2024 Trend Report for Presales and Enablement with James Kaikis

At DemoFestx West Coast, 2Win's VP of Operations, Chad Wilson, sat down with James Kaikis, a thought leader in solutions engineering training, to discuss current trends and to forecast 2024. As we prepare for DemoFest 2024, we find ourselves newly aligned with Consensus, a leading demo automation software that helps buyers control when and how they engage with a software demo. James has taken a leadership position at TestBox as the Chief Solutions Officer and is Head of Go to Market. Many of the ideas in this post were originally shared by James in his DemoFestx Session entitled Presales Redefined: The Future of Solutions-Based Organizations. 

As we head into DemoFest 2024, Chad and James predict centralized leadership, solutions-oriented training, and the need for a better overall customer experience after the sale will be among the discussions. These trends also require better solutions training for presales, account executives, and customer success professionals. Let’s recap some of the major points to see where we think the Demo discussions will be centered during DemoFest 2024.

James and Chad on Customer experience and Centralized leadership 

Building a Solutions-Driven Organization

A solutions-driven organization requires advanced Presales training and leadership. Presales training and support is a boon to overall sales and the customer lifecycle. But what if we trained customer success and account executives in solutions too? Presales training, when encompassing the integration of new technologies for software presentations and soft skills, teaches the skills of translating complex technical solutions into easy-to-follow directions while making a real connection with the audience. It is the connection and the solution that drive adoption. When you build a solutions-driven organization, customer success operates within this ethos and carries the relationship forward. We will continue to see new ways of adapting technology to meet the needs of communicating software benefits. 

Centralized Leadership 

Centralized leadership refers to Customer Success, Presales, and Sales teams operating under one umbrella. James firmly believes enacting this type of organizational change brings transparency and unearths opportunities to see where an organization is losing customers. Customers can feel miscommunication, lack of product knowledge and training and centralized leadership can address areas where there are issues head on. We look forward to hearing new perspectives on organizational changes at DemoFest 2024. 

Delivering a Better Buyer Experience 

According to Salesforce, 88% of buyers buy because of their experience, but also according to Gartner,  60% regret buying the software they bought. How do we reinforce buyer experience and reduce regret after a great sale? What does this say about the customer experience and life cycle?  One way to keep delivering value after the sale is by providing continued solutions in customer success. A way to deliver value throughout the customer life cycle is to always be offering solutions. We see a new narrative that aligns sales and customer success towards a total customer experience. One way to ensure this alignment is to have advanced soft skill training in communication and product.

Building Value Through the Handoff 

James and Chad agree that customers feel when they are being siloed. After Sales hands an organization off to Customer Success, and during the initial stages of Sales and Presales, the silo to Customer Success can feel like being sent away to a remote area where solutions are unavailable. Confidence in the product and solution can be replaced by doubt when onboarding. Having broad-based soft skills training, like those offered by 2Win, and providing better access to Solutions Engineers can counter this discomfort felt by buyers. Building bridges and finding creative solutions to smooth the buyer journey are likely going to take center stage at DemoFest 2024. 

Creating Consistent Experiences Across a Customer Life Cycle

Executives looking to build more sustainable sales teams would be wise to invest in Presales and SolutionsEngineering positions, in addition to organization wide soft skills training. Entire organizations benefit from soft skill training, like the training we offer at 2Win. Providing subject matter training and presentation training to Account executives, Presales, and Customer Success brings expertise and improves the customer experience at each level of a sale. We are at a pivotal moment in Sales and Presales, where Presales, who chiefly operate during the demo and behind the scenes, is taking center stage. To create a consistent experience, an organization must train consistently for solutions and soft skills. 

The Final Word

If an organization is looking for training in Sales, Presales, and Discovery, 2Win has decades of experience and deep expertise. We give teams the tools to create consistent customer experiences across the customer life cycle, improving value realization and customer loyalty. 

Join Us at demoFest 2024