Proving Value and Securing Resources: Strategic Approaches for Presales Teams

At last week’s Demos Reimagined event, a power panel of presales leaders led by Chris Mabry, General Manager at PreSales Collective, came together to discuss the best strategies for proving the value of presales teams and securing vital resources for growth. Panelists included:

• Sara Jones, formerly Chief Solution Officer at Formstack
• Shamil Turner, Senior Manager of Solution Consultants at Figma
• Jeff Margolese, Senior Vice President of Global Solutions Consulting at ServiceNow.

The panelists covered how to make metrics work to your advantage, build the right strategic partnerships in the company, create a business case for the tools and headcount you need, and much more. If you’re a presales leader looking to solidify your team’s role as strategic contributors and justify resource investments within your organization, this session is for you.

Listen to the full session on demand here, or read on for our recap.

Proving the Value of Presales

The panel opened with a discussion about demonstrating presales’ essential role within the organization — a necessary step to unlock future resources and support. Jones shared her approach to using customer insights to highlight presales’ value, emphasizing a “customer-centered” mindset. According to Jones, presales teams can create immense value by identifying and addressing gaps in the customer journey — and then bringing those findings back to internal conversations with teams like product and marketing. By ensuring that the voice of the customer is heard and acted upon for product and strategy decisions, presales can elevate their position to one of strategic influence.

Turner expanded on the importance of forming partnerships as a foundational step. When starting with a new presales function or growing an existing one, he explained, presales professionals should focus on building strong alliances with account executives (AEs). This partnership helps presales prove their value early by helping AEs tackle larger, more complex deals. Building these relationships not only fosters trust, but also makes it clear that presales is a strategic partner rather than just a support resource. This sets the stage for broader collaboration and influence in the future.

Data also emerged as a key theme in proving presales’ value. Jones underscored the need for presales leaders to track meaningful metrics, such as win rates with and without presales involvement, average deal sizes, and the impact on deal cycle times. By using these metrics, presales teams can demonstrate their direct impact on sales success, creating a compelling, data-backed case for further investment in the team.

Strategic Use of Presales Metrics

A major insight from Margolese’s experience at ServiceNow was the selective use of metrics to measure presales’ success. At ServiceNow, the two most important metrics are revenue and what Margolese referred to as “tech wins.” A “tech win” is an internal designation indicating that a deal has met the necessary technical approvals with the help of presales. These wins are tracked by the presales team within the CRM system. This metric has proven so valuable that it now appears on the CRO’s dashboard, reflecting presales’ essential role in sales forecasting and deal progress.

Margolese also shared that while many organizations track a variety of activities like demo counts and lead generation, his team focuses on revenue-driving outcomes. By centering the metrics on those directly tied to business results, ServiceNow’s presales team has been able to establish a straightforward and trusted relationship with leadership, including the CRO.

For those with newer or smaller presales teams, Turner suggested an incremental approach to metrics, beginning with smaller, achievable wins. By initially partnering with AEs to demonstrate impact on a case-by-case basis, presales teams can lay a foundation of trust. Once these partnerships are established, it becomes easier to collect broader data, such as average deal sizes and win rates, to showcase the presales function’s ongoing value to leadership.

Tooling and Procurement: Building a Case for Investment

As presales teams grow, so does the need for tools that streamline workflows — such as a demo creation platform. The panelists shared valuable insights on how to secure budget for these tools and ensure they deliver value. Jones explained how, in her previous role, she approached procuring a demo automation tool by building a comprehensive business case. She included ROI estimates — such as potential hours saved, headcount reductions, and productivity boosts across departments. By presenting hard numbers, she was able to showcase how a demo creation tool would positively impact not only the presales team but also other functions, such as marketing and the partner channel — making it a no-brainer investment for leadership.

Turner added that evaluating tools for their practical value is just as essential as building a business case. To make sure that a tool will have the desired impact, he recommended involving the team in the selection process, and asking for their input on whether the tool would simplify their daily tasks. The best tool is one that’s used regularly and creates efficiency in the presales workflow. By getting buy-in from team members early on, Turner found it was possible to avoid the common pitfall of purchasing a tool that doesn’t align well with actual users’ needs.

Margolese shared how ServiceNow leverages their own platform as a central tool for streamlining operations, reducing the need for external investments. He described how his team maintains a dedicated development staff to continuously optimize their internal ServiceNow instance for presales-specific workflows. This approach not only saves budget but also offers an efficient way to adapt the tool directly to presales needs, resulting in more seamless operations across the team. The 2,600-person presales team also uses Reprise to standardize and scale their demo resources — ensuring prospects get the right demo for their unique use cases and needs.

Securing Headcount: Strategies for Growth

The panel closed by addressing one of the most challenging issues presales leaders face: securing headcount. Jones described how proving ROI is key to gaining approval for additional staff. She suggested using external validation, like reports from industry analysts, to reinforce the need for more presales resources. Even so, Jones advised tailoring these requests to the organization’s unique business model. The ratio of presales to sales staff should be based on factors like deal size, product complexity, and the specific sales cycle for that business. By presenting data and research, presales leaders can show how additional headcount aligns with strategic goals.

Turner proposed looking at new product launches as opportunities to justify headcount increases. For example, if a company is introducing a new product line, presales leaders can illustrate how this shift in scope would demand more from the team to maintain quality. By aligning requests with the company’s growth trajectory and product goals, presales leaders can demonstrate that additional staff is a proactive investment, not just a reaction to current workloads.

Margolese offered a different perspective, challenging the idea of tying presales headcount directly to ratios with sales. He argued that presales should establish its own value independent of sales team growth by building relationships directly with high-level decision-makers, such as the CFO and head of sales operations. By forging connections with those who manage budgets and strategy, presales leaders can advocate more effectively for the resources they need, positioning presales as an independent force that drives value throughout the organization.

Achieving Strategic Alignment for Your Presales Team

The insights from these panelists highlight that proving presales value and securing resources is as much about strategic alignment as it is about numbers. Whether you’re using metrics that resonate with leadership, building partnerships with key departments, or securing tools and headcount by presenting data-backed business cases, your team can use a variety of strategies to enhance visibility and influence within your organization. Following the advice of these panelists, presales can become some of the most important contributors to company growth and success.

Watch the session on demand