Introduction
The best projects come from understanding what the customer needs and building a solution that will deliver this. A presales engagement is a process of discovery that allows you to find out what your customer wants and build the right solution for them. A good presales engagement will ensure that you have a high chance of success in delivering this project successfully
Get closer to your customer
As a salesperson, you will get to know your customer better. This will help in understanding the business needs, technical needs, and financial needs of the customer. You can also understand the timeline and risks that they are facing. This is important because often when there are changes in the project or delays it comes as a surprise to the client but if you have understood their problems beforehand then it is easy for you to handle such situations.
Build your product pipeline
In order to build a pipeline of projects, you need to start by building a pipeline of revenue. Why? Because you need cash flow in order to finance the business and grow it.
To generate these sales, you’ll need to know what product or service your customer wants or needs; this will help you figure out how much they’re willing to pay for it. You also need an idea as to what kind of relationship they’re looking for with your company—in other words: do they want something more like an experience or just simple information?
By working with prospects before their first purchase experience, you can better understand their needs and therefore create better products that solve them.
Build reference-able projects and be confident of the success in the marketplace
It is important to build a pipeline of reference-able projects. If a buyer wants to see what’s been done in the past, then it is important for them to see some examples of work. It is also good if the projects are similar to their project so that they can relate and understand where your company will fit into their business or organization.
You also want to be confident in your product because you don’t want any doubts or questions from potential clients about how effective or useful your product/service will be for them. You want them sold on your solution before they approach you with questions about price, timelines and delivery dates, etc. because this could lead down another path where they may not choose you as their supplier.
When building out these presales opportunities, try putting together brochures or other collateral materials that showcase what you do best!
Customers want to know that you understand their business needs and that you will get them right, the first time.
And what do customers want? They want to know that you understand their business needs and that you will get them right, the first time. They are not interested in your technology or how you got there, they just want to know that you will get it right.
The pre-sales process gives customers confidence in your abilities as an architect. It shows them that you can listen and learn about their business requirements before making any decisions. This makes for a better product and happier customer because when things go wrong later on, they can point to the fact that they did not sign off on this design decision at all – they said no from day one!
Lead from a place of knowledge
You need to lead from a place of knowledge. You can’t just tell people what they want, you have to show them how your product is going to solve their problems. This requires a deep understanding of the customer’s challenges and what they’re trying to accomplish with their business or organization in order for you to be able to offer something that provides real value.
When it comes down to it, if you don’t have that level of understanding about your customers, then you’re probably not really selling anything at all.
You need to speak with the authority
When you’re trying to close a sale, being able to speak with authority is key. If your customer doesn’t trust you or believes that your product won’t solve their problems, they won’t buy it. One of the most important things you can do to cultivate this trust is by demonstrating how much experience and knowledge you have in your field. This can be achieved through speaking with confidence and articulating complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way for a layman’s audience.
Presales can help a customer understand what they want and identify what it will take to deliver this
Presales help customers understand what they want and identify what it will take to deliver this. It allows you to lead from a place of knowledge, and speak with the authority that comes from it.
Customers come to you for help because they want to solve a problem or meet an objective. To do this, they must trust that you have the right answers in your toolbox—that’s why presales are so important!
Conclusion
The benefits of presales are clear and it’s worth investing in a well-thought-out approach. As we’ve outlined, it can help your sales teams build relationships with customers at an early stage and generate more leads as well as reduce the risk of failure or delays when launching new products. It’s also an opportunity to showcase your expertise, which is important if you want to be taken seriously in this competitive marketplace!