For years, the answer to this question often centered on product expertise.
Could they demo well? Could they answer technical questions? Could they support a deal without missing a beat?
Those things still matter. But they are no longer the full picture.
In a recent discussion, presales leaders Brian Cody from Clari and Morgan Ballevre from impact.com described a more complete version of presales excellence. Their definition blends technical depth with curiosity, empathy, business fluency, storytelling, and adaptability.
Here is what stands out.
Lead with curiosity
Morgan Ballevre was clear on the trait that matters most: “it’s not just curiosity for the sake of it, but genuine curiosity.”
Great presales professionals are not just asking questions to move a deal along. They are genuinely trying to understand what is happening in the customer’s world: inside the company, inside the market, and inside the day-to-day reality of the end-user.
“You’ve to be curious about your customers.” Morgan expanded on that by saying, “but also curious about the person that is behind the company that you’re trying to sell into.”
That level of curiosity changes everything. It leads to better discovery, stronger relationships, and more relevant demos.
Bring empathy into every interaction
Curiosity alone is not enough. It must be paired with empathy.
Morgan stated clearly: “You cannot be truly a good solution consultant or presales expert if you don’t have empathy towards your client”.
Empathy is what keeps presales from becoming overly technical. It is what allows someone to understand not just what a buyer says they need, but why it matters, what pressure they are under, and what success actually looks like from their perspective.
It also creates credibility. Buyers can feel the difference between someone who is trying to push a product and someone who is trying to help them solve a problem.
Know how to tell a story
Morgan clearly stated, “features and function are not what’s going to differentiate your software. Storytelling based on the information that you gather, thanks to your curiosity and empathy, is really what’s going to make everything stand out.”
That is a crisp definition of modern presales excellence.
Great presales professionals do not just show the product. They translate it, connecting workflows to value, and bringing the buyer into the story. They help the customer see themselves in a better future state.
Brian Cody reinforced this from the leadership side too: “If you are not modeling storytelling, why is anybody else?”
Balance business and technical depth
Brian shares his competency framework of “advice, solution, compete” which boils down to: know the market and the personas you’re serving. Know the product, its integrations, systems and how it solves business problems. Know your competitors and how your solution stacks up.
This framework is useful here because it captures how broad the role really is.
A great presales professional can:
- have a business conversation without hiding behind the product
- build a solution grounded in real technical understanding
- operate competitively in a live sales environment
That is a higher bar than simply being “good at demos.”
Brian’s definition of “advice” is especially telling. He asks “can you actually go have a business conversation to optimize processes and solutions, without having a technology conversation?”
That is a strong test of business acumen in presales today.
Ask better questions as they grow
According to Brian, the arc of a strong SE is not just about becoming better at answering prospect questions. It is about becoming confident enough to ask questions of your own.
He described that progression clearly: early on, many SEs are uncomfortable and they default to the generic demo. But “the true confidence in SEs comes through once they really know the solutions, the personas, the value that you’re trying to drive, you start to ask questions back.”
The best presales professionals are not just reactive. They guide the conversation.
Leverage AI to get better
AI came up throughout the session, not as a replacement for the role, but as a support for stronger execution.
Brian talked about how leaders should think about “how do you leverage AI to elevate those competencies.”
Morgan offered a similar perspective, especially around discovery and preparation. Both speakers kept returning to the same underlying idea: AI can improve speed and scale, but the qualities that truly differentiate a great presales professional remain deeply human.
Final thoughts
So what makes a great presales professional today?
Not just product expertise. Not just technical depth. Not just demo polish.
It is the combination of curiosity, empathy, storytelling, business understanding, and technical credibility, applied by someone who never stops learning.
Watch the full discussion to hear how Brian and Morgan are building teams that live up to that standard.
