Evolution to Elevate: The Shift from Trusted Advisor to Strategic Partner

We frequently encountered the notion, emphasised by the presales network, social media platforms and sales individuals esteemed for their sales acumen, that one must aspire to assume the role of the “Trusted Advisor (TA)”. This is controversial. Its extensive tenure and frequent repetition, the subject has become widely familiar and has reached a point of diminishing returns in terms of its novelty or impact.

A client regards a presales trusted advisor as a reliable source of expert advice, guidance and support. They possess deep product knowledge and are seen as experts in their field. They share valuable insights and provide recommendations tailored to the specific needs the clients have. Their strong relationship is built on trust, integrity and commitment to the extent of being able to address any challenge or opportunity faced by their clients.

Presales trusted advisors offer proactive support and guidance to help clients achieve their goals and navigate complex situations effectively. They act with the clients' best interest in mind, fostering long-term relationships built on mutual respect, collaboration and shared success.

The definition of value and Maslow's hierarchy of needs are linked. Individuals prioritise their fulfilling of their needs in a hierarchical manner. In the roots of value and in the context of presales it is understood as the perceived benefit a client derives from meeting their requirements. Bain & Company identified 30 "elements of value". Interpreting this model as a pyramid of "functional" at the bottom, followed by "emotional", "life changing" and lastly "social impact" is very relevant in our roles.

SEs frequently encounter discussions initiated by their account executives regarding ongoing commercial negotiations, such as ROI modeling or TCO discussions. However, they often question the relevance of those discussions when clients are in the midst of a psychological evaluation dilemma during a technical assessment, where the focus lies on determining the perceived value of the solution being offered.

The HBR value pyramid creates a great framework for SEs to elevate their technical conversations to a higher corporate initiative and more importantly, go beyond the common beliefs of trusted advisor's duties.

As Trusted Advisors begin to forge emotional connections with their clients, demonstrating empathetic care alongside their technical expertise, and extend their focus beyond self-interest, they experience personal growth and realise the clients' counterparts growth.

Trusted Advisors (TA) often believe they need to convey certain information, advice or directives. The approach and intention to coaching is different. Typically TAs provide facts and instructions through guidance to help in the decision-making process.

Coaching by nature is more interactive and of facilitative nature, you work collaboratively and more proactively with your technical counterpart to explore their goals, and challenges. When TAs become greater leaders and shift to empowering the client to develop their own skills, insights and capabilities, they move to Strategic Partners. You no longer are "telling" but "coaching" and as a result will grow personally as a SE. Future SE leadership may become an option as you grow with your client.

Experienced sales leaders often mentor their presales people to evolve into trusted advisors. As SEs strive to internalise and apply this guidance, they may quickly recognise instances of armchair criticism within the feedback they receive.

As Strategic Partners are more deeply engaged with their clients to build a long-term relationship aimed at achieving mutual goals and driving shared success, the opportunity for SEs is bifurcating. They may provide a broader range of services, resources and support to their client and their account executive. Taking a proactive role, trusted by their team and becoming collaborative and independent elevates SEs to facilitating champions. Team cohesion and cooperation becomes the ultimate outcome internally.

Demonstrating reliability, initiative and leadership qualities to your colleagues and taking charge of potential challenges before they escalate, positions every presales engineer for advancement within the organisation.

In modern presales, the shift from trusted advisors to strategic partners is currently underway. Organisation have been more complex and competitive, clients are seeking deeper, more collaborative relationships with their vendors or service providers. They are looking for customised strategic insights, innovative solutions and long-term value and not just transactional interactions.

The role of presales people is evolving beyond traditional sales support as just another resource but encompassing a broader range of responsibilities, consulting, solution design and business strategy. Presales people have to move away from reactive, product-focussed approaches and become proactive.

With the constant rise of digital transformation and disruptive technologies being modularised and componentised away from mature solutions, new opportunities emerge for SEs to either shift technology knowledge or expand the IT landscape awareness to become a greater business coach.

SEs can continue elevating senior stakeholder conversations if they engage executives by offering relevance rather than being the most product knowledgeable individual present.