How to Succeed at SaaS Sales

SaaS selling – it’s definitely not a “one and done.” An effective SaaS sales strategy relies upon an entire team delivering on the value proposition and keeping customers happy. It really boils down to a long-term effort. And knowing how to solve your customers’ pain – while keeping yours to a minimum – requires that you know your SaaS sales basics.

What Is SaaS Sales?

SaaS (Software as a Service) is meant to give a user a certain ability, such as cloud storage, or “solve a pain,” such as creating apps without needing to code.

SaaS is sold by a whole value chain of people, as a way of leading a client to:

• Get interested in the product
• Try it out
• Buy it (usually on a subscription basis)
• Keep using it

Why Is SaaS Different from Other Sales?

SaaS is not like other products. You can’t kick the tires. You don’t choose the color. And you can’t try it on.

Or can you? Selling SaaS actually depends on a SaaS sales funnel, which includes things like free trials as a way to “try it on.” In the case of B2B SaaS, these activities are absolutely vital for success.

The way in: content and connections, inside and out

How the SaaS sales process begins depends on your company, what you are selling, and who your target prospects are, as detailed in your SaaS go-to-market strategy. For example, if you are selling something that is totally new, then developing the market’s knowledge and interest through content might be necessary.

Or maybe the SaaS requires a lot of expenditure and very specific customers, so cold calling and trade shows are important. Does your team have a great list of qualified email contacts? Then messaging is on the menu.

The point is that you need to discover many routes to market, and figure out which is best for you in terms of inside vs. outside sales. In comparison, if you are selling shoes, then you mostly sell through channels, or maybe out of the .

Try it on for size, no changing room needed

A SaaS product might solve issues, but cause headaches. User experience is just as important as effectiveness.

You can bet that your prospects know this, and they’ll want to take your baby for a spin before committing. Offering a free trial is hugely important, especially when web sales are your thing. Trials offer lots of advantages, such as:

• Seeing if the prospect is serious about using your product
• Finding and eliminating UX problems and technical glitches
• Proving the value of your product so that the user becomes your cheerleader during the client’s due diligence and purchase process

If the product is relatively complex to use, then having an on-site rep during the trial period can make all the difference, especially when a Sales-Led Growth program is part of the go-to-market strategy.

The tough part might be after the sale 

In many cases, if it’s just a matter of a download, then why not sign up? For this reason, prospects that have a good initial experience might be quick to go for that first month, meaning that the SaaS sales cycle can be considered shorter than other B2B efforts.

But then comes the real work. Many SaaS companies offer low-cost or no-cost cancellation policies, which removes a barrier to churn. Making sure that customers are happy, and that they keep on using your product, requires a lot of effort on the part of your organization, including:

• Discounts for long-term usage
• Frequent updates, particularly when there’s close competition
• Active customer relations and SaaS sales metrics functions

How to Build a SaaS Sales Strategy

So, SaaS companies need to be aware of the above factors connected to sales. But what about their differences? Of course, there are all kinds of software, and these variations play a big role in determining basic sales strategy. A few of the most influential factors are:

• Price
• Complexity of use
• Market size

Let’s take a gander at the three standard types of SaaS sales strategies connected to these factors.

Self-service

“Self-service” is a model where sales depend more on generating awareness than on direct contact with prospects. A client can use and pay for the product without ever needing to interact with a real person. Zoom and Slack are classic examples. Self-service is a practical model for low-cost, easy-to-use SaaS with a large target market.

Enterprise 

Enterprise SaaS sales are essentially the opposite of self-service. In this model, sales teams go after large clients, take their time in establishing relationships, and often hold in-person meetings. Explaining how the product works can require training sessions, and even a dedicated rep who provides explanations and deals immediately with problems. One example of enterprise SaaS sales is BrightEdge, which requires demos at different stages of the sales process, and provides customer success managers for regular consulting. Enterprise is often used for complex and expensive products with a limited market size.

Transactional 

Somewhere between self-service and enterprise lies the transactional sales model. This framework delivers software at various price points, with matching features and services. You can see transactional models on many SaaS pricing pages, where there are tiered offerings. The goal of this model is to handle both large and small clients. Real-world applications of the transactional strategy are Xignite and Zendesk. The trick here is to have a product that can be configured according to user and price plan.

Key Takeaways

• SaaS sales rely on a chain of activities to bring the client from introduction to sustained use
• SaaS companies must pay particular attention to finding the right way to develop prospects for their specific product, enabling trial periods, and maintaining great post-sales activities
• The three basic SaaS sales strategies are self-service, enterprise, and transactional