SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

based SMB sales positions. SaaS sales execs with even a little bit of experience at other SaaS companies are looking for higher and higher OTEs, often with lower effective attainment and high support costs. based sales reps often aren’t really willing to work, or excel, at sub-$100k OTEs anymore. for non-enterprise sales.

SMB 253

SMB Scale Sales Hiring Sales 253

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

Meghan Gill, SVP of Sales Ops and Sales Dev at MongoDB, shares different consumption-based compensation models that drive the right behaviors. Then, we moved to a more customer-friendly model with SaaS and subscription-based pricing. They reoriented their sales team and de-incentivized reps from making deals upfront.

Compensation 159

Compensation Sales Azure AWS 159

Buffer Resources

FEBRUARY 28, 2024

And you don’t get “business” status without understanding pricing. So, together with creator sponsorships expert Justin Moore , who helps creators negotiate partnerships through Creator Wizard , we put together this resource on how to figure out your pricing as a creator.

Pricing 100

Pricing Social Media Consulting Branding 100

SaaStr

JULY 5, 2022

By moving from Freemium to “Contact Me” only (albeit with transparent pricing), sales went way, way up. So many sales leaders get frustrated with Free editions, very low-cost editions … and the Long Tail in general. The Long Tail : Distracts sales , with leads that never closes.

Scale 276

Scale Sales Engineering Acquisition 276

SaaStr

MAY 27, 2024

Ok the title here is a bit dramatic, but certainly seed investing is in an odd place in 2024. Harry and Jason did a deep dive on this and so much more here: Intro (00:00:00) Seed investing is broken due to limited founders capable of triple-digit growth. The best investments grow from $1 million to $10 million in 5 quarters or less.

CTO Hire 175

CTO Hire Development Team Review Software Review Technical Review 175

Sales Hacker

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

They’re researching business products and services online, purchasing via websites as much as they can, and foregoing interactions with sales representatives whenever possible. Of course, the shift to digital sales tactics has been underway for years. What sales investments should you focus on in 2022? Sales engagement.

Scale 89

Scale Investment Sales Forecasting 89

SaaStr

MAY 8, 2024

As a SaaS veteran who built and sold a software company for nine figures, invested in startups since 2013, 10x-ing his fund, and continues to build a powerhouse community of SaaStr fans, he offers some hot takes on the communities’ burning questions. Sales is much harder than in 2021. How Does That Impact Sales and Marketing?

Metrics 196

Metrics Scale Sales Hiring SaaS 196

Intercom, Inc.

OCTOBER 7, 2020

“Support isn’t just a cost center, but a strategic investment that increases customer retention and reduces churn” Indeed, if you look at the broader financial models of customer support, you’ll see that support isn’t just a cost center, but a strategic investment that increases customer retention and reduces churn.

Customer Support 196

Customer Support Investment Scale Churn 196

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Everything from hiring on the GTM side to layering in a sales-led motion into PLG. Let’s dive into what’s making that hybrid model successful: PLG and Sales Led? Given this, you must understand the role that each facet of the business plays in promoting that product, from marketing and sales to customer service.

Scale 244

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Marketing 244

FastSpring

DECEMBER 16, 2022

Finding the right tools to streamline your sales processes can be key to running a more successful and profitable sales operation. One popular solution for managing and automating parts of the sales process is by using CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) Software. This ensures that quotes have accurate and up-to-date pricing.

Payment Services 147

Payment Services Payment Solutions Pricing Payments 147

SaaStr

MARCH 7, 2022

The world of sales is evolving as rising costs and shifts in buyer behaviors continue to change. An emerging strategy that organizations are adopting to grow revenue more efficiently is inside sales. Inside sales refer to the practice of selling from office premises via phone, email, or video calls. Benefits of inside sales.

Scale 213

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Sales 213

SaaStr

DECEMBER 17, 2021

Pricing is one of the most challenging elements to get right for SaaS companies. How much should you charge, and what pricing model works best? In an era of empowered buyers, vendors should take care to remove obstacles from the pricing process or risk losing the customer to a competitor.

