A book for technologists in customer-facing roles

Architecting
Influence

Mastering the Art of Technical Pre-Sales

By Mark Perry

Get notified at launch Read Chapter 1 Explore the framework

Coming soon: Chapter 7 — Discovery

Who is this for

Built for technologists in the field

Solutions Engineers

Bridging product and customer every day

Pre-Sales Architects

Designing solutions before the deal is won

Developer Advocates

Translating technology into community trust

Technical Account Managers

Owning the relationship after the signature

Solutions Consultants

Turning discovery into tailored recommendations

SE Leaders & Managers

Developing the next generation of trusted advisors

Whether you're deep into a pre-sales career, leading a team, or considering the transition from engineering, DevRel, or professional services — the Influence Architecture gives you a map.

The Influence Architecture

Four stages. One framework.
A career's worth of trust.

The Influence Architecture is a developmental model for pre-sales professionals — a way to build the skills that turn technical experts into trusted advisors.

Each stage builds on the one below, like the floors of a building. Skip a stage and the structure is unstable. Build all four and you create something durable: a career defined by trust.

The framework operates at two scales: over the arc of your career, and within every customer engagement — from a ten-minute trade show conversation to a year-long enterprise sales campaign.

Anchor

Enduring Partnership

Delivering on promises. Integrity under pressure. Building relationships that compound over years and follow you across your career.

Elevate

Influence & Connection

Simplification, storytelling, and adaptive delivery. Translating knowledge into communication that moves people.

Orient

The Outside-In Pivot

Listening, discovery, and empathy as practice. The moment you stop thinking about what you know and start thinking about what the customer needs.

Ground

Foundation

Product mastery, industry currency, business fluency, and self-knowledge. What you bring to the room before you open your mouth.

Career Scale

Years of professional development. Each stage builds on the last as you grow from technologist to trusted advisor.

Ground Orient Elevate Anchor

Engagement Scale

A single customer meeting. The same four stages play out in every interaction — from trade show to boardroom.

Ground Orient Elevate Anchor

One framework. Two scales. Every interaction.

Inside the book

Seventeen chapters. Thirty years of experience.
One practical guide.

Each chapter opens with a real story from the field — sometimes a success, sometimes a spectacular failure. Each gives you both the principles and the techniques to develop the skills it describes.

Ground

Know Your Product, Industry & Yourself

How to explain your product's value in thirty seconds. The Carrot and Stick framework for business outcomes. Building the self-knowledge that makes authenticity possible.

Orient

Listening, Discovery & Reading the Room

Why technical people are bad listeners — and how to fix it. A seven-question discovery framework. How to map stakeholders by influence and favourability.

Elevate

Storytelling, Presenting & Demonstrating

Building stories that create emotional resonance. Presenting as performing. The five principles of demo delivery. Written communication that stands out.

Anchor

Delivering, Building Trust & The Long Game

POCs as the first act of trust. Working with your sales team. Managing customers, partners, and competitors. Building a career that compounds.

Test yourself

How sharp are your skills?

Can you explain your product's value in thirty seconds without using jargon?
Do you know the names and motivations of every stakeholder in your current deal?
When did you last adapt your presentation mid-delivery based on what you saw in the room?

If any of these gave you pause, this book is for you. Each chapter includes diagnostic checkpoints like these — practical tools to measure where you are and what to work on next.

Table of contents

The complete architecture

Part II — Ground

Ch. 3 — Know Your Product
Ch. 4 — Know Your Industry
Ch. 5 — Know Yourself

Part III — Orient

Ch. 6 — The Art of Listening
Ch. 7 — Discovery
Ch. 8 — Reading the Room

Part IV — Elevate

Ch. 9 — Simplification & Storytelling
Ch. 10 — Presentations & Performance
Ch. 11 — Demonstrations
Ch. 12 — Written Communication

Part V — Anchor

Ch. 13 — Delivering on Promises
Ch. 14 — Working with Your Team
Ch. 15 — Customers, Partners & Competitors
Ch. 16 — Public Speaking & Events

Part VI — The Long Game

Ch. 17 — Building Your Career
Self-Assessment Tool
Quick Reference Card

Diagnostic Tool

The Influence Architecture Self-Assessment

A structured diagnostic that maps your skills across all four stages of the Influence Architecture. Answer honestly, and you'll get a clear picture of where you're strong, where you're developing, and what to work on next.

For individuals

Build a personal development roadmap based on your current stage. Track your growth over time as you develop each skill.

For team leaders

Deploy across your SE team to map capability gaps. Build targeted coaching plans aligned to the four stages.

Take the Assessment

About the author

Mark Perry

Founder, Architecting Influence

Mark Perry has spent over three decades in Information Technology, specialising in Digital Identity and cybersecurity. His career spans industry leaders and early-stage startups — IBM, Netscape, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Ping Identity, Biza.io — working as an application support engineer, pre-sales engineer, consulting architect, and regional chief technology officer. He's a practitioner who still builds demos, codes POCs, and works hands-on with protocols like OIDC, OAuth, and SAML.

He speaks regularly at industry events worldwide and is a founding member of IDPro, the professional organisation for Identity Management. The Influence Architecture distils everything he's learned about building trust, communicating with impact, and helping technologists thrive in customer-facing roles.

Mark is based in Melbourne, Australia. When he's not helping customers solve problems, he can be found behind a vintage synthesiser or working on his next novel.

Coming Soon

The Influence Architecture
Online Course

A structured, self-paced programme that takes you through all four stages of the Influence Architecture — with video lessons, practical exercises, real-world scenarios, and diagnostic tools to measure your progress.

Module 1 — Ground

Product mastery, industry fluency, self-knowledge

Module 2 — Orient

Listening, discovery, stakeholder mapping

Module 3 — Elevate

Storytelling, presentations, demonstrations

Module 4 — Anchor

Delivery, trust-building, career strategy

Video lessons · Practical exercises · Real-world scenarios · Self-assessment integration
Approximately 4 weeks self-paced · Team enrolment available on request

Join the waiting list

For teams & leaders

Bring the Influence Architecture to your team

The same framework that develops individual contributors can transform an entire pre-sales organisation. Map your team's capabilities, build targeted development plans, and create a shared language for excellence.

Team Assessment

Deploy the self-assessment across your SE team. Map each person to the four stages. Identify capability gaps and build targeted coaching plans that develop the skills your team actually needs.

Workshop

Half-day or full-day interactive workshop tailored to your team's stage and industry. Story-driven, exercise-based, and built around the Influence Architecture framework. In-person or virtual.

Keynote

An engaging, story-driven keynote for your conference, sales kickoff, or team event. Designed to challenge assumptions about what makes great pre-sales professionals — and inspire your team to develop the skills that matter.

Get in touch

Bulk book purchases and team course enrolment also available on enquiry.

Architecting Influence