It is a well-known fact that presales, sales engineers, and solution consultants are often seen as trusted technical advisors by buyers throughout their purchasing journey. And in this world of back-to-back video conferencing and remote selling, presales and technical selling are more top-of-mind than ever.

This trend is unlikely to change, and recent quantitative data from two reliable sources, Gartner and Mastering Technical Sales, further prove this point.

 

What Buyers Find Valuable During Purchasing Process

Gartner published a report titled “Providers Should Tailor Sales Enablement Strategies by Role to Increase Buyer Engagement” in 2018 and updated it in 2020, reflecting that buyers get the most value from technical demonstrations, personalized sales presentations, and discovery sessions that are typically led by presales professionals.

It is common for presales to utilize informal formal playbooks, like Great Demo!, for example, to conduct technical discovery, presentations, and demos to identify and map value to the buyer.

Additionally, another finding by John Care from Mastering Technical Sales, published on January 2020, indicates that throughout the technology purchasing process, buyers in mid-management, individuals, and the C-suite all find the greatest value from engaging with the technical team, which is typically the presales, sales engineering and/or solution consultant.

It is no surprise that recent conversations with public board members and chief revenue officers (CROs) have prompted statements such as the following:

“The days of two bottles of wine sales, primarily led by the sales rep, are over. People don’t have the time or inclination to do this anymore. There is a bigger reliance on engaging presales earlier in the sales process.” –Board Member

“I used to think that behind every great sales rep, there is a sales engineer. I now realize that is an antiquated way of looking at things. The reality is that beside every sales engineer are several sales reps.” – Chief Revenue Officer

For sellers looking to deliver the most value fastest to their buyers, investments in presales talent, tooling, and training are a must. The data on what buyers find valuable are too compelling to ignore, so invest in presales now.