Engaging with Sales People
We make your sellers look like heroes—without hijacking the deal.
Whether we stay behind the curtain (white-label) or join client calls as the technical ace, our presales process is built to accelerate velocity, protect margins, and maintain clear lanes of accountability. The playbook below distils lessons from 40+ opportunities closed with partners across SaaS, fintech and enterprise consulting.
1. Why Align Early?
| Sales Pain | Our Counter-Move |
|---|---|
| Multiple hand-offs slow momentum | Single pod handles discovery → proposal → delivery. |
| Clients ask "How much & when?" on call #1 | AI quote engine produces line-item ROM in 24 h. |
| Technical depth gaps in live demos | Architect & UX lead join as needed; sandbox demo resets nightly. |
| Brand collision risk | We sign NDA + white-label clause or appear as "42"—your call. |
2. Two Collaboration Modes
| Mode | Who Owns the Logo? | Our Visibility | Typical Use-Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| White-Label | Your company | Ghost; we’re “senior engineers on the call” | Reseller / agency protecting margin |
| Co-Branded | Joint or 42 | Front-line SMEs, case slides, cert badges | Enterprise RFPs where depth wins |
Switch anytime; same pricing, new slide deck.
3. Sales-Cycle Touchpoints & SLAs
| Stage | Our Contribution | SLA | Your Seller's Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification | FCI quick-scan, risk flags | < 1 BD | Intro call, share pains |
| Solutioning | High-level architecture sketch, draft backlog | < 2 BD | Validate fit & budget |
| Proposal | AI quote (ROM or fixed), draft SoW What is ROM? A Rough-Order-of-Magnitude estimate gives a quick budget
signal (±30-50%). See the full glossary entry for details. | < 3 BD | Present price; own commercials |
| Closing | Security pack, reference calls, shadow Q&A | < 2 BD | Procurement shepherding |
| Onboarding | Kick-off agenda, artefact checklist | Instant on sign | Calendar & stakeholder intro |
BD = Business Day
4. Enablement Kit (Ready-Made Assets)
Battlecards (pain → gain)
Objection-handling one-liners by vertical
ROI Calculator (xlsx)
Plug-in KPIs, auto-charts payback curve
10-Slide Deck
Playbook, squad bios, billing options
Live Demo Sandbox
Click-through prototype reset nightly
Security & Compliance Pack
Pre-answered ISO 27001, GDPR, POPIA forms
All assets can be white-labelled in < 24 h.
5. Opportunity Intake Checklist
- Elevator pitch & client pain.
- Desired timeline / event date.
- Ballpark budget comfort.
- Known integrations / constraints.
- Decision-maker org chart.
- NDA status (yes/no).
We can turn around a ROM quote with only #1-3.
6. RFP / RFQ Flow (Zero-Friction)
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Each loop is timestamp-tracked in our CRM; sellers can monitor progress live.
7. Success Metrics We Track Together
| KPI | Target | Typical Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal Turnaround | ≤ 3 BD | 35 % faster vs. industry avg |
| Sales Cycle Length | ↓ by 25 % | Achieved in fintech & SaaS deals |
| Win Rate with 42 Involved | ≥ 45 % | Double partner-only rate |
| Margin Protection | ≥ 70 % GM | Fixed fee templates hold line |
Data compiled across 30 deals, FY 22-24.
8. Mini Case
SaaS Reseller — Brought us into an RFP as white-label dev team. Turned Q&A in 36 h, shipped POC in 5 days, and closed a R3.4 m deal 21 days ahead of forecast. Seller margin held at 73 %.
9. FAQs
Need pre-sales firepower tomorrow?
Email sales@thisis42.com with the opportunity brief, and we’ll deliver the matching assets in 24 hours.