The Pre-Sales Observer

Your correspondent Dennis Ruffing as photographed by his wife Cheryl Doyle-Ruffing

When I was at the tender age of, oh, twelve, my father brought home a TRS-80 Model 1 computer- with external tape drive- and technology superseded my interest in Legos.

At roughly the same time I took on the local newspaper route.  I failed miserably at this for a good two years, delivering on-time and with a smile, but was far too timid to ring that doorbell and collect payment for my product and services.

Some fifteen years later, as a software salesman who met with people on time and explained my products with a smile, I was still far too timid to consistently collect.  I just wasn’t much of a closer.   I’d like to thank my employer at that time for recognizing my core talents and recommending I do the fun part of the job – the discovery and the problem solving and the demonstrating and the positioning – and let someone else close the business.

Could I? Please?

So here we are, another fifteen years on, experienced and successful and reveling in the joy of the stage that the Pre-Sales role in enterprise software brings.  Join me, won’t you?  I’ll reflect, document, and share my experiences in this most intriguing job in the industry.