A Guide to Understanding Presales: Definition, Process, Importance & Best Practices

Nearly 50% of sales opportunities are lost due to poor qualifications and lack of customer understanding.  

That’s where presales step in. By combining technical expertise with customer insights early in the sales cycle, pre-sales teams help businesses tailor solutions, build trust, and increase win rates.  

In this article, we’ll break down the role of presales, how they differ from sales, why they matter, the process behind them, and best practices to maximize its impact. 

What is a presale? 

A presale refers to the preliminary phase of selling a product or service, where potential customers are engaged before the official launch or availability of the offering. During this stage, businesses aim to generate interest, gather feedback, and secure commitments from Prospective buyers. 

For example, a presales engineer might handle product demonstrations or address complex technical questions, while analysts gather key data on the prospect’s business.

By handling this groundwork, presales ensures the sales team enters discussions fully prepared, increasing the chances of success. Without a strong presales function, even the best sales strategies can struggle to deliver results. 

What is the difference between sales and presales? 

Sales typically occur after a product or service has been fully developed and is ready for purchase by customers. In contrast, presales activities take place before the product or service is officially launched or made available to the public.  

Presales involve activities such as market research, lead generation, product demonstrations, and negotiations to build interest and secure commitments from potential customers.  

For example, if a software company is pitching a complex solution to a large enterprise, the presales team might first assess the client’s existing systems, identify integration challenges, and prepare a tailored demo that addresses specific pain points.  

With this groundwork in place, the sales team can confidently enter discussions, address objections, and move the deal forward efficiently. 

By working together, presales and sales create a seamless process that shortens sales cycles, improves customer experiences, and drives more revenue.  

With products growing more advanced and customer expectations constantly rising, the role of presales has become more critical than ever. Its impact goes far beyond just preparation—presales directly influence conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and long-term business success. Let’s cover the importance of presales.  

Why are presales important? 

Presales play a critical role in today’s sales environment, where products are more sophisticated and customer expectations are higher than ever. It helps set the stage for stronger customer relationships and more efficient deal closures. 

As products become more complex, the need for specialized expertise and tailored solutions continues to grow. In fact, according to McKinsey, companies that effectively integrate presales activities can achieve win rates up to 40–50% higher than their peers. 

Here’s why presales are so important: 

• Allows sales reps to focus on selling: Research from HubSpot shows that sales reps spend only 28% of their time actually selling, with much of their time spent on administrative or research tasks. Presales take over the technical preparation, so sales reps can focus on building relationships and closing deals. 

One of the biggest challenges in presales is managing the vast amounts of data that drive lead qualification, customer personalization, and incentive alignment.  

This is where solutions like Compass can make a significant difference. By centralizing sales and incentive data from 85+ integrations, ensuring data accuracy, and eliminating manual calculations, Compass empowers presales and sales teams to focus on customer engagement rather than administrative burdens.  

With features like real-time commission estimators and advanced reporting, Compass allows teams to make data-driven decisions that directly influence customer conversations and increase win rates. 

• Targets high value leads: According to Salesforce, 79% of marketing leads never convert into sales due to lack of proper lead qualification. Presales teams perform thorough prospect analysis, ensuring the sales team focuses only on leads with genuine potential. 
• Delivers a personalized customer experience: A study by Epsilon reveals that 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that offer personalized experiences. Presales gather detailed customer insights to craft tailored solutions that address specific pain points and demonstrate clear ROI. 
• Improves problem-solving and solution design: Presales teams work closely with prospects to understand their unique requirements. This leads to more accurate proposals, better solution alignment, and fewer surprises during implementation. 
• Strengthens customer communication: According to PwC, 73% of customers say experience is a key factor in purchasing decisions. Presales fosters stronger collaboration and communication, making the sales process smoother and more transparent. 
• Boosts customer retention: Bain & Company reports that increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. By setting accurate expectations and delivering customized solutions from the start, presales helps build trust and long-term loyalty. 

Given its importance, presales require a clear, structured approach to ensure every lead is properly evaluated and every solution is tailored. Let’s take a closer look at how the presales process unfolds. 

What is the presales process? 

The presales process is a coordinated effort that helps set up the sales team for success by handling research, qualification, and technical preparation before customer engagement.

