In shor, when you sell web-based software of your company to a client, it is called SaaS sales. Your customers can also include other clients, organizations and firms. B2B (Business-to-Business) sales are aimed at selling services not to individuals, but rather to other companies.
Sales representatives of SaaS software are the individuals, whose main responsibility lies in new customer acquisition and current customers retention and upselling. A key to a profitable business is a salesperson skill to describe the benefits and features of your product. To make demonstrations run smoothly, salespeople need to have a deep understanding of a software product they are selling, and be able to answer any question of your potential clients.
What are the models of SaaS sales and how to find the right one?
There are several SaaS models you can choose from. But like there is no single generally applicable rule how to run business successfully, there is no one right model to make your business profitable.
A SaaS model choice depends on various aspects. One of them is current status of your company, level of SaaS adoption and development. Startup companies or those that haven’t developed any cloud-based solutions yet, may employ sales strategies of startup SaaS and B2B software that worked for other companies.
Depending on the chosen SaaS model, you will understand how many sales representatives should be in your team, the way you will interact with your clients, who is your target audience and the most efficient way to close the deals.
The choice of the SaaS sales model will help you to plan your sales strategy. Here are three common SaaS sales models to choose from. Each of them takes into consideration such aspects as price and complexity. The more complex is a service, the higher is the price.
Customer self-service
The model of self-service gives an opportunity to get much revenue with keeping costs at minimum. Your clients understand the value your product offers and how to purchase it. They don’t need to consult with a sales or customer service representative to start using your product.
The main reason the model of self-service lower the price and complexity lies in the lack of necessity to hire many developers to build a product and sales representatives to sell it. But to achieve your revenue objectives, you need to boost up a sales volume.
An expert in SaaS products Maksym Babych notes that the customer self-service sales model include the following aspects:
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Sales: Involves little or no sales.
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Marketing: Creates awareness through easily accessible educational content and automation that drives an entire purchase process.
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Support: Includes automation and tools that ease onboarding and updating. Moreover, templates and educational content allow customers to resolve issues independently.
Transactional sales
This sales model raises complexity and price. You may need to hire more people to develop and sell the product, increasing your costs. As the price increases, your customers’ expectations increase. Before buying your product, they may want to ensure that there will be more of a business relationship.
The transactional sales model is characterized by efficient, high-volume sales and support operations, short sales cycles, and rapid onboarding. Customers may expect to sign contracts, receive periodic updates, comprehensive documentation, and contact service representatives if problems arise.
Enterprise SaaS sales
Enterprise SaaS sales is the most complex model. Be prepared to be challenged on everything that makes SaaS SaaS. Here are the main aspects of this model:
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It is not a self-signup model. Enterprises usually want account executives to sell the products to them.
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While SaaS products are usually ready-made, enterprises require a customized solution to fit their needs.
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Usually, SaaS products are cloud-based. But enterprises will want to look at an on-premise version.
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Enterprises are very concerned about their security. Be aware and ready to fulfil their needs to close the deal.
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Enterprises expect to have almost full control over the users and data.
Take into account the aspects of each SaaS sales model and choose the one that suits you the best.