Where PreSales Software Fits into Your 2025 Strategy… and How to Choose

CROs are actively looking to AI to give their sellers new competitive advantages whether by scaling customized buyer interactions, automating administrative tasks, augmenting revenue and business intelligence, or other popular applications (Source: 2024 Gartner Generative AI Planning Survey).

At the same time, CFOs and CIOs are increasing scrutiny of technology stacks, making it more difficult to secure investments in new tools. Revenue leaders need to be highly strategic about not only their purchases but also the number of vendors they work with.

As next-generation RevTech solutions flood the market, how do you know where to invest to maximize impact on capacity and revenue? And where does PreSales software fit in?

This article is meant to help you sort through the noise, understand critical gaps in your technology stack, and design a regret-free RevTech investment strategy.

Your Best Lever Has No Leverage

PreSales is one of the most labor-intensive phases of the sales cycle, yet it receives only a fraction of the attention and technology investments compared to the bookends of the sales process. In fact, 80% of the sales cycle is dedicated to achieving a technical win, but fewer than 10% of RevTech investments are focused on this crucial stage. This discrepancy highlights the need for purpose-built PreSales software to close the gap.

The primary goal of PreSales software is to ensure that technical leads, product specialists, and sales engineers (SEs) have the right resources and information to engage customers effectively, manage their time, improve product-market fit, and disqualify unfit deals early. By doing so, organizations can eliminate blind spots in their sales process, gather critical insights, and make better-informed decisions throughout the sales cycle.

Moreover, companies that leverage PreSales software report increased efficiency, faster deal cycles, and stronger alignment between product teams and customer needs. This alignment not only enhances the overall sales process but also leads to better outcomes for both the organization and its customers. PreSales, when properly equipped with the right tools, can significantly impact a company’s revenue generation and customer satisfaction.

2. Key Categories for Investing in PreSales Software

The PreSales software landscape is small, with a few  categories of tools designed to optimize different stages of the technical sales process. When deciding on an ideal intervention point for investment, PreSales leaders have the following categories from which to choose:

• PreSales Execution & Intelligence: Tools that help teams manage resources, streamline PreSales activities, and increase effectiveness.
• Demo Automation: PreSales software that automates product demonstrations, allowing for scalable, high-quality demo experiences.
• Product-Field Alignment: Tools that ensure feature requests and feedback from sales teams are efficiently communicated to product development teams.
• RFP (Request for Proposal) Management: Tools that simplify the creation, submission, and tracking of RFP documents.

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These categories, powered by PreSales software, are the building blocks of a technical win. They empower teams to focus their time and energy where it matters most, leading to improved outcomes across the sales process.

3. Benefits of PreSales Software: Transforming the Sales Process

Companies that invest in PreSales software experience significant improvements in several key areas, not just limited to the Technical Sales organization:

• Higher Win Rates: By providing technical sales teams with tools to automate repetitive tasks and increase productivity, organizations experience higher success rates.
• Shorter Deal Cycles: Automated processes and more efficient resource management result in faster movement through the sales funnel.
• Improved Product-Market Fit: PreSales software helps companies aggregate customer feedback and feature requests, allowing product teams to prioritize development more effectively.
• Better Forecast Accuracy: With enhanced visibility into the technical stages of the sales cycle, companies can make more accurate revenue forecasts.

For example, businesses that adopt PreSales software report up to a 783% ROI and reduced administrative overhead, leading to better deal outcomes and overall company performance.

The key is connecting the dots for your CEO, CRO, and other critical stakeholders of the value of better PreSales data and performance for them specifically:

4. Selecting the Right PreSales Software for Your Tech Stack

Choosing the right PreSales software for your organization is critical to maximizing your investment. Leaders  should focus on evaluating software based on several key criteria:

• Integration: How well does the software integrate with your existing tools and platforms?
• Ease of Use: Is the software intuitive for your sales engineers and other technical stakeholders?
• Analytics and Insights: Does the PreSales software offer meaningful data that helps improve decision-making across the sales team?

Additionally, leaders should consider metrics such as demo preparation time, technical win rates, and customer satisfaction when evaluating different PreSales software options. The right tool will help streamline processes and ensure alignment across departments, including sales, marketing, and product development.

5. Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse When Choosing PreSales Software

As companies explore PreSales software, a critical challenge is avoiding buyer’s remorse—a common pitfall when investing in new technology. Research shows that up to 60% of software buyers experience regret due to insufficient research or misaligned expectations (Source: Gartner Digital Markets, Why Software Buyers Experience Regret: Strategies to Attract and Keep the Right Customers, 2024).

To minimize risk, you can take the following steps:

• Conduct Extensive Research: Always explore peer review sites and customer feedback to get a well-rounded view of the software’s performance.
• Align  Implementation and Onboarding: Make sure the vendor can meet your timelines for implementation, and involve all relevant stakeholders early in the process.
• Test Vendor Support: Request meetings with the vendor’s post-sales team to ensure clear communication channels before finalizing your purchase.

By conducting thorough due diligence, companies can significantly reduce the risk of choosing the wrong PreSales software and ensure the tool aligns with their broader revenue objectives.

6. Platform vs. Point Solutions: Which is Right for You?

When deciding between a point solution and a platform, organizations need to assess their long-term goals. A point solution may solve a specific problem quickly, but it could lead to integration challenges or become obsolete as needs evolve. In contrast, platforms offer comprehensive, scalable solutions that integrate more smoothly with existing tools but may require higher upfront investment and change management.

PreSales platform offers broader benefits across departments, creating visibility into technical wins, customer feedback, and product-market fit.

Ultimately, the choice between point solutions and platforms should depend on your organization’s growth strategy and the level of integration required across departments.

PreSales Software is an Untapped Lever for Driving Revenue Growth

The role of PreSales software in the revenue technology stack cannot be overstated. As organizations navigate increasingly competitive markets, the ability to optimize technical sales processes through software investment becomes a critical differentiator. Businesses that make strategic investments in PreSales software not only achieve higher win rates but also gain valuable insights that influence product development, customer success, and long-term revenue growth.

To maximize the benefits of PreSales software, organizations must take a proactive approach. Prioritize purpose-built PreSales technology, carefully select tools that seamlessly integrate with your existing tech stack, and adopt a thoughtful buying process to ensure the solution aligns with your specific business needs. By doing so, companies can drive operational efficiency, enhance team collaboration, and ultimately gain a competitive edge in their markets. PreSales software, though often overlooked, is an essential lever for accelerating revenue growth and fostering lasting customer relationships.