Pre-sale: What it is, why it's needed, and how it works

Contents:

• What is a presale
• Why implement a presale
• How does a presale work?
• How to organize presales: best practices
• How to learn more about sales

Sales volume depends on many factors, including the organization of pre-sales. Effective pre-sales plays a key role in attracting customers and generating interest in a product or service. Proper planning and implementation of a pre-sales strategy can significantly increase the likelihood of successful product sales and, as a result, increase overall sales.

We have prepared a translation of an article about pre-sales from Lucidchart, the developer of an application for creating business diagrams. Lucidchart offers effective tools for visualizing processes and organizing information, making it an ideal solution for business. This article discusses key aspects of pre-sale, including strategies and approaches that can help improve customer engagement and increase sales effectiveness.

• What is pre-sale?
• Why implement pre-sale?
• How pre-sale works?
• Best practices for implementing pre-sale.

What is pre-sale?

Pre-sale is the stage preceding the sale. During the pre-sale stage, important activities are carried out aimed at preparing for the launch of a product or service. During this period, market analysis is carried out, the target audience is formed, and marketing strategies are developed. Pre-sale also includes the creation of preliminary materials, such as presentations and advertising campaigns, which will help interest potential customers. Effective work at the pre-sale stage increases the chances of successful sales and ensures high interest in the product after its launch.

• search for potential clients;
• research the product;
• research the market;
• analyze competitors;
• prepare scripts for communication with clients;
• think over solutions for various client pain points;
• develop a unique selling proposition.

Pre-sales plays a key role in the process of attracting new clients and returning existing ones. Effective pre-sales preparation allows sales and marketing teams to identify new opportunities and significantly speed up the closing process. A competent pre-sales strategy helps improve customer interactions and increase conversion rates, which ultimately leads to increased sales and a stronger company position in the market.

Pre-sales and sales are interconnected, but different processes that play a key role in successful commercial activity. The pre-sales phase focuses on market research, developing attractive customer offers, and testing hypotheses. This process includes analyzing the needs of the target audience and creating a unique offering that will meet customer needs. Once the company creates a compelling offer and establishes contact with the potential client, the pre-sales phase is complete, and the client is transferred to the sales department. Effective integration of these two processes contributes to increased conversion and sales growth, which ultimately leads to a stronger company position in the market.

A key factor in business success is the creation of an integrated sales process that ensures the distribution of resources among The right people at the right time. Effective collaboration between sales and presales teams is the foundation for successful completion. Each member of these teams must have the necessary tools and information to achieve high results. Coordinated work and mutual support throughout the entire process contribute to increased sales and an improved customer experience. Skillbox courses for those seeking to advance their careers in sales offer unique opportunities for training and professional growth. The course program covers key aspects of sales, including client communication techniques, developing effective strategies, and using modern tools. Participants will gain practical skills that will help them successfully manage sales tasks. Training is conducted under the guidance of experienced professionals, guaranteeing high-quality knowledge transfer. Join Skillbox courses and discover new horizons in the world of sales.

• "Sales Management" — build sales strategies and manage teams.
• "Internet Marketer from Scratch" — acquire basic internet marketing skills in six months of practice and make money from them.
• "Product Marketer" — introduce products to the market and fully manage their marketing.

Why Implement Pre-Sale

Effective pre-sales helps increase business revenue and lead generation. According to Harvard Business Review, properly organized pre-sales activities can increase a company's revenue by 6-13% and speed up the purchasing decision process by 10-20%. This highlights the importance of implementing pre-sale strategies to improve financial performance and business growth.

After implementing pre-sale, you can expect the following results: increased interest from potential customers, a better understanding of the target audience's needs, and an increase in conversion and sales. Pre-sale allows you to interact with customers more effectively, providing them with the necessary information and supporting them at all stages of the decision-making process. This helps build trust and increase brand loyalty. It is important to note that the results of implementing pre-sale depend on the quality of the materials prepared and the customer interaction strategy.

• the number of leads will increase;
• the quality of leads will improve;
• lead processing will speed up;
• the customer churn rate will decrease;
• return on investment will increase;
• customer satisfaction will increase.

A well-thought-out pre-sale can significantly accelerate business growth compared to competitors. The pre-sales team thoroughly researches customer behavior, needs, and challenges. This allows companies to develop personalized offers that attract greater attention from the target audience and increase the likelihood of successful sales. Using customer data, businesses can effectively adapt their strategies, which in turn helps increase conversions and improve the customer experience.

How Pre-Sale Works

Pre-sales is an important stage that largely replicates the sales process, complementing and supporting it at every level. This process consists of several key steps that help prepare the client for purchase and ensure successful completion of the transaction. Effective pre-sales includes researching the target audience, generating preliminary interest, establishing contact, and providing the necessary information about the product or service. Each of these stages helps minimize risks and increase the likelihood of a successful sale.

