invest in presales
TRANSCRIPT
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INVESTING IN
From SMEs to Solution Consultants
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ABOUT MEAND WHY I’M TELLING YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT PRESALES
GEORGE BARA
3GEORGE BARATHE GUY STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU
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1
6
300+
Years in Software
Technical book
published
Years in Presales
Customer
engagements
Solutions Director, Government Intelligence EMEA at
I live and work in Cluj-Napoca
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PRESALES ENGINEER
PRESALES CONSULTANT
SOLUTIONS CONSULTANT
“TECHIE”SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT
WHAT DOES ACTUALLY “PRESALES” MEAN?SO WE HAVE A PROPER START
SPECIFIC TO TECHOLOGY AND SOFTWARE SALES PROCESS.
ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BEFORE A CUSTOMER IS AQUIRED.
“THE TRUSTED SIDE OF SALES”
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THESOFTWARE SALE
AN OBVIOUSLY OVERSIMPLIFIED VIEW
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New Product Introduction
- Market definition- Market campaign
- Preliminary qualification by telemarketing
- Further qualification by Sales
Lead Qualification
RFP
- Optional- Try to avoid unsolicited RFPs
- Discovery or Needs Analysis
- Learn about the customer
Customer Engagement
Post Sales Support
- Implementing the solution
- Further developing the relationship
- Up-sell opportunity
THE SOFTWARE SALES CYCLEIT’S NOT LIKE SELLING CARPETS
- Working with Procurement
- Financial and legal terms
Negotiate and Close
Present, Demonstrate,
Propose
- Solution presentation and
demonstration- Optional PoC
- Solution design
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Marketing Technical Sales = PreSalesSales
RFP
Discovery & Engagement
Presentation
Demonstration
Proposal
Evaluation
WHERE DOES THE “PRESALES” COME INKEY TASKS FOR TECHNICAL SALES
Negotiation: close or lose
Post-sales support
Up-selling
Marketing CampaignsAttend tradeshows, establish
relationships with partners
Answer hundreds of technical
questions
Conduct business analysis and
background reading
Synthesize the analysis into a
presentation of your business value
Demonstrate the solution that
delivers your value proposition
Develop a written proposal to be
used as part of a financial proposal
Prepare, define, monitor and work
with the customer on the PoC
This is Sales’ territory
Handover to the delivery team;
maintain customer relationship
Sell add-on products
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TechnicalThe job of the Presales/Solutions Consultant.
A key set of processes specific to Software Sales, where technical knowledge is required.
CommercialThe job of the Sales Representative or Business Development Manager.
This is what has been known traditionally as “Sales”.
50%
50%
A SOFTWARE SALE IS BOTH COMMERCIAL AND TECHNICALPRESALES’ JOB IS TO CLOSE THE TECHNICAL SALE
CommercialSale
TechnicalSale
+
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Every sale has
five basic
obstacles: no
need, no
money, no
hurry, no
desire, and no
trust
Zig Ziglar
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The Purchase
The group with the actual solution requirements. The users, sponsors and enemies sit in this group.
Business
Oversees the process and makes sure acquired solutions are inline with the strategy and future plans.
Executive
The contract owners, with powers over legal and financial terms.
Procurement
IT, IT standards or IT security, the so-called “Gate keepers”. They can
only be sold “technically”
IT
WHY IS PRESALES CALLED “TRUSTED SIDE of SALES”?SEE THE SALES FROM THE CUSTOMER’S EYES
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“I don’t want to be sold”
The customer wants to feel like he
makes the buying decision, based
on his terms. She doesn’t want to
be “sold”.
“Sales only wants to sell”
It is really difficult for Sales to
establish an immediate trust
relation with the customer.
“I need a trusted advisor”
Previous experience, industry
knowledge and the technical
approach makes presales a trusted
representative of the Sales party.
“Technical ≠ Sales”
A technical expert – although
working in sales – is not regarded
as a “sales rep” by the customer
WHY DO CUSTOMERS TRUST PRESALES?WHAT’S IN THE MIND OF THE CUSTOMER
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THE PRESALESPROFILE
YOUR SMEs AND HOW TO MAKE THEM GREAT
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Solution ExpertKnow your software products and
solutions in-and-out
CommunicatorAnd also excellent presenter, networker
and hi-scorer in all soft skills
Project ManagerManage multiple PoCs in parallel,
spanning from weeks to months
Sales OrientedGood negotiator and influencer with the
aim to close the deal.
Industry ExpertKnow the industry, standards, competitors, trends and software in general
Self AwareHe is the face of the company, so need to build a strong persona and professional brand
Team PlayerWork harmoniously with peers from sales, support, product and engineering
GyShiDo Master70% of the time is all about fire-fighting.
