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Pre and post technical saas sales

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Captivate Talent
June 10, 2020
5 min read
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As Revenue teams evolve and adapt, the demand for Pre & Post Technical talent will be on the rise.

When we say Pre & Post Technical Sales roles, we are referring to the umbrella of positions that have yet to clearly be defined in the industry. This umbrella consists of any technical-focused role at a SaaS company that has a hand in the revenue stream, whether it’s Pre-Sales, Post-Sales, or a hybrid of both.

Unlike non-technical roles such as BDR’s, Account Executives, Customer Success, and Account Managers, Pre and Post Technical Sales positions require a unique mix of skills. The most important is an understanding of complex technology and/or engineering but also having soft sales skills is a big part of a customer’s journey and solution.

Let’s take a deeper dive into Pre-Sales, Post-Sales, and how they differentiate.

Pre-Sales: Involvement with prospects.

If you’re involved in Pre-Sales, you will work extremely closely with the Sales team responsible for generating new business. You are client-facing and responsible for product demonstrations, clearly explaining product features, and showing the prospect the value of the product your company offers.

A Sales Engineer is the most frequently used title for this Pre-Sales Technical role.

Other common titles:

  • Pre-Sales Engineer
  • Sales Engineering
  • Solutions Consultant
  • Solutions Engineer
  • Solutions Engineering

Post-Sales: Involvement with customers.

If you’re involved in the Post-Sale, you work with the prospect after they purchase your product and become a paying customer. You can still be client-facing but when your role is Post-Sales, it usually involves less ‘sales’ skills and more technical skills such as writing code. Responsibilities can include onboarding, implementation, integration, and training on new product features.

Implementation/Integration roles are what we see the most. There are many job titles you may see that fall into this category but below are the ones most frequently used:

  • Implementation Manager
  • Technical Account Manager
  • Integration Engineer
  • Solutions Architect
  • Implementation Project Manager
  • Technical Project Manager
  • Client Solutions

It’s important to keep in mind that the titles and responsibilities of any role in the startup world can be a bit ambiguous at times and change between organizations. The complexity of a product and the size of a company are two big factors that can weigh in on this.

For example, if you’re working for a Series A SaaS company and are one of the first technical hires, you’re going to wear many hats and most likely be involved in pre-sales as well as post-sales. Larger tech companies will have these roles defined more clearly. But regardless of the size of the company or what job title you have, these roles play a crucial part in a company's revenue.

When learning about a new opportunity make sure there is a clear understanding of whether the role is Pre-Sales and dealing with prospects, Post-Sales and dealing with clients, or a mixture of both! Our next piece will dig into the skill sets needed for each position and how you can decide which role is best for you.

Make sure to check out our Open Jobs page for current openings in Pre & Post Technical Sales.

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