SaaS companies are increasingly relying on sales processes to generate leads and close deals. A well-designed sales process can help you to identify and target potential customers, qualify leads, and close deals more effectively.
In this blog post, we will discuss some of the key elements of a successful SaaS sales process. We will also provide some tips on how to implement a sales process in your own company.
What makes a great B2B SaaS sales process?
Define your target market.
Who are your ideal customer profile (ICP)?
What are their needs and challenges?
Once you have a clear understanding of your target market, you can develop a sales process that is tailored to their specific needs.
Choose the right SaaS sales model.
Your sales model is the key framework that shapes your SaaS sales cycle.
Selling SaaS is not merely about demonstrating your product and negotiating costs. It’s important to engage with your customers at their level and provide the support they need at the right time. This often requires a combination of personalized assistance and self-service options. The ideal balance of this combination depends on the complexity of your product and the expectations of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Accordingly, there are three main SaaS sales models to pick from — self-service, transactional, and enterprise.
- Self-service model. Self-service is perfect for low-cost SaaS products with simple onboarding. The emphasis is on marketing to raise product awareness and provide helpful content. A dedicated sales team isn't necessary, but having a customer success team is beneficial for addressing inquiries and potential upselling to premium versions. Additionally, investing in an effective lead generation funnel is crucial to convert interest into engagement.
- Transactional model. This model works best for SaaS products with a relatively low price point (but higher than for self-service products) and a not-too-steep learning curve. In this step, you present the product to your prospect via phone or Zoom, often using case studies to support your pitch. This approach typically helps close the sale. Your sales team will assist with onboarding and any future upgrades or customizations. Additionally, lead scoring is crucial for prioritizing leads based on the level of attention they need from your team.
- Enterprise model. In the case of a more sophisticated SaaS product, expect to provide additional support. You're likely engaging with enterprise clients who are making significant investments and require assurance that your solution meets their needs. This enterprise model necessitates more meetings, demos, and personalized interactions with both your team and theirs.
Create engaging trials and demos.
Free trials and demos serve a similar goal: to showcase your SaaS product and its benefits. However, they cater to different learning preferences. A free trial lets customers explore the product independently and choose a paid plan when ready, while a demo may be unnecessary for intuitive products, as users often prefer to dive in quickly.
But for more complex products, a free trial may end up overwhelming the customer. They’ll need a tailored demonstrations of how the product can fulfill their specific needs. This is crucial for enterprise clients who require extensive customization. Your sales team should illustrate the available customizations and how they align with the clients' objectives. Executed properly, B2B SaaS presentations can yield a closing rate between 20% and 50%!
Form a structured sales team.
A good SaaS sales team doesn’t just know the product — they speak the language of the stakeholder they’re selling the product to. And in a B2B SaaS sales cycle, there are a lot of people you’ll need to convince.
For the tech head, you want someone who can explain the back end of the SaaS product and how it integrates with their existing tech stack.
For the head of marketing, you want someone who can demonstrate with numbers and examples how the product helps them meet their marketing goals more effectively.
And for the people who’ll be using the product on a daily basis, you want customer success specialists who can walk them through the learning curve and get them starting strong.
In other words? Your team needs to know who to sell to, and how.
Clear-cut system
SSalespeople are super busy and don’t want to waste time figuring things out for every new prospect. With some handy processes in place, they can easily sort prospects by their Ideal Customer Profile, set priorities, and jump right into a friendly chat!
It’s no surprise that 90% of all companies that use formal processes were ranked as top performers.
Absolutely, the personal touch is key! But you know what? Having a structured process actually helps everyone shine. With a solid sales cycle and conversation guides, salespeople can skip the basics and dive right into building genuine connections through friendly chats and thoughtful follow-ups.
How to build a winning B2B SaaS sales process?
Success in B2B SaaS sales hinges on a unified sales team that knows which customers to pursue, how to tackle their challenges, and how to close deals effectively. A clear, reliable process minimizes uncertainty and drives results.
Here are our recommendations.
Understand your customer
Who They Are
The first part of understanding your customer involves knowing who they are.
You’ll want to focus on factors like:
- Company size (number of employees)
- Industry vertical
- Location
- Annual turnover and profit margin
- How much funding they have
- What their budget is for SaaS products
- The core challenges they’re facing
Who is the ideal company your SaaS sales team should be targeting in order to maximize conversions?
What They Need
The second part of understanding your customer involves knowing what they need.
- What problems are they facing?
- What is the trigger that motivates them to find a solution?
- What are the specific problems that your solution can solve for them?
- How soon do they want to implement a solution?
- How much are they willing to spend on a solution?
- How much customization are they looking for in a solution?
Choose an appropriate SaaS sales model
Choosing the right SaaS sales model is crucial as it shapes your trials, demos, and sales team structure.
To determine the best model for your B2B sales process, start by understanding your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and their evaluation journey. Key questions include:
- How much research do they conduct independently?
- Do they prefer self-exploration through tutorials or free trials, or do they want personalized demos?
- Who should be the initial contact for discussions?
- How many decision-makers and influencers are involved?
- Is the end user part of the buying process?
- What is the average time taken to onboard a new SaaS solution?
Additionally, consider the product's nature, including its complexity, the number of features, the need for education, pricing structure, and onboarding duration.
