Presales process: How GTM teams can better equip reps

If your sales reps seem tired before the real work even begins, you’re not imagining it.

Modern prospecting takes a toll. Outreach is hard when reps don’t have the right support and feel like they must handle everything alone.

That’s when burnout creeps in, and it costs sales teams more than missed numbers.

As company culture expert Chris Dyer recently wrote for Inc., “Burned-out salespeople don’t close deals—they quit. And when they leave, they take valuable relationships and expertise with them.”

A strong presales (a.k.a. preliminary sales) process can help lighten the load by giving sales teams the support they need from first touch to the final conversation.

What is the presales process?

The presales process helps sales representatives prepare for early conversations with prospective customers. It includes discovery, competitive analysis, technical guidance, and steps that form the early stages of the sales cycle.

These activities help sales teams get a clear understanding of customer pain points before conversations become too complex.

Presales also helps teams determine whether a potential customer is ready for deeper conversations. Early clues about budget, urgency, and technical fit influence how reps reach out during the sales process.

Presales professionals can better evaluate these clues since they understand the technical side of products and services. Their experience gives teams a better idea which opportunities deserve attention and which ones need more discovery.

This step of qualifying leads simplifies the entire sales process by helping teams move forward with better direction. It also clarifies common responsibilities.

Why is presales important for go-to-market teams?

Presales professionals bring technical expertise and deep knowledge about complex products and solutions. Their support helps sales teams speak about challenges more confidently. And buyers notice when sales professionals understand their specific pain points.

They also engage more when reps truly listen and adapt.

“What are the underlying problems? “The unspoken frustrations? The things people might not even realise they’re struggling with?,” Forbes contributor Renae Gregoire recently wrote. “Those are your golden nuggets, the insights that fuel anticipatory selling.”

Presales teams uncover those nuggets and give reps a strong base for early outreach. And that creates a smooth sales process from the very beginning.

What’s the relationship between sales and presales?

Sales and presales teams work together during the earliest stages of a deal. Sales representatives focus on building relationships and guiding prospects forward. Presales professionals support them with technical knowledge, tailored solutions, and answers to complex questions.

When done well, presales teamwork supports prospects, creates a smoother customer experience, and keeps momentum across the sales cycle.

Which presales activities best prepare sales reps?

Some presales activities have a bigger impact than others. Lead qualification, early discovery, customer research, and technical support give sales representatives a strong starting point. Competitive analysis and planning for product demos help them understand customer needs and challenges.

All of these activities help sellers focus during early outreach and share valuable messages with would-be customers.

Building your presales team: GTM stakeholders who must be involved

Presales works best when key functions each share their insight. Sales, marketing, enablement, and RevOps each shape activities for the presales team in different ways. This cooperation gives the team a rich view of customer needs, the competitive landscape, and technology industry trends.

When the presales team shares information and insights, sales representatives learn about relevant solutions and customised solutions that best meet customer needs. This team effort empowers reps to keep a steady course and offer consistent support throughout the sales process.

RevOps: Assign a presales engineer to unify data and optimise GTM execution

RevOps plays a crucial role in connecting data across the company. Adding a presales engineer to this function improves early analysis and sales forecasting and supports better decision-making.

A presales engineer helps organise data from existing systems. They also have a deeper understanding of the technical aspect of a product or service.

This guidance supports stronger handoffs between different functions in the presales team. It also helps sales professionals save time and approach potential customers more confidently.

Sales: Equip sellers with plays and guidance that close deals and drive revenue

Sales teams rely on presales professionals for context and help with early conversations. Their work helps reps better understand customer needs and refine the value proposition before building a sales proposal. It also helps them address technical questions that influence buying decisions.

Resources such as a winning sales playbook or a structured sales plan give reps a predictable path to success. These tools help sellers choose the right message, manage early outreach, and maintain consistent conversations across the sales cycle as customers ask deeper questions.

Marketing: Align content and messaging to your target audience with precision

Marketing strengthens presales by providing content that supports early conversations

Specifically, product marketers understand the competitive landscape and know what motivates potential customers based on what they see across other businesses in the market. They create messaging that simplifies products or services and helps reps speak to specific pain points.

Frameworks such as solution selling, SPIN selling, and sales tactics give sellers more ways to shape outreach and tailor conversations to buyer needs and expectations.

Enablement: Reinforce skills to support performance aligned to business goals

Enablement teams turn insights from presales efforts into practical advice.
They help reps develop conversation mastery, improve presentation skills, and build better habits during the sales cycle. They also support training that matches company goals, which is why a strong sales training strategy plays such an important role in early preparation.

Tools such as Highspot Adaptive Learning Paths and resources on conversation mastery help reps practise the skills that matter in real conversations. This guidance not only improves the customer experience but also supports long-term customer retention.

How to develop a presales process that equips, guides, and trains your reps

A strong presales process grows from shared alignment, consistent cooperation, and high-quality resources that help reps build skills.