Different specialists often handle specific parts of this process—such as sales engineers managing technical discussions, sales consultants conducting market research, and business development representatives qualifying leads. 

Here are the key steps involved in a typical presales process: 

• Market research and competitive analysis: Before outreach begins, presales teams gather insights into customer needs, market trends, competitor weaknesses, and common pain points. This information helps build accurate buyer personas and shapes the overall sales approach. 
• Lead qualification: Once leads enter the pipeline, presales evaluates their fit based on the buyer persona and business needs. Whether sourced through inbound marketing or formal RFP processes, leads are carefully vetted through discovery calls and additional research.  

Effective lead qualification also depends on having accurate, unified data on historical sales, commissions, territory performance, and quota attainment.  

With Compass, presales teams gain instant access to reliable performance data across CRM, ERP, and payroll systems, helping them prioritize high-potential leads more accurately.  

Predictive analytics further assist in identifying revenue-impacting opportunities, allowing for smarter resource allocation early in the presales process.  

• Sales proposal creation: Using their technical knowledge, presales specialists collaborate with sales reps to create proposals that clearly explain how the product or service addresses the prospect’s challenges. These proposals blend technical accuracy with storytelling to make a compelling case. 
• Demo development: To build confidence, presales teams create customized product demos tailored to each prospect’s specific needs. These demos serve as proof of concept, showing exactly how the solution will deliver value. 

While these steps are common across industries, some sectors—like pharmaceuticals or highly regulated markets—may require the presales team to stay involved throughout the entire customer journey due to the complexity of the solutions offered. 

While the presales process lays out the key steps, its true effectiveness depends on how well each stage is executed. Following a set of best practices ensures the process runs smoothly and consistently delivers strong results. 

Presales best practices 

To get the most out of the presales process, companies need to follow a few proven best practices that strengthen collaboration, improve efficiency, and boost conversion rates. 

• Conduct thorough discovery sessions to uncover customer pain points and requirements. 
• Customize presentations and demonstrations to address specific client needs and use cases. 
• Leverage technology tools such as CRM systems and sales enablement platforms to streamline presales processes and improve efficiency.  
• Foster continuous learning and development within the presales team to stay updated on industry trends, product updates, and sales techniques. 

Integrate advanced incentive compensation and performance platforms like Compass to align seller behavior, provide transparent incentive visibility, and eliminate shadow accounting — all of which streamline presales planning and drive better collaboration between presales, sales, and finance teams. 

Conclusión 

Presales have become an essential part of modern sales strategies, especially as products grow more complex and customer expectations rise.  

By combining deep customer insights, technical expertise, and targeted solutions, presales help businesses qualify better leads, create stronger proposals, and close deals more efficiently.  

When done right, presales don’t just support sales—it accelerates growth, builds trust, and creates lasting customer relationships. 

Tools like Compass empower presales and sales teams to fully leverage their data, drive transparent incentive programs, and streamline complex workflows — enabling businesses to scale their presales capabilities with confidence.  

Still not sold? See how Compass fits perfectly here:  

• Presales depend heavily on clean, accurate data — Compass solves data unification. 
• Presales often struggle with incentive alignment — Compass makes compensation plans transparent. 
• Presales need faster workflows — Compass automates commission calculations, approvals, and payout processes. 
• Presales support sales motivation — Compass drives performance via gamification, leaderboards, and real-time insights. 

From lead qualification to commission payouts, Compass simplifies every step of your sales process. See how leading companies are using Compass to maximize presales efficiency and revenue growth. Book your demo now! 

Preguntas frecuentes 

1. What is an example of pre-sales? 

An example of pre-sales is when a presales engineer conducts a customized product demo for a potential customer, addressing their specific business challenges and showing how the solution can meet their needs. This helps build trust and sets the stage for a successful sale. 

2. What does a presales do? 

A presales professional supports the sales team by researching customer needs, qualifying leads, preparing technical demos, creating tailored proposals, and addressing complex questions — all before the actual sale happens. Their goal is to ensure the sales team is fully prepared to close deals. 

3. What is the difference between presales and post sales? 

Presales focuses on activities before the sale, like lead qualification, demos, and solution design. Post-sales begins after the sale is closed and involves customer onboarding, implementation, support, and ongoing account management to ensure long-term success.