Software as a service: what is it?
Under the software as a service (SaaS) paradigm, programs are hosted by a cloud provider and made accessible to end users via the internet. In this scenario, the application’s hosting may be contracted out to a third-party cloud provider by an independent software vendor (ISV). Alternatively, the software seller may also be the cloud provider in the case of major corporations like Microsoft.
Along with platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), SaaS is one of the three primary categories of cloud computing. SaaS apps are used by a variety of corporate and personal users as well as IT experts. Products range from sophisticated IT solutions to personal entertainment like Netflix. SaaS products, in contrast to IaaS and PaaS, are often promoted to both B2B and B2C users.
It might be challenging to find best practices to sell SaaS products, particularly in online markets. For this reason, we have compiled a list of ten tactics that some of the most prosperous service providers in the globe employ. The ten keys to selling B2B SaaS are broken down into strategies that, when combined, offer crucial guidance and pointers that will help you succeed.
Contents: 10 Effective B2B SaaS Sales Strategies from Lead to Close.
1. Maintain a modest yet extremely focused app portfolio
It may feel like you’ve struck the lottery when you enter a store and see the shelves crammed with merchandise—after all, there’s a good chance the store has what you’re looking for. For B2B SaaS purchasers, however, the experience is very different. In a digital economy, an excessive number of apps can quickly overwhelm buyers.
For this reason, you should begin small and use software that is specifically tailored to your target market. You are guiding your buyers toward the solutions that will most effectively alleviate their pain by curating the options available to them.
2. Create a value proposition that is appealing and incorporate advice from best sellers.
When you express to customers why your B2B SaaS products are valuable and differentiated from those of your competitors, they will grasp their significance. In a recent report.”Business-to-business (B2B) organisations must embrace a customer-centric mindset and design tailored, user-friendly purchasing experiences that draw in, captivate, close, and retain customers.”
Creating more straightforward omnichannel engagements by adhering to these best practices are additional deal breakers.
Understand my needs—Prescriptive and prescriptive analytics are used by high-performing businesses to effectively create 360-views of both new and current consumers, including behaviour and intent.
3. use “pull marketing” to produce leads.
For your digital marketplace, there are two primary methods to generate leads: either provide purchasers with information that will entice them to visit, or push information to them in the hopes that they will. Let’s take a closer look at these two strategies.
In essence, “push marketing” is advertising. Push marketing may succeed in raising awareness as it becomes more sophisticated, but it can also produce leads for rival businesses nearly as successfully as for the one paying for the promotion.
For your digital marketplace, there are two primary methods to generate leads: either provide purchasers with information that will entice them to visit, or push information to them in the hopes that they will.
Each strategy has advantages and disadvantages, but generally speaking, “pull marketing” is most impactful and cost-effective when it comes to attracting prospects in the early buying stage.
4. Group essential services with apps rather than other apps.
Bundles are always in style because buyers adore a good deal. However, multi-app bundles frequently make the sales cycle and the sales messaging more difficult when it comes to B2B SaaS.
On the other hand, a different major telecom provider combined its onboarding services with a number of apps, such as Office365, Symantec, Teamlike, and Teamdisk. Nevertheless, the package made the offer excessively complex and the business application unclear by attempting to handle too many problems at once.
“Instead of bundling apps together, a better approach is to package apps with your core services.”
5. Use technology advisors to expand your customer base and increase SaaS sales.
Consumer electronics have conditioned us to think that apps will sell themselves. That isn’t true at all when it comes to B2B SaaS. Customers require human support. In spite of digital marketplaces providing a narrow range of apps, over 90% of initial sales go through physical channels such as field sales and contact centres.
To increase the return on their technology investments, 48% of SMBs are turning to technology advisers, according to the AppDirect Small Business Software Trends Report 2021.
In actuality, SMB purchasing decisions are increasingly centred around technology advisors. In a crowded and complicated technological market, where company buyers find it difficult to select the best technologies, many of them believe they can achieve better ROI from their technology choices if they work with an advisor.
6. Promote comprehensive, customer-focused solutions rather than just features.
A salesperson can reduce customer attrition and increase future prospects for up- and cross-selling by acting as a trusted advisor to customers who recognize the value in their apps.
7. Invest in the future of your company, particularly in the changing channel industry.
There are a few actions you can take to effectively sell SaaS and maintain your competitive edge in a shifting market:
Utilise the appropriate technologies to increase productivity and penetrate new markets.
Set the appropriate channel mix. Increase the number of products that are offered on both your SaaS marketplace and other marketplaces. This will enable your products to reach previously unreachable new clients.
Tap into the ecosystems of your partners. Director of Partner Channels at Workday Sarah Marsh feels that since the market is changing, ecosystem participants should concentrate on growing their channel businesses. Her team at Workday accomplishes this by equipping technology advisors with fresh knowledge and abilities, which helps them maximise their income potential.
8. Give onboarding first precedence.
Assisting your clients with the activation, configuration, and possible migration of data to their new SaaS apps is known as onboarding. It is also necessary for a SaaS sales practice to be successful.
Effective onboarding not only increases client retention but also builds trust and opens up potential for cross- and up-selling. Almost three-quarters of organisations need onboarding services and are prepared to pay for them since they are so important.
9. Keep your free trials simple
A simple three-step activation that requires light registration (an email address and a password) is significantly more inviting to potential customers when selling B2B SaaS. You can keep the momentum going by setting up a series of communications to engage with your customers as the trial progresses. This can drive anywhere from a 20 to 40 percent conversion rate from free to paid.
10. Keep SaaS sales out of internal silos
We are more than two decades into the SaaS revolution, but selling SaaS does not come naturally to most companies. Many must undergo a digital transformation to align their teams and implement the technology and processes they need to make selling SaaS seamless, easy, and profitable.
Final thoughts—How can you succeed in selling SaaS?
To create a sales strategy in SaaS, providers should consider building their own custom SaaS marketplaces and ecosystems to sell first-party and third-party products. You can also boost channel sales by working with advisors to sell products to new markets that were previously difficult to reach. Taking this approach can help you find new paths to monetization all while minimising customer acquisition costs.
