Some common organizational structures include:

Overlay Model

• Presales reps are paired with one or more sales reps based on geography or named accounts
• Tight alignment enables presales to build strong relationships with the sales reps they support
• Provides a consistent presales experience for customers engaging with those sales reps

Pool Model

• Presales reps are assigned to deals on an as-needed basis from a centralized pool
• Offers more flexibility for presales resources to be deployed across a wider range of sales reps and territories
• May lack continuity for customers if multiple presales reps are engaged at different points in the deal

Hybrid Model

• Combines the overlay and pool model for the best of both worlds
• Dedicates named presales resources to larger deals and strategic accounts
• Leverages a pool of shared presales resources for smaller or transactional deals

Regardless of structure, the key is to design a presales engagement model that balances the needs of both the customer and the sales rep. Presales should be seen as a strategic advisor, not an order taker or a roadblock.

Some best practices for building a high-impact presales function include:

• Set aligned goals: Implement a joint presales and sales compensation plan that rewards the right behaviors and outcomes. Track leading indicators like early-stage presales involvement and technical win rates.

• Define clear rules of engagement: Document the specific criteria and steps for how and when to engage presales on a deal. Provide templates and talking points to guide customer conversations.

• Invest in enablement: Develop onboarding boot camps, ongoing training, and certifications to keep presales skills sharp. Create battlecards for common objections and competitor knockouts.

• Leverage the right tools: Implement demo and proof-of-concept platforms to streamline solution design and delivery. Adopt RFP and questionnaire response databases to efficiently handle inbound requests.

• Gather feedback: Survey customers and sales reps regularly for input on presales effectiveness and areas for improvement. Share feedback broadly and make optimizations accordingly.

The most sophisticated sales organizations treat presales as a craft, not an afterthought. They adopt a mindset of continuous improvement, always looking for ways to level up their presales talent, process, and technology. Because they know that when presales and sales are firing on all cylinders, everybody wins – the customer, the company, and the quota.

The Proof is in the Presales Pudding

Anecdotally, most sales leaders agree that presales has a tangible impact on deal velocity and win rates. But you don‘t have to take their word for it – the data speaks for itself.

The Sales Enablement Collective found that companies that involve presales in early-stage deals (before demo) see:

• 73% higher win rates
• 61% higher ACV
• 44% shorter sales cycle

And according to McKinsey, "Companies that have mastered the presales motion see a 30-50% improvement in conversion rates while accelerating sales cycle time by 10-20%."

But perhaps the most compelling proof point comes from Gong.io‘s analysis of over 100,000 sales opportunities. They discovered that on won deals, presales was involved in 30% more meetings and spent 50% more time engaging with the buyer than on lost deals.

As Haley Katsman, VP of Revenue Strategy at Highspot, puts it, "There‘s a reason why top-performing sales orgs are doubling down on presales. In an era of complex buying cycles and rigorous technical evaluations, presales is becoming the X factor, the make-or-break role. The data doesn‘t lie."

Conclusion

In the high-stakes game of B2B sales, presales is the ace up your sleeve. This unsung hero works tirelessly behind the scenes to shape deals, drive technical wins, and lay the foundation for long-term customer success.

Presales is the perfect complement to sales, the technical yin to the commercial yang. When these two functions move in lockstep, magic happens – faster deals, bigger contracts, happier customers. It‘s a beautiful tango.

But developing presales into a well-oiled machine takes commitment and diligence. It requires an investment in the people, processes, and tools that enable presales to shine. It demands a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement.

The payoff, however, is undeniable. The ROI of presales speaks for itself in shorter sales cycles, higher win rates, and heftier ACV. In a world where every deal counts, presales is the differentiator.

So if you want to elevate your sales game, look no further than presales. Empower this secret weapon. Build the dynamic duo. And watch your revenue grow.