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Articles by Bob Skowron

Bob Skowron has practiced the art and science of Presales for 15+ years with over 10 years in Presales management. Before becoming a Presales professional, Bob combined business and technology skills sets by implementing IBM mid-range solutions as a financial controller. His business and marketing background were complemented with software engineering and management information system positions. From being a self-taught coder, he became an educational consultant, a project manager and sold implementation services. It was at this time in the mid1990s when Bob met and began working with co-author Dwayne DeSylvia. Bob crossed over from post-sales projects to Presales roles when working at Baan, a large global ERP solution provider. After rising to a Presales executive at Baan, Bob left to join a number of startup companies and brought Presales techniques and success to companies who had newly developed software solutions. Bob worked in the field and demonstrated with success the techniques he was asking his teams to do. An avid skier and outdoor enthusiast, Bob lives in Colorado.
  • Presales

    90 Seconds of Presales Panic – W is for What could possibly go wrong?

    • Posted on August 30, 2018October 9, 2018

    It never seems to fail that the larger and more important the demo, the more your nerves work against you.  This is especially for those new Presales and Solution Engineering.  Here’s another 90 seconds of Presales Panic that has been passed on to me.  “What could possibly go wrong?” I thought. Everything was set-up and…

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  • Presales

    90 Seconds of Presales Panic – H is for Hazard!

    • Posted on July 19, 2018October 9, 2018

    You know it’s a hazard.  All of your training and intuition scream “Don’t do it!”  But… I was working in Guilford, England.  My power adapters were working fine converting the UK 220v to US 110v, but I needed to plug in one more charger in addition to powering my PC.  I had this 4 outlet…

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  • Presales

    90 Seconds of Presales Panic – V is for Venue!

    • Posted on May 19, 2018October 9, 2018

    A true story as told to me by a tier 1 ERP Presales Engineer a couple of months ago. Every demo venue has its own challenges.  No network available for a web-based demo?  Ok, this can be a familiar situation at financial and government sites.  Not a big issue as this venue was explored ahead…

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  • Presales

    90 Seconds of Presales Panic – S is for Schedule!

    • Posted on April 24, 2018October 9, 2018

    … as told to me by a tier 1 ERP Presales Engineer just last month. Two hours before the demo was to start, word came in from the prospect that the scheduled demo time is being cut from 2 hours to 1 hour.  Great! (Not!)  “So what are we going to do?   Who’s not going…

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  • Presales

    90 Seconds of Presales Panic – A is for Audience!

    • Posted on March 9, 2018October 9, 2018

    Who are these guys?! Demo what?!! First Question!  Do you always start prep and ask: “Who’s going to be in the room?”  If yes, well done!  Take the next 90 seconds off!  (If not, what question is better and read on) It’s all about taking aim and delivering targeted messages.  If you don’t know your audience,…

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