US · Go-to-market1 min read
Why presales is the hardest go-to-market hire
Presales is where services deals are shaped or lost. Finding leaders who combine technical depth, commercial judgement and executive presence takes a real search.
By Avier Partners
In IT services and consulting, presales and solutions engineering sit at the point where a deal is either shaped well or lost. It is also, consistently, one of the hardest go-to-market functions to hire for.
Demand is broad. Presales Collective's analysis of postings shows openings across the full seniority range, from associate to executive, and across firms of every size, from the mid-market to large, Fortune 500-scale services organisations. The difficulty is not finding people with presales on their CV. It is finding the right ones.
Why it is hard
- The role is genuinely hybrid. Great presales leaders combine technical depth, commercial judgement and the ability to communicate with executives. Each of those is common on its own. All three together are rare.
- The best are invisible. Strong solutions engineers are valued by their firms and rarely look for new roles. They are found through a targeted search, not job boards.
- Titles mean little. "Solutions Architect", "Presales Consultant" and "Sales Engineer" can describe very different jobs. Screening on title alone leads to mismatched shortlists.
Great presales leaders combine technical depth, commercial judgement and executive presence. All three together are rare.
Hiring a presales leader well
- Define the function before the person. Is the role to build a presales team from scratch, or to scale one that exists? Is it aligned to industries, to solutions, or to regions? The answer changes the profile.
- Test the work, not just the conversation. Ask finalists to walk through how they scoped a complex opportunity: what they asked, what they recommended, and what happened. The quality of their reasoning says more than any interview answer.
- Involve sales and delivery. A presales leader must earn the trust of both. Including leaders from each side in the process tests that early, and helps the new hire start with allies.
The right presales leader shortens sales cycles, improves win rates and makes your sales team more credible. It is worth taking the time to find them.
