Adapting to the Changing World of Presales with Steve Bullington

In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Steve Bullington, Global Public Sector Sales Onboarding and Strategic Programs Lead at Salesforce, to explore the seismic shifts reshaping presales. Steve draws powerful parallels between today's transformation and the move from perpetual licenses to SaaS, arguing that we're experiencing an equally fundamental change as the industry shifts to consumption-based pricing models. 

Follow Us

• Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/ 

• Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/ 

• Connect with Steve Bullington: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevebullington/ 

Links and Resources Mentioned

• Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack 

• Sol/Con 2026 (Chicago, August 2026): https://www.presalescollective.com/solcon-2026 

Key Topics Covered

1. The Evolution of Presales: From Technical Expert to Business Value Architect

2. Consumption-Based Pricing Models and the Death of Shelfware

3. The Critical Importance of Accurate Consumption Forecasting

4. Forward-Deployed Engineers: The 10x Growth of a New Role

5. AI's Impact on Demo Capabilities and Presales Productivity

6. The Current Maturity Level of AI (Comparable to SaaS in 2000)

7. Which Sales Roles Face AI Replacement and Future Career Pathways

8. The Need to Accelerate Professional Development Beyond 1% Daily