In an ideal world, a token project doing a pre-sale should have the following:

• A demo or alpha ready to be tested and used
• An established community
• A fully fleshed out team with appropriate backgrounds
• Strong cybersecurity measures in place to prevent theft
• Legal opinions and proper regulatory compliance secured
• Systems for monitoring all communications 24/7 to prevent fraud and bad actors from injecting themselves into the presale
• A strong marketing team and marketing plan in place
• A well-thought-out plan for using any funds
• A clear and reasonable hard-cap on fundraising, both in general and for the pre-sale

Projects that have all of these are in a stronger position for a successful pre-sale. Projects that also have well-known private investors or funds behind them have an additional advantage.