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The way buyers buy has fundamentally changed.  

Buyers today are no longer interested in traditional sales tactics. They expect seamless, self-guided, and intuitive experiences from start to finish. A study from McKinsey shows that 80% of B2B buyers prefer digital self-service tools or remote interactions over in-person meetings. From their first touchpoint to their renewal, they want your genius—and they want it on their terms.

In addition, economic uncertainty has made buyers more cautious, scrutinizing every deal more closely than ever. Add to that the growing complexity of buying committees (which now average 6 to 10 decision-makers per deal), and it’s clear: the B2B game has changed. If we want to win, we need to change with it.

Partnerships have become a cornerstone of this new landscape. Buyers aren’t just looking for products—they’re looking for collaborative solutions that solve their unique problems. This means aligning with other teams, tools, and even external organizations to deliver a unified buyer experience. Cross-functional partnerships within your company—between sales, presales, marketing, and customer success—are no longer optional. They’re the glue that creates trust, accelerates decision-making, and ensures long-term value for your customers.

The Changing Landscape

Just take a look at the numbers: According to Gartner, over 75% of B2B buyers prefer self-service over speaking with sales reps. Think about that for a moment. Buyers are taking control of their journeys, seeking out the information they need without waiting on a rep to call back.

But the pressures are mounting:

- Tech layoffs: 457 tech companies have laid off 139,534 employees in 2024 alone.

- Rising costs: Facebook ad costs have risen 33%, Google CPCs are up 23%, and traditional lead-generation methods are becoming less effective.

- Buyers' resistance: With ad blockers, spam filters, and the death of third-party cookies, buyers are tuning out the noise and tuning into brands that offer real value.

In light of these challenges, one thing is clear—buyers don’t just want your product—they want your expertise. They want your genius scaled across every interaction. And it’s not just about having the right product, it’s about how we deliver it.

The Cost of Staying Stuck

For years, scaling expertise within a sales process wasn’t practical. Solution Engineers (SEs), presales professionals, and technical experts were stretched thin, unable to deliver consistent value at scale.

The result?

- Lost deals: Buyers dropped off because they couldn’t get the insights they needed in time.

- Burnout: SEs and technical teams struggled to keep up with demand, and morale suffered.

- Churn: Without a personalized, frictionless experience, customers moved on to competitors.

All of this cost us revenue. And it didn’t need to be that way.

Scaling Your Genius with the Right Tools

Here’s where things get interesting. Scaling your genius isn’t just a pipe dream anymore—it’s possible. With the right platform, like Consensus, you can elevate the buyer experience while simultaneously driving revenue and alleviating burnout.

The impact? Significant.

- Consensus-aided deals close at 2x the rate of typical deals

- Consensus-aided deals close 30% faster

- Consensus-aided deals are 50% larger

What does this mean? It means that when we scale our expertise, we don’t just make the sales process easier for buyers—we make it more effective and more profitable. Buyers are getting what they need faster, and we’re closing bigger deals.

Partnership: The Key to Growth

But scaling your genius isn’t just about technology. It’s about alignment. I’ve seen firsthand that GTM teams must come together to succeed. When Presales, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and the C-Suite align, the results speak for themselves.

The benefits of an aligned GTM function are undeniable:

- 67% more effective at closing deals

- 15% more profitable year over year

- 58% better customer retention

This isn’t a theory—it’s a fact. The more aligned your teams are, the better your outcomes. But this alignment requires a shift in mindset. It's no longer just about Presales supporting Sales—it's about Solutions being revenue-aligned. We need to think of ourselves as integral parts of the entire buyer journey, from awareness to expansion.

Aligning Across the Organization

Aligning across departments isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have. The best organizations I’ve worked with are those where Solutions teams collaborate closely with every other function—Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Product, and even the C-Suite. When these teams are on the same page, they can deliver a truly unified experience for the buyer.

Here’s how this alignment should work:

Solutions + Marketing: Collaborating for Insight-Driven Content

Marketing has always been the face of the company, but in today’s world, they need more than just a surface-level understanding of the buyer journey. They need to know what’s really driving buyer decisions. Solutions teams provide that insight. By collaborating with Marketing, we can co-create joint campaigns that resonate with our audience at a deeper level. 

We can ensure that the content we create speaks directly to the customer’s needs and challenges—and not just from a marketing perspective, but from a technical one.

Solutions + Sales: Streamlining the Sales Process

Sales and Solutions teams have always worked closely, but in today’s environment, the relationship needs to go beyond just supporting sales reps with demos. It’s about accelerating deals and ensuring we’re aligned on the buyer’s needs from the very start. Solutions teams should be deeply involved in lead qualification, providing technical validation that ensures we’re pursuing the right opportunities.

Additionally, Solutions professionals are invaluable when it comes to reigniting closed-lost deals. With the right technical expertise and insights, we can reopen conversations with prospects that were once considered lost.

Solutions + Customer Success: Delivering Consistent Value Post-Sale

Customer Success isn’t just the department that takes over once a deal closes. They’re critical in ensuring that customers realize the full potential of the product. Solutions teams must work alongside CS to ensure smooth transitions and continue delivering value throughout the customer’s journey. By understanding their specific needs, Solutions teams can help CS identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities and improve CSAT scores.

Together, Solutions and CS drive revenue by ensuring customers not only renew but also expand their usage of the product.

Solutions + Product: Bridging the Market with Real-Time Feedback

Solutions teams have direct access to customer feedback—whether that’s in demos, deal conversations, or customer support interactions. This makes us uniquely positioned to provide valuable product feedback to the Product team. We can share insights on what customers really need, highlight gaps, and give competitive analysis to ensure our product stays ahead of the curve.

By aligning closely with Product, we ensure the platform is continuously evolving to meet market demands and buyer expectations.

Solutions + C-Suite: Driving Strategic Alignment

Finally, the C-Suite is the ultimate key to strategic alignment. Solutions teams must engage with the C-Suite to ensure our work is aligned with broader business goals. It’s about contributing to business development opportunities, communicating value via KPIs, and ensuring we take extreme ownership in telling the story of our impact.

A Mindset Reset

The mindset shift we need is clear: Revenue is revenue. It doesn’t matter whether it’s new business, expansion, or renewals. Everything drives revenue.

Solutions professionals have a critical role to play. We’re no longer just technical experts—we are integral to the entire revenue generation process.

When we align, collaborate, and scale our genius, the results are unmistakable. We’re not just closing deals—we’re closing them faster, at higher value, and with better retention.

Proof is in the Results

The numbers don’t lie. Scaling your genius with Consensus leads to:

- 2x deal close rates

- 30% faster time-to-close

- 50% larger deal sizes

Buyers don’t just want products—they want expertise. They want your genius. And when we scale it, we not only meet their needs but exceed them.

Adam Freeman

SVP of Global Partnerships & Strategic Alliances at Consensus.

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