MAGAZINE · LEAD GENERATION & FUNNEL

Pre-Sales Content: Sales Begins Before the First Call

Which content prepares your sales team – before it even starts.

Many people think of “sales” as the first conversation or the first call. But in B2B, the customer journey often begins long before that – and without your sales team. Potential customers research, compare, gather opinions and make preliminary decisions before any contact happens. This is exactly where pre-sales content comes in.

/ 01 — Why

Why Pre-Sales Content Is Decisive

Pre-sales content is content that supports, informs and convinces potential customers before the first conversation – and prepares them specifically for your offering. Used correctly, an anonymous website visit turns into an informed lead with clear interest, and your sales team saves time on qualification.

In B2B, it’s rare for a single person to make the purchasing decision: departments, procurement, management, IT, sometimes legal or compliance all want to form their own picture before they talk to you. In 6sense’s 2025 Buyer Experience Report (published 12 November 2025, based on responses from more than 4,000 B2B buyers), 94% of buying groups already had a preferred vendor before first contact, and 77% of the time they went on to buy from that favorite. According to the same report, roughly 60% of the buying journey is independent research and roughly 40% is engagement with vendors. Pre-sales content is therefore not a “nice to have” – it’s a must if you want to play a role in the digital funnel.

Pre-sales content is not a “nice to have” – it’s a must, the extended arm of your sales team.

/ 02 — Formats

Which Formats Work for the Pre-Sales Phase?

The key is that the content has to work without context – there’s no sales conversation accompanying it. These are especially effective:

• Whitepapers & use cases – deep insights into typical challenges and your solution, ideal for forwarding
• Checklists & decision guides – give confidence in the selection process (e.g. “10 questions before choosing a CRM”)
• Comparison tables & decision matrices – help with argumentation, framed fairly and transparently
• ROI calculators & business cases – show measurable benefit for procurement and management
• Short videos & demo overviews – “appetizers” for decision-makers with little time

Every format should deliver clear value – not a product brochure, but real decision support.

Five formats that convince in the pre-sales phase without any sales contact.

/ 03 — Structure

How to Structure Pre-Sales Content

Good pre-sales content answers exactly the questions that are still open at this stage: What does the solution actually bring me? How does it differ from others? Is this right for my company? What do other customers say? How quickly can I implement this internally? The clearer these answers, the more likely you’ll be seen as a trustworthy provider – even before the first personal contact.

A simple structure has proven effective: first explain the problem and context, then show the benefit and solution, then bring in experience or proof (customer quote, figure, case), and finally offer a clear course of action – a conversation, a download or a link.

/ 04 — Placement

Where Pre-Sales Content Gets Used

A common mistake: good content gets created but isn’t distributed strategically. Make your pre-sales content visible at the right moments:

• On the website – as a download, scroll element or pop-up for the right audiences
• In LinkedIn posts or ads – with concrete benefit instead of empty promises
• In lead nurturing – as part of email sequences before the first conversation
• In your response to first inquiries – “I’ll send you a brief overview beforehand”
• In the self-service demo area – complementing a video walkthrough

/ 05 — Limits

What Pre-Sales Content Is Not

Pre-sales content is not a marketing show – it’s part of your sales process. That’s why:

• No empty buzzwords
• No polish without substance
• No “we’re the best,” but “here’s how we solve this problem – provably”

Whoever delivers real value gets taken seriously. Whoever just wants to sell gets ignored.

Pre-sales content decides whether your sales team jumps in at the deep end – or whether leads enter the conversation already convinced, informed and motivated. Especially in digital B2B, content isn’t a side note; it’s the extended arm of your sales team. Whoever invests consistently here shortens sales cycles, improves close rates and earns the trust that’s decisive at the later close.

Keep reading: Content for humans and machines · How a modern B2B funnel really works

/ 06 — FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Mirrors the real prompts from Google AI & ChatGPT around pre-sales content in B2B sales.

What is pre-sales content?

Content that informs, convinces and prepares potential customers for your offering before the first sales contact – from whitepapers to checklists, comparison tables, ROI calculators and short videos.

Why is pre-sales content so important in B2B?

Because the preliminary decision is made before you are even in the picture. In 6sense’s 2025 Buyer Experience Report (more than 4,000 B2B buyers surveyed), 94% of buying groups already had a preferred vendor before first contact, and 77% of the time they went on to buy from that favorite. Without helpful content at this stage, you lose leads before you ever hear from them.

Which formats work for the pre-sales phase?

Formats that work without context: whitepapers & use cases, checklists & decision guides, comparison tables, ROI calculators & business cases, and short videos and demo overviews.

/ 07 — Who It’s For

Built for companies whose offering needs explaining.

IT & Software Providers

With services that need explaining, and a small number of high-value customers.

Manufacturing Industry & Mechanical Engineering

Selling complex technology to a small number of major decision-makers.

Startups & Scale-ups

Companies that want to become visible quickly and credibly.