Why PreSales Must Own the Sales-Product Relationship

By Brett Crane , VP Solutions at Vivun

This is the first article in a series exploring why and how PreSales leaders can add strategic business value by stepping up to lead internal Product-Field alignment processes.

After two decades in technical software sales, I can confidently say that one of the most impactful roles for PreSales lies in bridging the gap between sales and product.?

Many companies struggle to align these functions, causing the voice of customers to get lost in the process. Early in my career, I realized that SE insights can be the critical connective tissue, and that PreSales leaders are uniquely positioned to own this. Aligning Sales and Product teams has since become a core mission of my career.

Here's my take on why it's a timely PreSales problem and how it elevates our strategic impact while protecting the performance and integrity of high-performance teams.

Why is this a PreSales Problem to Solve?

In short, PreSales must own the solution because no one else is fully qualified or equipped to address the misalignment plaguing many organizations.?

SE teams have a specialized perspective and experience that makes them ideal candidates for leading the product-field alignment process. By nature, we're part sales and part product–the only experts in both domains. We play a critical "in-between" role, translating customer needs and product realities into revenue opportunities in a way no other team can.

Bluntly, by comparison, most salespeople don't know the product, and most product teams cannot sell.

That the best SEs excel in both stems from the required PreSales skillset and their unique daily focus. One experiential aspect, unique to the SE role, is the diversity and depth of conversations with customers and prospects. Sales often talks to prospects who aren't yet qualified, or they focus on building their skills to master parts of the deal cycle unrelated to the specifics of the product. The product team typically has fewer high-pressure selling conversations, and many of their interactions are limited to the biggest customers or advisory boards and separated from the buying process.

In contrast, PreSales teams interact with prospects and customers who have shown a propensity to buy, have been presented with the possible value of the solution, and are often hands-on judging the product through daily use, demonstrations, and POCs.

Moreover, we naturally approach most of our decision-making through a lens of value-selling and deep product understanding. We understand the nuanced struggles that arise when trying to clarify the product's value, its competitive differentiation, and the feasibility of delivering desired solutions.?

We're also often responsible for the value realization of the vision we present to buyers. The product has to actually work in a way that follows through with the benefits we demo and sell. Thus, SEs naturally identify mismatches in vision vs. reality that represent revenue opportunities, in the form of growing and preserving the size of our customer base.

Why Act Now?

The current business climate makes product-field alignment more critical than ever, especially for technology companies trying to make efficient revenue growth and retention decisions. Two key factors are driving this urgency in my mind:

1. Retention and customer success are top priorities in today's market. Even products that felt irreplaceable are up for debate at the time of renewal. PreSales teams feel this through deeper investment in all parts of the customer journey, helping drive proactive product adoption and assisting with churn prevention.
2. AI is heavily influencing all products, creating a lightning-fast pace of innovation and a new set of unforeseen capabilities. As a result, product feedback becomes hyper-critical when a new AI technology release might leapfrog a feature that mattered just 3-months ago.

By owning the product-field alignment process, PreSales can ensure that our organizations outpace these rapid changes and reorient in real time to better align with evolving customer needs and competitive realities.

Elevate the Strategic Impact of PreSales

For CROs, the key to sustainable growth lies in aligning product value with market demands. By stepping up to own the product-field alignment process, PreSales teams become the linchpin in this critical aspect of revenue generation and retention, shifting the SE team from a perceived sales support function into a strategic driver of business outcomes.

When PreSales owns the feedback process, it creates a direct connection between high-value customer needs and product development leading to:

1. Increased win rates: By influencing the roadmap based on real market feedback, we ensure our products outflank the competition and better align with customer demand, leading to easier wins.
2. Accelerated sales cycles: When products align closely with customer value, the sales process becomes more straightforward with fewer workarounds or customizations, reducing time-to-close.
3. Improved customer retention: Products that continually evolve based on customer feedback are more likely to retain and expand accounts, increasing customer lifetime value.

Moreover, this process allows for data-driven decision-making. CROs can now base strategic decisions on quantifiable metrics that link product improvements to revenue outcomes. For instance, CROs would be able to view how addressing specific product gaps could impact win rates, deal sizes, or deal velocity broken down by your customer segments.

For PreSales leaders, owning this process elevates our role from tactical to strategic:

1. It demonstrates the unique value that PreSales brings to the organization beyond just supporting sales. Result: clear ownership of a mission-critical program.
2. It gives us a seat at the table during the strategic decision-making process regarding product and target market focus. Result: SE leadership shapes company strategy instead of merely receiving decisions made by others.
3. It allows us to influence product development in ways that make our teams effective and successful in the long run. Result: more closed-won deals, more commission, and better team morale.

This strategic elevation also benefits the SE team, improving morale and retention by showcasing the direct impact of their strategic work on company success. It positions PreSales as trusted advisors who can speak authoritatively on both customer needs and product capabilities.

In essence, by owning the product-field alignment process, PreSales becomes an indispensable partner in driving revenue growth by providing CROs with the insights and alignment necessary to optimize go-to-market strategies.

Conclusion

As PreSales leaders, you have not only an opportunity but also a responsibility to your company and to your SE team to step up and own the product-field alignment process.?

Your unique perspective, the urgent need for better alignment in today's market, and the strategic benefits it can offer your company make this an opportunity you can't afford to ignore or let linger.?

By taking ownership of this cross-functional process and partnership, we not only drive better outcomes for our organizations but also elevate the PreSales role to new strategic heights. In the current B2B climate, when every function must justify its existence, being able to point to your distinct contributions to business outcomes has never been more critical.?

This is easier said than done, however. My next article will cover how to make this lofty vision an achievable reality.