THE IDEAL PRESALES PROFILEAS ILUSIVE AS THE MYTHICAL SASQUATCH
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SMEYour solution architect or product specialist that has presales potential (soft skills). Comfortable in front of the customer, with an interest in the product lifecycle.
Presales EngineerManaging demo instances. Setting up customized demos. Performing basic qualifications, discoveries and demonstrations. RFP work with Engineering support.Attends company events and hosts webinars.
Solutions ConsultantA solution architect turned sales consultant.Works on multiple products and designs complex software solutions based on extensive customer qualification and discovery.Works with product marketing and product management.
Presales ManagerManages a team of presales consultants and engineers.Oriented on processes, procedures and continuous improvement of the team.Evaluates the team’s performance and maintains a culture of collaboration and gratification.
Solution EvangelistIndustry renowned specialist, the face of the company.Attends key industry events, host webinars, leads the product strategy group and consults on an executive level.
THE LADDER TO GREATNESSTHERE IS LIFE BEYOND SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
❶❷
❸❹
❺
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1You can’t be a presales unless you are willing to travel frequently to customers; about 50% of the working time.
TRAVEL
2A sales year is typically split in Sales Quarters, each with a target. Everyone in Sales becomes mental at the end of each quarter.
SALES IS TOUGH
3You will be one of the most visible people in your company, from engineers, support, product, to the executive team. This is both good and bad.
VISIBILITY
4Presales is part of Sales, so you get commission out of every sale you help close. Likely a 60/40 salary/bonus split.
BONUSES
WHAT YOU NEED TO REALLY KNOW ABOUT YOUR JOBAND WHY IT’S GREAT AND IT ISN’T AT THE SAME TIME
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The presales “bible”
• Not just a “handbook”, but the most comprehensive book on technical presales.
• 3rd edition, up to date with latest trends in the software industry.
• The authors – John and Aron - have been in Presales since the 80s, now both accomplished executives.
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FURTHER READINGTHAT’S WORTH READING!
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ARE YOUPRESALES READY?
SOFTWARE SALES GREATNESS, HERE WE COME!
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You don’t
need presales
because your
products are
the best and
they basically
sell
themselves.
Delusional CEO
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Sales
E P S #
Engineering“Please join a call
about our encryption techniques”
Product“Please do a demo and
speak about the roadmap”
Support“Please help with this 400
page RFP”
EveryoneWho is available and
willing
WHAT IS PRESALES CHAOSWHEN YOU DON’T HAVE PRESALES
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Level OneNo process
Level TwoAdopting process
Level ThreeOperational
Level FourRepeatable
No shared, organizational, consistent practices for
Presales.
No defined roles, no consistency in roles or activities.
A PRESALES ROADMAPFIND YOUR ORGANIZATION IN THESE LEVELS
Continuous Improvement
An operational process that drives Presales activity
and behavior.
Presales own Technical Sales closure and is
accountant for technical decisions.
Management acknowledges Presales a being
strategic.
Sales process adopted, but does not drive Presales
activity and behavior.
Mostly technical support, with some organizational
acknowledgement.
Documented, operational, enterprise-wide,
repeatable, measurable, managed, self-improving
Presales process.
The Presales role is well-defined and accepted by
executive management.
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Tech giants like Oracle and Microsoft have based their sales growth since the 80s on developing a strong
Presales organization. The emergence of SaaS and Cloud lead to the idea that products can sell themselves.
Some can, but most require constant and consistent technical sales approaches.
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PRESALES HELP SALES INCREASE
It’s a buffer between Sales and everyone else. Sales doesn’t understand what you do in Engineering: releases,
tasks, sprints... So they won’t care about your well defined time management scheme. Presales will not only
support Sales, but will become a valuable repository of knowledge.
PRESALES BRINGS SANITY IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
You can’t just give your SME a Presales title and things will just work out. Presales requires specializes hard and
soft skills building, specialized processes, tools and success metrics. Once again: it’s not Sales, but it’s not
Engineering either.
IT’S A SPECIFIC ROLE, WITH SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
THREE KEY POINTS YOU NEED TO REMEMBERAND THAT’S ABOUT IT
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CONTACT MEI ACTUALLY REPLY TO MESSAGES AND EMAILS (SOMETIMES)
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I work in the SDL Cluj-Napoca office, Constanta street no. 24
SDL
WANT TO KNOW MORE?ABOUT PRESALES, LIFE AND POLITICS
https://ro.linkedin.com/in/georgebara
QA