Fractional, interim and advisory Head of Pre-Sales
Head of Pre-Sales for technology businesses
I am Justin Taylor. I provide senior pre-sales leadership to technology businesses, on a fractional, interim or advisory basis, bringing 25+ years across enterprise software, SaaS, ERP, cloud, AI, digital transformation, consulting and commercial leadership.
I have led UK & Ireland pre-sales teams, shaped complex propositions, supported major enterprise opportunities and worked across sales, technology and delivery to turn customer requirements into solutions that can be sold, won and delivered.
What a Head of Pre-Sales actually does
A Head of Pre-Sales sits at the intersection of technology, sales, customers and commercial strategy.
The job is to lead the people and capability behind complex opportunities, while helping shape what the business takes to market.
Good pre-sales connects what the customer needs with what the business can actually sell and deliver.
That means understanding the technology deeply enough to shape the solution, the commercial environment well enough to understand what will sell, and the customer well enough to understand what they are actually trying to achieve.
It also means building a pre-sales organisation that supports growth rather than simply reacting to the sales pipeline.
When businesses bring me in
- The pre-sales team needs experienced leadership.
- Sales is growing but pre-sales has not kept pace.
- Complex opportunities need more senior solution leadership.
- The business has strong technology but its propositions are difficult to differentiate.
- Sales, pre-sales and delivery are working in silos.
- The business is developing new propositions around AI, cloud, ERP or digital transformation.
- A Head of Pre-Sales has left and experienced leadership is needed quickly.
- A founder or leadership team needs senior capability without immediately making a permanent appointment.
- A growing technology business needs to build, restructure or professionalise its pre-sales function.
My Capita experience
I spent around six years at Capita, ultimately as Head of Pre-Sales for the UK & Ireland, leading a team of seven across Pre-Sales, Sales Engineering, Bid Management and subject matter expertise.
I was responsible for pre-sales across a broad technology portfolio, working with sales, product, technology and delivery teams to develop propositions and win complex enterprise opportunities.
I led pre-sales at scale across complex enterprise technology, major customer environments and high-value opportunities.
- Head of Pre-Sales
- UK & Ireland
- Team members
- 7
- Opportunity range
- £1m–£50m
- Year-on-year new business growth
- 70%
- Technology experience
- 25+ years
- Digital transformation
- Enterprise software and ERP
- Finance, HR and payroll
- Cloud and managed services
- AI and emerging technology
- Technology consulting
- Integration and enterprise technology
- Business process transformation
I worked across opportunities ranging from £1m to £50m, from early customer discovery and qualification through solution design, digital transformation strategy, proposition development, workshops, demonstrations, commercial shaping, bids and final negotiations.
My customers included Transport for London, NHS Business Services Authority, DEFRA and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, alongside more than 250 government and public sector organisations.
The role went beyond traditional pre-sales leadership. I was part of the wider commercial leadership team, helping shape propositions, sales strategy and growth across the software and technology portfolio.
I was also involved in the transition of the business from Capita to Advanced, working through the commercial and proposition changes associated with the sale of Capita's non-core software businesses.
During my time in the business, new business grew by 70% year on year.
Leading pre-sales, not just working in it
My experience covers the whole pre-sales lifecycle:
- Opportunity qualification and strategy
- Customer discovery and executive engagement
- Solution and proposition development
- Technical and commercial solution shaping
- Digital transformation
- Workshops and demonstrations
- RFP, RFI and tender strategy
- Bid leadership and governance
- Proofs of concept and technical validation
- Sales and pre-sales alignment
- Delivery feasibility and handover
- Pre-sales process and operating model
- Team leadership, coaching and development
The objective is not simply to improve the quality of bids. It is to build a pre-sales organisation that helps the business identify better opportunities, shape them earlier and convert them more effectively.
Proposition leadership
One of the most important parts of senior pre-sales is deciding how technology becomes something a customer can actually buy.
At Capita, I worked across complex enterprise technology propositions, bringing together technical capability, customer requirements and commercial objectives.
That meant working with product, technology, marketing, sales and delivery to answer practical questions:
- What problem are we solving?
- Who has that problem?
- Why should they buy from us?
- How do we differentiate?
- Can we actually deliver what we are promising?
That is where pre-sales becomes a commercial function rather than simply a technical support function.
Building and leading the team
As Head of Pre-Sales, I led a UK & Ireland team of seven covering Pre-Sales, Sales Engineering, Bid Management and specialist expertise.
That involved setting direction, allocating resources against strategic opportunities, developing people, establishing standards and bringing different technical and commercial disciplines together around the customer.
Leadership is not about sitting above the opportunities.
I am comfortable getting directly involved in the important deals while developing the people and processes that allow the wider team to operate effectively without me.
Earlier experience
Before Capita, I spent 17 years with Sage Timesheet / DSA, working across sales, consulting and implementation.
I worked with more than 1,000 organisations across the UK and Europe, including major enterprise customers, giving me a strong grounding in how technology is bought, implemented and used in real organisations.
I understand the technology, the customer, the sales process and what has to happen after the contract is signed.
Fractional Head of Pre-Sales
Sometimes a business needs senior pre-sales leadership but does not yet need, or want, a permanent appointment.
I can provide that leadership on a fractional basis, working with the leadership team and existing pre-sales organisation for an agreed number of days each month.
- Set the pre-sales strategy
- Coach and develop the team
- Improve the operating model
- Support strategic opportunities
- Develop stronger propositions
Interim Head of Pre-Sales
Sometimes the requirement is more immediate.
A senior leader has left, the business is going through a period of growth, a major transformation is underway or the pre-sales function needs to be restructured.
I can step into the role on an interim basis, taking responsibility for the function and working directly with sales, technology and delivery.
The focus is practical: stabilise the function, support the pipeline, develop the team and leave stronger capability behind.
Let’s talk it through.
If you need an experienced Head of Pre-Sales for a defined period, a fractional role or a wider commercial transformation, let's talk. Tell me what is happening in the business and where pre-sales is getting stuck. I will give you an honest view of what I think needs to change.