• creating a profile of potential buyers;
• studying customers;
• developing a sales proposal;
• follow-up work to increase the number of repeat sales.

Now let's look at each stage in more detail.

Creating a buyer persona is an important step in a marketing strategy. Initially, it is necessary to identify the ideal client and study their behavioral patterns. This involves analyzing the actions, interests, and income of the target audience. Creating an accurate buyer persona helps determine which audience to target, which increases the likelihood of successful sales and customer satisfaction. A proper understanding of the needs and preferences of the target group allows you to more effectively tailor marketing strategies and improve customer interactions.

Customer research is an important step in the sales and marketing process. To do this, it is necessary to engage the target audience and establish communication with them, for example, by sending emails or making phone calls. This stage helps identify customer needs and problems, which in turn provides valuable information for the sales and marketing departments. Understanding customer needs allows you to optimally position your product and develop a unique selling proposition (USP) for your product or service, which helps increase its competitiveness in the market.

It is important to remember that a buyer is rarely alone. Typically, there is a group of buyers united by common problems and needs. It is necessary to develop formulations and ideas that will be relevant and understandable to most members of this group. This will help effectively convey information and satisfy the needs of the target audience.

Creating a sales proposition. Having defined the target audience segment and identified their needs, marketers create sales propositions. These propositions focus on consumer problems and the proposed solutions that the product can provide. An effective sales proposition should not only identify customer pain points but also demonstrate the product's unique benefits, which helps increase conversion and attract new customers.

At this stage, it is important to determine how to structure communication to present the product as the optimal solution for the client. When developing mass-market products, sales scripts and advertising materials are created to help convey the product's value to the target audience. These tools emphasize the benefits and unique features, which helps increase consumer interest and trust. Correctly presented information makes the product more attractive and contributes to its successful sales.

If the company offers a personalized product, at this stage it is advisable to prepare a commercial proposal or presentation for a specific client. To simplify the perception of information and demonstrate the product's benefits, it is recommended to include visual elements such as images, diagrams, and graphs in documents. This will help potential buyers better understand how the product can meet their needs and solve specific problems.

Post-sales customer service is an important aspect that the pre-sales department pays attention to. Specialists not only attract new customers but also monitor the retention of existing ones. After the sale, they track customer behavior, analyzing whether they visit the site and make repeat purchases. Based on this data, the team forms hypotheses about possible changes that will help increase sales and win back customers. Effective post-sales customer service not only increases loyalty but also increases company revenue.

How to Organize Pre-Sales: Best Practices

If you are planning to implement pre-sales in your business, use the following recommendations. These tips will help you effectively adapt to new processes and are likely to lead to improved sales results.

Create a culture of mutual respect and collaboration so that presales becomes a natural part of the sales process. It's important to create an environment where presales and sales professionals can collaborate effectively. This includes open communication and trusting relationships between teams, which promotes greater efficiency and effectiveness.

A clear workflow is key to effective teamwork. Each team member must understand their responsibilities and ultimate goals. It's recommended to create a sales process map that covers the entire customer journey—from initial contact to closing. This map should identify who is responsible for each stage and the specific actions required to move the customer to the next level. This will help ensure transparency in the process and increase the likelihood of successful completion of sales.

Defining the roles and responsibilities of team members is a key step in creating an effective workflow. Clearly assigning tasks helps avoid misunderstandings and errors, and opens up additional opportunities for project development. Properly organizing teamwork increases productivity and improves interaction between members. Establishing clear lines of responsibility allows each team member to focus on their tasks and achieve better results.

Analyze the skills of your team members and their work schedules. This data will help you more effectively allocate personnel resources and better understand which employees have the necessary qualifications for specific tasks. This approach contributes to increased productivity and improved team performance.

How to Learn More About Sales

• Target audience research is an important stage of pre-sales. During this stage, you need to ask people the right questions. Neil Rackham created the SPIN selling technique, which helps with this. Read this article to learn more.
• The presales team can be involved in post-purchase work with the client. At this stage, you can increase the number of repeat sales and the average order value using three techniques: upselling, cross-selling, and downselling. Skillbox Media has a detailed article about them.
• Sometimes, sales managers are responsible for presales. This is a promising profession, with potential for earning 300,000 rubles per month. Read more about this profession in an interview with Vadim Dozortsev, founder of the consulting company Berner & Stafford.
• The head of sales can be responsible for implementing presales. On the Skillbox course "Sales Management", you can acquire skills that will help you grow into this position and manage processes and a team.

Articles about sales on Skillbox

• What is the marketing mix and how 4P helps sell
• What is an automatic sales funnel and how to launch your own
• Why do you need a sales plan and how to create one correctly
• Why are there few or no sales at all: 5 reasons and what to do about them
• How to develop a sales script + templates for it