Since Vivun emerged as a bold category creator, we’ve had a front row seat for the evolution of PreSales. We’re excited to be one of the leader’s on G2’s latest PreSales Management grid, which is a reflection of how this function is evolving on a broad scale. G2 is a trusted technology marketplace and peer review platform that provides insights and information on software and services. While it’s been a long road to category recognition for PreSales, this latest update further substantiates the need for enabling technology aimed at PreSales. 

It’s an exciting time to see the PreSales category expand with new vendors joining the space. And G2 took notice. Their first iteration was a Demo Automation category, which didn’t capture the full scope of the function and it’s why we’re happy to see G2 expand their categorization methodology by adding a new category featuring PreSales Management.

It’s pretty amazing. In just a few short years, G2 went from no PreSales categorization at all to creating two separate grids representing the space.

Vivun recently hosted a webinar with G2 analyst Blue Bowen about the evolution of PreSales from G2’s standpoint, and it was illuminating. Blue pointed out that G2 has recognized that it truly takes two teams to drive revenue in the current environment: Sales and PreSales. A company can’t do one without the other.

Blue listed the key inclusion criteria for a vendor to appear in the new PreSales category:

• Integrate with key business systems (CRM, product lifecycle management)
• Capture PreSales activities
• Provide a dashboard or pipeline to track PreSales workflows
• Report on PreSales KPIs such as win rate, efficiency, and utilization
• Assist in resource allocation and team member assignments
• Capture product feedback to inform product gaps and roadmaps

And what’s the impetus for creating this new category now? It’s because of the clear ROI data that G2 has on the industry segment. For example:

•  51.7% of reviewers receive ROI in 6 months or less when they use PreSales software
• 80.5% of reviewers implement in 3 months or less
• 85% of reviewer’s companies have fully adopted the solution

Vivun applauds G2’s creation of the new category, and we also believe that analyst criteria will continue to evolve in terms of how it recognizes leaders. Very soon, we believe that the true leaders in the PreSales space will need to:

• Show demonstrable AI capabilities that accelerate the ability of teams to do their work, target the right opportunities, and drive product-field alignment
• Have the security, infrastructure, and features that ensure enterprise adoption with regards to organizations with hundreds of PreSales team members
• Offer a platform with a suite of integrated modules that provides a “one-stop shop” for PreSales leaders and their CRO peers, with the metrics and analytics to match

PreSales teams have been the unsung heroes, providing invaluable technical expertise and support throughout the sales process.  G2’s creation of the PreSales Management grid is an exciting hallmark of the continued evolution of the PreSales category.

Before we sign off, let’s include a few of our favorite G2 reviews from our amazing customers:

We’ve seen the start of this evolution from day one, and from our point of view, it’s been an amazing trajectory. The creation of the PreSales Management grid represents a fantastic way to celebrate our birthday.

We look forward to the continuing  evolution of the G2 PreSales category!