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The latest episode of Presales Podcast featured an insightful conversation with Nikhil Sarma, Founder of GTM Solutions Consulting, who shared his expertise on one of the most challenging aspects of enterprise sales: customer indecision. Hosted by Jack Cochran, General Manager of Presales Collective, and Matthew James, the episode explored how solutions engineers can help buyers navigate complex purchasing decisions with confidence.
Listen to the full episode now!
The Perfect Storm of Indecision
Nikhil identified several converging factors that make customer indecision more prevalent than ever. Economic uncertainty has put buying decisions under intense scrutiny. The number of stakeholders in B2B decisions continues to grow, with senior leaders jockeying for their slice of limited budgets.The fact that it's never been cheaper to build software has created crowded markets where seven or eight vendors with near feature-parity compete for every deal.
"Put yourself in the shoes of a senior stakeholder who's looking to make a buying decision. It's not easy," Nikhil explained. "It's no longer a clear choice between an old paradigm and a new paradigm. There are many plausible options out there.” Add to this the sobering statistic that transformation projects still fail at a rate of around 70%, and the safest move for many buyers feels like sticking with the status quo or starting small.
Understanding Value at Every Level
One of Nikhil's most actionable frameworks involves recognizing that value is expressed differently at each organizational level. Operational teams think in terms of time savings. Managers focus on KPIs and the resources needed to deliver them. Executives are fundamentally driven by financial outcomes.
"If you say solutions engineering is mapping technical capabilities to business value, I think we don't do a good enough job yet of speaking about business value," Nikhil observed. "We're not really able to speak to CFOs." The challenge is that most presales teams have a solid grasp of operational details but limited visibility into executive priorities.
Discovery Is a Two-Way Street
Nikhil reframed discovery as something that benefits both seller and buyer. "Discovery is not just what you learned about your prospect so that you could show them something," he explained. "Discovery is what they are learning about their own organization."
This insight is particularly valuable because buyers often operate in silos within their own companies. By probing into dependencies, getting multiple perspectives, and playing devil's advocate, solutions engineers can help buyers understand their own organizational dynamics better.
The 74% Problem
Perhaps the most striking statistic Nikhil shared came from Gartner research: 74% of buying teams experience unhealthy levels of conflict during purchasing decisions. This friction has nothing to do with your product. It's all internal dynamics, competing priorities, and teams fighting for limited budget.
Understanding this reality changes how SEs should approach deals. The most successful SEs focus on the organizational challenges FIRST to build trust.
De-risking the Implementation
When products have feature parity, what differentiates winners from losers? Nikhil's answer was clear: "A good part of the sale, I would say about 50 to 60 percent, is really de-risking the implementation."
The technology is often the easiest part of the equation. What wins deals is demonstrating a clear understanding of the processes, change management, and risk mitigation required for success. Proactively addressing implementation challenges sets consultative sellers apart.
The Call for Financial Fluency
Nikhil's closing advice challenged presales professionals to level up their business acumen. "Get your teams more financially fluent," he urged. Understanding terms like net present value, internal rate of return, payback period, and hurdle rate allows SEs to build solid business cases that resonate with CFOs and procurement teams.
"Don't stop at ROI and TCO," Nikhil advised. "There are several other things that CFOs and procurement look at."
Looking Ahead
The conversation illuminated a fundamental shift in what it takes to succeed in enterprise presales. Technical expertise remains essential, but the ability to navigate organizational complexity, build multi-stakeholder consensus, and articulate financial value has become equally critical.
For solutions engineers looking to differentiate themselves in crowded markets, developing these consultative skills represents the path forward.
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