Based on these factors, you can pick one of the three SaaS sales models we chalked out earlier. And remember: as your SaaS product evolves, you may need to switch to one that suits your present needs better.
Choose appropriate KPIs
Some of the most popular KPIs tracked by SaaS sales teams include the following:
While you may already be monitoring key metrics, there are some lesser-known ones that can provide valuable insights into your SaaS sales process.
For example, calculating your win rate reveals the percentage of leads converted by your sales team over a given timeframe.
Another crucial metric is the frequency of new opportunities added to your pipeline. A decline in this number may signal issues with your marketing efforts, allowing you to address them promptly.
Crafting effective trials and demos is crucial
The primary goal of a SaaS product trial or demo is to get customers using the product swiftly.
For free trials, streamline the sign-up process to just an email, name, and password. Follow up with check-ins to assist users as they navigate the product, either through automated prompts or direct outreach from your sales team.
Take Monday.com as an example; it offers free trials of all premium plans alongside a free basic plan. This strategy has significantly contributed to its rapid growth, achieving 75% YoY growth in 2021.
For demos, start with the customer's request on your website.
Use your SaaS lead qualification criteria to create a list of inputs to identify qualified leads.
For instance, the BANT framework helps qualify leads who schedule a demo based on their budget, authority, need, and timing. In addition to basic contact information, consider asking prospects for:
- Their job title
- Monthly budget or expected ROI
- Timeline for transitioning to a new service
- Desired features in the service
GenBee can assist in creating a more detailed form to better understand registrants and tailor the demo to address their specific challenges, including insights into their tech stack, email marketing strategy, monthly email volume, and any spam or deliverability concerns they face.
Once the demo is set, tailor it to address the company's unique challenges.
REMEMBER! Avoid listing every feature of your product. Focus on:
- The ideal customer profile (ICP)
- Questions raised during the free trial
- Details shared when requesting the demo
- Insights from prior discussions with your sales team
- Relevant success stories from similar companies
For example, ActiveCampaign excels in providing a user-friendly email automation solution that most customers can navigate independently, making a free trial effective. For enterprise clients, a “Request a demo” option is available, allowing for a tailored walkthrough. This is crucial as the end user may differ from the enterprise lead, enabling all relevant parties to engage and ask questions during the demo.
Train your sales team
Each phase of the SaaS sales process demands specific skills. A well-rounded sales team should blend generalists with specialists.
Start by analyzing individual KPIs to identify strengths. For example, a salesperson with a high closure rate in the final stage could become the team's “negotiator,” while another with technical expertise might focus on product demos and IT interactions.
Your team’s structure will also depend on your sales model. In a self-service model, prioritize marketing experts to create engaging content that attracts your audience. For a transactional model, seek salespeople adept at quickly qualifying leads and personalizing interactions. In an enterprise model, focus on skilled communicators who can conduct in-depth discussions to secure long-term investments.
Lastly, foster collaboration within your team. Encourage sharing of experiences and knowledge to improve overall performance and streamline the sales cycle.
Tailor processes based on the best approaches
Effective sales processes rely on proven practices that yield results. As these practices change, so should your process.
Start by gathering insights from your sales team in the salesroom. Ask them about:
- The flow of the conversation
- Customer inquiries
- Helpful documents/resources
- Case studies and social proof utilized
- The key moment that prompted the customer to advance
Record these discussions and share them with your team. Analyzing this data will reveal patterns that can be formalized into processes.
For example, create scripts and templates tailored to different ideal customer profiles (ICPs), highlighting when to offer demos or suggest decisions. In the follow-up phase, establish a timeline for check-ins and upsell opportunities.
However, ensure your sales reps don’t merely recite scripts. Encourage them to personalize interactions, adapt to customer needs, and use their judgment. Transforming a “best approach” into a “best practice” requires ongoing customization based on real-time feedback.
Keep refining and testing
Continuously assess the insights from your data throughout the sales cycle. While KPIs are important, focus on identifying trends and experimenting with solutions.
For instance, if you notice a surge in demo requests during the initial phase of your free trial, it may indicate that your product is too complicated for users. You might consider eliminating the trial and moving directly to demos. Alternatively, if the requestor isn’t the end user, you could tailor the trial options based on user roles, allowing for better alignment.
Your sales team is invaluable in this process. Regularly check in with them to gather feedback on what’s effective and what needs adjustment, especially during critical decision-making moments. This approach fosters the development of best practices grounded in real-world sales experiences.
Conclusion
In the realm of B2B SaaS sales, success hinges not only on persuasive skills but also on thorough research and strategic preparation. Understanding the key priorities of your qualified leads and knowing the optimal timing to address those needs is crucial.
I would also like to add that it is important to be patient when implementing a new sales process. It can take some time for your team to get used to the new process and for the process to start to generate results. Do not get discouraged if you do not see results immediately. Just keep at it and eventually, you will be successful.
At GenBee, we specialize in data-driven appointment setting services that connect your sales team with prospects who align perfectly with your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Each quarter, you can expect a guaranteed number of pre-qualified warm leads, which can significantly shorten your sales cycle. By implementing a strong process like the one outlined here, your SaaS sales team will quickly become a key competitor in the market.