The 'Real' PreSales Business Card (according to Buyers)

It's healthy to regularly challenge the deeply held beliefs we have in our PreSales profession and craft. I often get asked about what we should use as a job title and what we should call ourselves on our business cards (if you still use them), so here are my thoughts.

Internally, I don't think it really matters what you call the PreSales team as long as you have a well-defined and understood career path with matching competencies and a clear understanding of the services you provide that impact revenue. The role of PreSales is in flux at the moment, we're realigning around the world of Buyer Enablement, and our skill set is in demand across the whole buyer journey, not just the traditional 'mid-sales funnel'.  

If you look at the research into what B2B Technology Buyers want, then, externally, we might as well call ourselves 'The Person You Actually Wanted to Speak To'.

I'm in no way denigrating the role of our Sales colleagues; I've always said 'we both win and lose as a sales team', but modern Buyers do get frustrated with all the hurdles and qualification steps we put in their buying journey. Modern Buyers know that the 'Book a Demo' button, for instance, isn't going to get them a demo, well not immediately, it's going to get them multiple qualification 'interrogations' that they need to pass before they get access to 'the person they actually wanted to speak to', PreSales.

Sometimes, all that Buyers actually want, is to ask the advice of someone who's a technical authority, who's credible, articulate, understands the business case, value proposition and outcomes and can advise on the buying journey. Sounds like us, doesn't it?

'You See PreSales' Eye Test T-shirt

It's always a good exercise to clear your thoughts once in a while and boil down what you want to say into a single sentence.

For early Summer 2023, this is what I was thinking about. Says it all really!

If you're interested in having this printed as a T-shirt or on the side of a coffee cup then here, for free, is the original PNG file.