SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solutions have become a popular way for businesses to quickly scale their operations. Today, there is no shortage of options to choose from when trying to stay more organized or simplify your workflows using a unified, cloud-enabled platform.
However, while the convenience of having many options to choose from might be great for consumers, it can also be a different story for companies trying to get their attention. This is where having an effective SaaS sales strategy in place is critical.
Thankfully, there are a variety of proven techniques companies can utilize to not only increase the amount of leads they gain but also increase their conversion rates.
The Foundational Elements of SaaS Sales
Before you can begin selling SaaS products successfully, it’s first important to understand some of the foundational elements associated with creating an effective SaaS sales strategy:
Know Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
In order to have your products or services speak to a consumer, you first need to know exactly who they are. This can be done by creating your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Your ICP essentially gives you a detailed representation of who will be purchasing your products (businesses or individual consumers) and gives you the added insight you need to make sure your software is bringing them real value.
A well-organized ICP should help you answer the following questions:
- What type of role does your ideal customer have, or what industry are they most likely situated in?
- Are they experiencing specific hurdles when completing certain tasks or projects? If so, what are they?
- How will your solution fix any discovered issues?
Make a Compelling Value Proposition
A primary element of any successful pitch is the value proposition. This can be different in every situation, however, the fundamental goal is to position a product or service in a light that makes it hard for a customer to say it won’t provide some type of benefit to them.
To do this, it’s important that you’re pitch isn’t just a list of product features or price points. There needs to be an easy way for potential customers to connect the dots between what the product does and where and how it will benefit them.
Many times, value propositions don’t start by pitching a solution. Rather, they begin by identifying common problems and the disadvantages that come with them. This then presents a segway into showing where a SaaS service can help and the amount of time or resources they can save in the long run.
Price Strategically
Pricing always influences whether or not a customer will invest in a particular solution. However, positioning a SaaS product in the market is not always as simple as making your offering the most competitive. There is a lot that goes into how you price your products, and what your competitors are doing isn’t always the only consideration.
SaaS pricing models can vary considerably. Some are based on tier pricing models that have fewer or more features depending on the user’s needs, while others may be consumption-based and charge customers various rates depending on how much they use the service.
However you decide to price your service, it’s important to always keep in mind your ICP and what their typical budget might allow. You’ll also want to consider whether or not a free trial can be incorporated to help address any initial apprehension someone may have about whether or not they would really use the solution.
Lead Generation and Qualification
A successful SaaS sales campaign all begins by making sure you’re bringing in the right leads. This isn’t just as simple, though, as having a great-looking website. There are other important levers that need to be pulled in order to be successful.
Nurturing Leads Through Inbound Marketing
An important part of maximizing your revenue potential is making sure your website is receiving a large amount of organic traffic volume regularly. While there are different ways you can achieve this, the most common and effective method is through content marketing.
When you share valuable blog posts or whitepapers relevant to your solutions, you’re able to provide relevant content that search engines and users will appreciate. This helps to improve the amount of keywords you successfully rank for and can be a great way to ensure you getting regular web traffic.
Outbound Sales Tactics
Cold calling certainly isn’t dead, although there are different rules associated with how businesses need to coordinate their outbound sales efforts. For example, many countries now have stipulations on the type of solicitation that businesses orchestrate and how advertising campaigns should be formatted.
Still, using email to reach out to potential clients (typically opt-in subscribers), leverage social media platforms, and create strategic partnerships with other like-minded brands can be great to supplement your inbound marketing initiatives and lead to generating more leads.
Qualify Your Leads
While every lead you receive might seem important, being able to qualify them effectively will help you save time and resources trying to close a deal when it might be just a wasted effort.
To do this effectively, you’ll want to have a lead qualification process in place that helps you identify which leads should be prioritized for follow-up. This could be done by using specific questions in your subscriber forms that ask about the types of solutions they’re looking for, their budget, or whether and when they’re going to make a purchasing decision.
Closing the Deal
Of course, every business wants to close its leads as quickly as possible. However, getting there requires understanding exactly how long a selling cycle lasts and how to address common objections that come up before a customer subscribes.
Acknowledging the SaaS Selling Cycle
SaaS selling is different from selling standalone software solutions. Since SaaS operates a subscription model, companies will typically need to wait a bit longer before customers are willing to invest long-term.
Many times, potential leads will want to review a few solutions before committing to one company. Depending on the industry, this could be anywhere from a few days or weeks to even several months.
Knowing How to Overcome Common Objections
Because the selling cycle is longer in SaaS sales, there are likely to be many more objections that come up and cause a lead to go cold. Many times, budgeting has an impact on whether a lead will close or whether or not they’re able to have a free trial of a service.
Other objections come up because there is a change in the perceived value of the solution. This could be from changes in the primary features or because competitor products appear to be more intuitive. It’s important for brands to re-frame these objections to opportunities to showcase the ICP better from the lead’s unique perspective.
In these cases, it can be advantageous to schedule a demonstration of the solution, providing a more curated walk-through to help address any confusion or misunderstandings regarding how certain features work. These are great opportunities to hear firsthand from potential clients about why they might be apprehensive about moving forward and help them get past these issues.
Negotiating Effectively and Close the Sale
While certain brands may have stipulations around pricing and avoid making changes without a certain amount of volume, there are always opportunities to negotiate with potential clients to help move the needle on their purchasing decisions.
Closing a deal quickly is all about trying to find a win-win situation. Depending on the complexity of the solution, companies should be ready and willing to discuss certain modifications to pricing, contract terms, or add-in services to help incentivize a purchase.
The important thing to help a customer understand during negotiations is the total value they’re receiving – not just the price they’re paying. You should remind the customers of the quantifiable benefits they’re able to receive out of the gate or over a period of months when using the solution.
Helping the customer to better understand the amount of money they’ll be saving over a period of time can help to close deals more effectively.
Important Post-Sales Activities
The most successful SaaS companies recognize that sales efforts aren’t over once a customer closes. Because most SaaS solutions can be canceled at any time, or at least every 30 days, it’s important to continuously make sure that customers believe they are receiving the same value they had from day one.
Onboarding Customers Successfully
First impressions mean everything after a lead is closed. This means that the onboarding process for any SaaS solution should be as seamless as possible and give customers the tools they need to quickly start making full use of their investment.
Providing Adequate Customer Support
Since most SaaS solutions on the market today face some competition, it’s important to always ensure that your solutions stand out from the rest.
While features and price points are a great place to start, the level of support you provide will go a long way in the eyes of customers. Invest the time and resources necessary to build a helpful knowledge base and self-service resources for customers to use.
Start Maximizing Your SaaS Selling Success
SaaS solutions have continued to become a popular option for businesses to streamline their workflows, improve their overall efficiency, and help reduce their organizational spending.
By following the steps outlined, SaaS companies can help make their own solutions stand out from the competition while making the best use of the leads they gain and convert more business in the long term.
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