Step #1: Align with decision-makers early to shape solution and value narrative

Early alignment with decision makers shapes the direction of the entire presales process. These conversations help GTM teams understand customer needs, the constraints they face, and the outcomes they want to achieve.

Presales professionals can guide the value narrative with insight that empowers sellers to address complex questions. Sales representatives benefit from a clearer sense of what matters most to potential customers.

Marketing and enablement can also shape early sales messaging with stronger context around market feedback.

This step reduces rework down the line and supports a smoother sales cycle as prospects evaluate potential services or solutions.

Step #2: Define clear rules of engagement between sales, presales, and marketing

Clear rules help GTM teams understand how to support one another in early outreach. Sales representatives need to know when to involve a sales engineer, when to request updated messaging, and how to hand off questions to technical experts.

Marketing benefits from knowing when reps need content for demos or qualification. Presales teams require structure to avoid being pulled into opportunities that are not ready for technical depth.

Defined rules create predictability for everyone involved. Prospects have a better experience, and teams collaborate more seamlessly as sales efforts move forward.

Step #3: Create tailored product demos that speak to buyer pain and outcomes

Product demos help prospects imagine how a product or service fits into their work. Tailored demos feel more natural and relevant than generic walk-throughs.

Presales professionals help shape these demos by choosing features that reflect client needs and building a narrative that addresses real pain points. Marketing and enablement support this step by creating demo scripts, competitive insights, and content that reinforces key messages.

This approach deepens understanding, builds trust, and keeps conversations moving forward as prospects begin to consider the details that will shape a sales proposal.

Step #4: Build lead-qualification criteria to ensure readiness for technical depth

Qualifying leads determines if a prospect is ready for deeper technical conversations. Strong criteria help teams evaluate interest, urgency, and fit before involving engineers for presales and sales support.

Sellers benefit from clear thresholds that guide their early sales prospecting efforts. Marketing helps support this work with signals from campaigns and client research. RevOps can also refine criteria using behavioural data from company systems.

Tools such as Highspot Agents provide initial insight into lead quality and next steps. This structure helps teams spend time on the opportunities that show real promise instead of chasing potential leads that are a long shot.

Step #5: Know when to bring in sales engineers to address technical questions well

When sellers bring in technical help matters to the prospects. When an engineer joins too early, prospects may feel overwhelmed by details they are not ready to evaluate. When the engineer joins too late, a deal may lose momentum.

Sales representatives need help understanding when technical depth adds value. Engineers can then enter at the right moment, answer questions with ease, and offer tailored solutions that build trust.

Step #6: Map presales workflows to existing systems for seamless rep execution

Presales works best when teams link guidance, training, and content to company systems. This structure gives sales representatives one place to manage their early prospecting tasks. It also helps RevOps maintain consistent data and streamline handoffs across teams.

Presales professionals can embed technical insights directly into workflows so reps don’t have to search across different tools. Marketing and enablement can help by making sure reps can easily find content and sales plays.

Step #7: Provide ongoing support during the sales process to reinforce learning

Sales reps get better through repetition, guidance, and regular practice. Ongoing presales support helps them improve their approach and build confidence during complex conversations.

Tools such as Highspot’s AI sales coaching and AI sales role play create low-pressure environments for reps to develop skills before meeting with prospects.

Presales professionals help reinforce technical concepts and answer questions that arise as deals progress. Enablement can support this work with structured learning paths and targeted coaching moments.

This approach gives prospects a better experience that often leads to stronger customer satisfaction through every stage of the sales process.

The outsised role of GTM technology in your presales (and sales) success

Tools that bring guidance, training, content, and data into one place make presales work stronger. These systems support collaboration among sales, marketing, enablement, and RevOps. Implementing presales processes also gives teams the structure they need to prepare for early outreach and win new clients.

A consistent source of truth improves success rates by reducing mixed messages and keeping teams aligned. A unified revenue enablement platform supports this work by giving teams a single place to access the plays, training, and content they need for early conversations.

“With clear sales plays and easy access to the right content, teams stay aligned and consistent,” Highspot’s Turn Strategy Into Revenue Guide for GTM Leaders reports. “Sales leaders execute more consistently across the team, and marketing has confidence that messaging is resonating in the field.

The payoff, the guide continued, is “fewer mixed signals, better buyer experiences, and more closed deals.”

Yet data from the State of Sales Enablement Report 2025 shows that many companies still struggle with consistency. As of 2025, its research found that more than half of sales leaders view inconsistent use of plays and messaging as a top execution barrier.

This is a strong reminder that sales teams need dependable systems and clear processes.

The benefits of equipping your sales reps in the presales process

A strong presales process does more than just support early conversations with prospective customers or clients. It also helps sales teams stay confident, grounded, and ready for the moments that can make or break a given deal.

Every step adds up to a smoother sales experience, a better journey for prospective buyers, and happier, more successful sales reps who can better support customers long term. And when the presales team is strong, sellers win new clients with potential solutions that grow into real, lasting value.