PreSales Unveiled: Discover, Qualify Hard, Tell the Story, Win Trust, and Stay Honest

What’s in for you?

In an era where Software as a Service (SaaS) has transformed the technological landscape, effective PreSales has emerged as the linchpin of successful business deals. Dive deep into the nuanced world of SaaS and unravel the intricate tapestry of PreSales with this comprehensive guide.

“The PreSales Handbook” offers readers a bird’s eye view of SaaS’s essence while grounding them in the tangible realities of PreSales. Understand the key characteristics of SaaS, its advantages, and how it diverges from traditional software distribution models.

PreSales is more than a process; it’s an art and a science combined. Discover the roles and responsibilities of a PreSales professional, the mindset required for success, and the ethical considerations underpinning every decision. Navigate the labyrinth of the buying and selling process, the demo’s art, and the objection handling’s intricacies.

Unearth the strategies for effective selling, master the technique of Proof of Concept execution, and stay ahead of the curve with insights into future SaaS trends. From understanding your silent competitor to positive positioning and personal branding to leadership in PreSales, every chapter is a treasure trove of knowledge.

But the journey doesn’t end there. With sections dedicated to metrics, KPIs, tools, and technologies, you’ll be equipped with all the resources to stay updated and drive continuous improvement.

Whether you’re a seasoned PreSales professional or just starting, this guide offers a wealth of information, strategies, and best practices. It’s not just a book; it’s an investment in your SaaS PreSales journey.

Grab your copy now and elevate your PreSales game in the dynamic world of SaaS.

Performing a demo can feel like you’re leading an expedition through hazardous conditions. Often prospects feel the same, and they want to run back to the safety of technology they know. You have to coax them along to guide your prospect to your solution.

It can feel like an overwhelming task, but Robert Riefstahl has the tactics you need to become the best in your field. He outlines how to identify and avoid “Demo Crimes,” build a value case for your solution, winning demo techniques, and ways to manage your audience’s personalities. Don’t give poorly constructed and mediocre demos. Demonstrate to win with this guide for demonstrating complex products

Sales and Sales Engineering leaders across the world have used the Trusted Advisor label hundreds of times over the past twenty years. Yet it really doesn’t mean that much without a lot of explanation. You may be thinking about some of these questions right now. Becoming a Trusted Advisor is not as simple as it sounds, which is why so many organizations either never try or make a half-hearted effort. Trusted Advisor – two words, five syllables, and fifteen letters hide a massive complexity. For the first time ever, there is now a book specifically designed to start the individual Sales Engineer on the journey to becoming a Trusted Advisor. Section One covers how to define and actually measure trust with your clients. Section Two looks at the practical aspects involved in building trust through Discovery, Presentations, Demos, and all the other standard activities of an SE. Section Three examines how to get started and put it all into practice – both for individuals and for SE teams. This is not one of those tiny 40-page eBooks. It’s over 150 pages of thoughts, ideas, best practices, and real-life examples based on dozens of clients and thousands of students who have already taken the workshop.

A head of sales commented, “80% of my team believes they do a good job with discovery, but sadly they do not – they don’t know what they don’t know…!”

Where do you stand with your discovery skills?

Level 1: Uncovers statements of pain;

Level 2: Uncovers pain and explores more deeply;

Level 3: Uncovers pain, explores deeply, broadens the pain and investigates the impact;

Level 4: Uncovers pain, explores and broadens, investigates impact and quantifies;

Level 5: Uncovers pain, explores and broadens, investigates impact, quantifies and reengineers vision;

Level 6: Applies these skills to the broad range of prospects represented across the Technology Adoption Curve, “burn victims”, disruptive and new product categories, transactional sales cycles, and other scenarios;

Level 7: Integrates and aligns the skills above into a cohesive discovery methodology.

Most sales, presales, and customer-facing teams are operating at Level 2 or 3, with a few at Level 4 – this leaves a lot of room for improvement!

And, as Cohan notes, “the vendor who is perceived by the prospect as doing a superior job in discovery is in a competitively advantageous position.”

Delivering effective demos is an art. One that takes lots of skill and practice. And, even if you’re a pro at demoing, you might be looking for a new strategy to up your game. Great Demo! outlines a proven methodology for improving your demos.

Peter Cohan shares his experience from delivering and viewing thousands of demonstrations. Deliver intelligent automated demos that are highly compelling using what he refers to as the “Do the Last Thing First,” concept. This book offers a straightforward process that can easily be applied to the demos you’re already doing every day.

Video calls and online meetings aren’t going away. The way we interact with colleagues and customers has shifted from in-person to largely online. So what happens when the skills we have for selling face-to-face fall flat on camera?

You still need to establish the same amount of credibility in virtual meetings, but many people make accidental blunders on camera that can derail the conversation and even the entire deal. Whether you’re interacting with customers or creating automated demos, this guide provides all you need to know to create a near in-person experience in a virtual or hybrid world.

Life is a series of negotiations you should be prepared for: buying a car, negotiating a salary, buying a home, renegotiating rent, deliberating with your partner. Taking emotional intelligence and intuition to the next level, Never Split the Difference gives you the competitive edge in any discussion.

What is Violent Communication?

If “violent” means acting in ways that result in hurt or harm, then much of how we communicate—judging others, bullying, having racial bias, blaming, finger pointing, discriminating, speaking without listening, criticizing others or ourselves, name-calling, reacting when angry, using political rhetoric, being defensive or judging who’s “good/bad” or what’s “right/wrong” with people—could indeed be called “violent communication.”

What is Nonviolent Communication? Nonviolent Communication is the integration of four things:

• Consciousness: a set of principles that support living a life of compassion, collaboration, courage, and authenticity

• Language: understanding how words contribute to connection or distance

• Communication: knowing how to ask for what we want, how to hear others even in disagreement, and how to move toward solutions that work for all

• Means of influence: sharing “power with others” rather than using “power over others”

Nonviolent Communication serves our desire to do three things:

• Increase our ability to live with choice, meaning, and connection

• Connect empathically with self and others to have more satisfying relationships

• Sharing of resources so everyone is able to benefit

The old ways of doing business to business (B2B) sales don’t work anymore. Changes to the market have been happening for years, and recent global events have only increased the rate those changes are happening. The old sales strategies aren’t working anymore. Strategies that used to be effective no longer achieve the desired results. Don’t remain stuck in the past.

Robert D. Riefstahl and Daniel J. Conway have discovered a new way forward: The Rule of 24.

The Rule of 24 will show you how to audit yourself, your industry and learn exactly what your customer is expecting from you. Then use that knowledge to transform your sales process by utilizing the power of extreme personalization. Become a master of all of your selling mediums and crush your competition. The rules have changed, but that doesn’t mean your future is uncertain. Understand what’s coming next and how to deal with it.

If you’ve found that the linear sales process you’ve lined out for customers isn’t working anymore, that’s probably because to the customer, the buying process isn’t linear. In fact, it’s extremely disjointed and doesn’t involve sales as much as you think. Sales must shift from a seller-centric attitude to a buyer-focused one. You need to become a buyer coach.

This book is the handbook for implementing a Buyer Enablement strategy. Which makes sense, since Garin coined the term during the early startup days of Consensus over seven years ago. Since then, we’ve covered the topic plenty and even made a simplified guide to help get you started on a Buyer Enablement strategy for your own organization. Seen all that already and still want more? Go right to the source with Selling is Hard, Buying is Harder.