The sales process for B2B SaaS products is significantly different from selling any other product. How do you sell something in a market where the consumer is highly informed and the competition is increasingly fierce? This is where a well-defined sales strategy can help, as it ensures that your sales process remains as smooth and intuitive for the client as possible.
Devoid of a well-rounded sales strategy, you cannot predict how your revenue and the organization will scale. In this post, we’ll provide a guide to B2B SaaS sales strategy to help your team strive for success.
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Beginning Your SaaS Sales Journey
Most SaaS startups are small, product-centric companies that do not have expert sales representatives. The CEO often has to multi-task, operating as the de facto Heads of Sales.
However, this is the stage where you need to begin organizing and formulating a sales strategy that will guide you through the initial phase, toward sustainable growth. The emphasis should be on closing deals that ensure the future profitability of your startup.
In this scenario, your sales process will likely be prone to errors—and chances are that the cost of acquiring customers will exceed the customer lifetime value. But this is may be imperative for bagging the first batch of clients who can keep your revenue cycle functional.
Establishing Goals & Metrics
Identifying key sales goals and defining quotas can help to ensure progress is on track for the company. But applying goals in B2B sales can be difficult. Here are a few tips to help you define achievable goals for your reps and metrics that can help you ensure your reps stay on track.
Defining Goals
When defining goals, it’s important to be specific. Pursue actionable steps at each stage of the sales process, like the following funnel from GrasshopperHerder:
- Lead -> Start Conversation
- Qualifying -> Discover Economic Buyer or Budget
- Qualified -> Set up appointment
- Discovery -> Identify Situation, Pain, & Impact
- Conceptual Agreement -> Send proposal
- Proposal Sent -> Follow up
- Invoice Sent -> Track Payment
- Lost -> Weep
- Paid -> Celebrate
Keeping Track With Metrics
Here are some key metrics to help you and your team stay on track:
- Leads. Define a lead quota and pursue it. Pursue qualified leads that your organization defines based on targeted budget, authority, needs, and timeline to buy.
- Scheduled & Completed Demos. How many demos are your reps scheduling, and how many are actually being completed? From there, what is the ration of completed demos to closes? These questions can help you determine if a change to your demo is needed.
- Revenue Booked. Subscription-based SaaS businesses typically keep track of both monthly and annual recurring revenue. The goal of any sales team is to elevate this metric.
- Churn. How often are you losing customers? This is usually recorded on an annual basis as a percentage.
- Acquisition Cost. How much are you spending on marketing and sales in proportion to the number of deals?
With key sales goals and metrics defined ahead of time, you’re armed for growth and have the means to ensure your team is meeting expectations.
Understanding The B2B Landscape
Your sales strategy is heavily influenced by the target audience you’re catering to. Establishing an ideal buyer profile can help you determine your price point and can serve as a good indicator of what your sales processes should look like.
It’s worth noting that a B2B SaaS offering typically matures over the years, segmenting into different hybrid versions of the product to cater to multiple audiences. This allows companies to apply different SaaS sales models over time. Still, the starting point usually orbits around a specific target audience. Here are some tips to help you define your strategy based on your product model:
Entry Level Product
For companies with an average order value (AOV) of less than $500/month, the sales strategy should be focused on a self-service model. A less complex product coupled with a lower price point is bound to attract leads through simple inbound marketing channels.
Following a low acquisition cost, zero-touch policy, this model requires minimal interference. Any educational material required can be easily disseminated, without the explicit need for a complex sales process.
Mid-Level Products
This segment covers an extensive range—from $500/month to $10,000/month price points. With the increased cost of your services, customers expect efficient support from the SaaS provider. The product is inherently more complex, which requires SaaS companies to include dedicated sales representatives.
Check out our blog post on the Building A SaaS Sales Team That Gets Results.
This model may require face-to-face meetings, and it generally includes a longer sales cycle that requires human touch points throughout the process. Your sales representatives deliver value by effectively communicating the benefits and value proposition of the product.
Enterprise Level Product
The sales model for such highly complex and high-value products requires constant communication between sales representatives and clients. SaaS organizations that create or scale to such products need the assistance of an entire sales and support team to solve specific and personalized issues for their customers.
Veteran sales experts at HireDNA offer complete sales cycle evaluations to help you identify your target audience, assess your team, and recruit and train top talent for success. Learn More.
A Comprehensive Sales Strategy Is A Must
For B2B companies in the SaaS industry, the customer pool often defines their sales strategy. However, every lead has distinct problems, objections, and questions that must be answered before they convert.
A comprehensive B2B SaaS sales strategy ensures that you are not just communicating features but also solving your client’s key problems. From startups to large enterprises, having a sales strategy and a dedicated sales team can prove to be the difference between a high churn rate and satisfied customers.
Build A Successful Sales Team
A well-constructed and detailed strategy requires optimal execution to be truly successful. Sales representatives are at the very core of any successful B2B SaaS company. HireDNA is proud to offer comprehensive sales rep assessment, training and recruiting services to help you grow your organization.
Why Choose Us?
- 33% boost in sales productivity
- 80% of our sales talent search ends in a successful hire
- Training time decreased by 50%
- 92% of our recommended candidates reach the top half of the sales force within 12 months
- Eliminate 96% of hiring mistakes
- Our partners experience 25% top-line revenue growth
Are your sales representatives ready to accelerate growth? Get in touch today.