售前培训的水居然这么深！ 你肯定没想到会是这样

A-Jie is a presales solution consultant at a tech company. Since transitioning from R&D to presales, he has worked incredibly hard, leveraging his solid technical foundation to quickly become the team's technical expert. Whenever colleagues hit product or technical issues, they know they can always come to him and leave with a satisfactory answer. However, despite his technical prowess, his project win rate consistently falls below the team average. For someone as ambitious and competitive as A-Jie, this has been a significant blow.

One afternoon, A-Jie ran into Lao Li, a presales expert from headquarters, in the company break room. Lao Li is a legendary figure in presales at the company, having shared his experience with presales teams across the organization on multiple occasions. This time, he had been invited by a regional sales rep to visit the vice president of a strategic client. A-Jie's eyes lit up. He thought, "This is exactly the expert I need to consult!"

So, A-Jie persisted and cajoled until he finally got Lao Li to join him at the coffee shop downstairs.

A-Jie eagerly ordered the coffee and immediately blurted out his dilemma: "Lao Li, I feel like my presales game has hit a plateau lately. I'm working hard and I know our products inside and out, but my win rate just won't budge. You're the senior presales expert here. I wanted to ask if there's a good way to quickly improve my ability to close deals?"

Lao Li smiled and waved his hand dismissively. "By age, I might be a senior, but I'm not old! Ha! This is the first time a post-90s guy has asked me for presales advice! There aren't many young people like you who are willing to dig deep into the craft of presales these days! Ha, am I sounding a bit like a condescending old-timer? But seriously, there are far too few young people willing to put in the hard work to master presales skills. I don't claim to have all the answers, but let's talk it through."

A-Jie nodded, picking up his coffee. "Sure, let's chat over coffee."

Lao Li paused thoughtfully before speaking. "Your question is a big one. If you were at headquarters, I could have you shadow me on deals, and you could see if there's anything worth borrowing. But the presales folks in the regional offices are all new; there's no one senior to mentor you. Let me think if there's another way...

Actually, have you considered taking a presales training course? There are more and more institutions offering them now. You could ask your boss if the company would cover the tuition. I can also put in a good word for you with him. If you can find a good presales training program, it might be the most cost-effective and fastest way to level up!

When I first started, there wasn't any formal presales training available. We just figured things out as we went. I've been in this field for years, but I never learned a structured methodology. Now, trying to change my approach is tough, and honestly, I've gotten a bit lazy. But you guys, who are just a few years in, should learn the industry's formal, professional presales methodology from the ground up! It's like learning to swim—it's a life-saving skill. A self-taught doggy paddle is never going to be as reliable as what a professional coach teaches. If we're going to make a career out of presales, we really need to systematically learn how the pros—the real presales experts—do it!"

A-Jie nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've been thinking about signing up for a presales course. But there are so many people offering presales training now. A lot of these influencer teachers have videos that sound convincing, and their titles are pretty intimidating. How do I judge whose course is better? Should I look at their course sales numbers, follower counts, or their titles?"

Lao Li smiled slightly, set down his coffee cup, and looked at A-Jie. "Those metrics are worth considering, but many of these trainers are backed by MCN agencies that handle their branding. Follower counts and course sales can be inflated. To assess a trainer's real capability, you need to look at the things that can't be packaged."

A-Jie asked curiously, "Things that can't be packaged? Like what?"

Lao Li said calmly, "For example, the trainer's income in the last few years before they became a full-time trainer. This is crucial because it reflects their actual presales ability. Companies aren't stupid; they pay based on effort and contribution. If a trainer had a high income before training, it means their real-world skills are strong. Can you really expect a teacher who earned less than 500,000 RMB a year to teach students how to make 300,000? I've heard that some trainers couldn't even crack 300,000 before they started teaching. What could they possibly teach you?"

Presales and sales techniques are fundamentally about playing the odds. It's like the saying, 'All roads lead to Rome.' But some roads are well-paved highways—easy to travel, low risk, and a higher probability of arriving in Rome smoothly and efficiently. Other roads might involve treacherous mountains and rivers. You might still get to Rome, but it's exhausting, and you might even lose people along the way. If you can't see the true nature of these methods, you'll be led into a trap. That's the most dangerous part of presales and sales training. If these seemingly logical methods haven't been validated on a large scale, and you blindly adopt them, you won't even know how you lost the deal. You might even be patting yourself on the back for using a so-called 'presales technique' while the deal slips through your fingers!"

A-Jie nodded thoughtfully. "But all these teachers claim to make a million a year! Lying is cheap these days, and there's no way to verify their income!"

Lao Li chuckled. "True. In the world of self-media training, everyone claims a starting salary of a million. The tax authorities should really audit them! Even among frontline presales with 15+ years of experience at major tech companies, those earning a million a year are extremely rare. If a teacher claims to make a million, you should be cautious! In first-tier cities, a presales director at a company with a few hundred employees, unless they have founder's stock, typically earns around 500,000 to 600,000 RMB. You could just ask their customer service directly how much this 'guru' earned before becoming a trainer. Ha, I'm actually curious myself! If they didn't earn more than me, then I could go out and sell courses too!"

A-Jie scratched his head. "I could ask, but the problem is it's still unverifiable!"

Lao Li winked. "Well, if the teacher is truly confident, they can show you their previous income. Remember, we have that personal income tax app in China. Ask them to send you a screenshot. Even if they try to Photoshop it, it's hard to fabricate those numbers convincingly. It's easy to verify."

A-Jie's eyes lit up. "That's true! I can try that. I'm curious too. But I don't need to learn swimming from a world champion, right? Isn't a teacher who makes 500,000 good enough to teach me, who makes 200,000?"

Lao Li laughed heartily. "That's a bit of a specious argument. If you want to have a long-term career in presales, especially in this tough economic climate without getting laid off, you need to learn some real, hardcore skills. Otherwise, won't your boss start eyeing you? If you learn a skill set that can get you to the 500,000 level, even if you don't want to work that hard and only put in 50% effort, couldn't you still make 300,000? Or would you rather learn a method that requires you to exhaust yourself just to scrape by at 300,000?"

A-Jie nodded. "That makes sense. It looks like I should aim for a high standard. I don't want to spend money and effort only to dig a hole for myself. I really need to choose this teacher carefully. Lao Li, besides this, are there other criteria?"

Lao Li thought for a moment, then continued. "Of course, there are many more. For example, which reputable large companies they've worked at, what positions they held, and how many years of presales experience they have."

A-Jie nodded. "Yeah, those are usually listed in their bios. That's easy to check."

Lao Li shook his head. "It's not that simple! Don't forget the power of capital and marketing. Of course, you can't just believe everything they say!"

A-Jie frowned. "So how do you verify it?"

Lao Li smiled. "We have professional networking platforms like LinkedIn and Maimai (脉脉). While people can fill in their work history arbitrarily, their former colleagues and clients can see it. If there's too much fluff, they'll get called out. So the information there is more credible and worth referencing. I suspect many trainers use pseudonyms instead of their real names. Don't you understand the reason behind that?"

A-Jie had an epiphany. "Ha! There are so many trainers using pseudonyms! Now I get why! That's something I can verify right away. I'll check the names of the teachers I've been looking at on Maimai later. Are there other ways to judge?"

Lao Li continued, "You can also look at the teacher's educational background. Presales is an art of practical application. While it's not all about degrees, would you trust a graduate from a top-tier university or one from a third-tier college? Companies today look at education, even prestigious schools, and for good reason. A degree is a better indicator of learning ability, ambition, and overall competence than many other factors!"

A-Jie nodded. "Definitely, I'd trust someone from a top school more! It seems like Maimai verifies educational certificates. That's easy to check. What else?"

Lao Li smiled. "The rest comes down to the training content and format. Look at their course syllabus. Is it detailed enough? Does it align with the skills your job requires? Are there many topics you haven't encountered before?

Finally, you have to taste the cake before buying it—take a trial lesson. Many trainers can talk a good game, presenting case studies where their methods work like magic, instantly winning over clients and projects. But things are never that miraculous. If they were that good, they'd be rich already, not out there selling courses!

A good teacher should also be willing to give you advice on a real, live project you're currently working on. That way, the effectiveness of their methods can be quickly validated. You'll know if it works and if it's right for you! Be wary of courses that seem comprehensive and well-structured but rarely include real case studies, or ones where the case studies sound obviously fake. I haven't listened to many presales courses, but I've read a lot of books. In recent years, too many books are filled with the flavor of a ghostwriter or AI! With AI being so powerful now, generating book and course content is easier than ever! It's like the saying, 'Listening to you speak is like a lesson, but not a single word is useful.'"

A-Jie sighed. "Ugh, I didn't expect choosing a course to be this troublesome. It's harder than researching a client! I'm starting to not want to take a presales training course at all!"

Lao Li smiled. "There are indeed too many gimmicks in the training industry now. You see, even as a customer, spending money isn't easy