Pricing 193

Pricing Scale Retention AI 193

SaaStr

DECEMBER 16, 2022

Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund, joined Matt Plank, VP of Sales at Rippling, to unlock the secrets to exponential revenue growth. Brokers and accountants were two of the channels that Rippling identified would help them scale quickly, so they invested in them from early on. Rippling found success with dramatic price increases.

Outsourcing Services 201

Outsourcing Services Scale Sales Hiring Outsourced Development 201

SaaStr

DECEMBER 29, 2023

In part two we head into IPO waters, how to incorporate AI into your products, the best way to drive employee performance, pricing models, and much more. It can replace humans for those companies that can’t find someone to send emails, update the website, or do sales. We’ve shrunk our sales teams or we’ve kept them flat.

Scale 215

Scale Sales Hiring Customer Success AI 215

Tom Tunguz

JANUARY 16, 2018

Last week, I shared a presentation with an executive team at a large public SaaS company on everything I’ve learned about pricing. Here’s a summary of the frameworks and theory that I’ve aggregated over a decade of investing in startups. Why do we set prices? There are four components to pricing: 1.

Pricing 228

Pricing Market Research Interviewing Product Marketing 228

SaaStr

JUNE 29, 2023

As buyers grapple with expanding technology, higher prices, and a need for efficiency, SaaS companies need to deliver what their audience is looking for to win in the market. AI-Powered Tools: AI-related purchases in Q1: Made up 41% of new investments in Q1. But there is even more nuance to the reason behind the price hike.

VP of Engineering 224

VP of Engineering Trends Cybersecurity Sales Hiring 224

Intercom, Inc.

OCTOBER 16, 2019

No matter the specifics of how your company adapts and grows, it’s crucial to be aware of how your pricing strategy relates to other aspects of your business. It’s all too easy to make the mistake of adopting a pricing model that is ill-suited to other aspects of your company, such as the go-to-market strategy or sales strategy.

Business Model 195

Business Model Scale Pricing Payment Methods 195

SaaStr

JULY 9, 2021

Q: What are the common mistakes in the sales process that may lead to customer loss? In SaaS, the prospect is expecting the sales rep to be their guide, their expert on the product. The best sales reps listen and hear what the prospect’s problem is in the space — and use the product to design a solution. Being dishonest.

Sales Hiring 234

Sales Hiring Sales Pricing Onboarding 234

SaaStr

DECEMBER 2, 2020

My 7 top tips to increase sales quickly. Hire a great VP of Sales. Hire a great VP of Sales, and even if nothing else changes … she’ll increase the revenue per lead by 20–100%+. In one sales cycle or less. More here: How My VP, Sales Doubled Our Sales in 90 Days. Raise prices 20%. Not really.

Scale 250

Scale Sales Hiring Sales B2C 250

OPEXEngine

JULY 1, 2022

The companies that successfully navigated through various market disruptions, including the recession in 2008, continued growing by diagnosing whether their acquisition and retention investments were efficient. These proportions vary depending on the business model and type of sales, as well as the stage of the company.

Acquisition 59

Acquisition Scale Retention Investment 59

How To Buy Saas

MARCH 7, 2024

The pricing model for software as a service (SaaS) might come in three different formats which are subscription-based, usage-based, or tiered pricing model systems. Therefore, you should undertake careful consideration—to choose the most reasonable option—that matches your needs, to ensure value for your investment.

Pricing 52

Pricing SaaS Payments Payment Solutions Payment Methods 52

Baremetrics

AUGUST 8, 2021

For most, the easiest ways to increase customer acquisition rates are to offer a freemium model or price your product on the lower end of the spectrum. However, to keep your business afloat, you’ll need to effect a SaaS price increase. Ensures You Attract the Right Customers When Should You Increase Your Pricing?

Pricing 111

Pricing SaaS Scale Churn 111

User Pilot

MARCH 29, 2023

Is the cost of Amplitude pricing worth the investment for you? In this article, we’ll dive into Amplitude’s pricing structure, plans, pros, and cons. Amplitude has a freemium pricing model with one free and two premium plans: Growth and Enterprise. Amplitude pricing plans. and starts at $995/month.

Pricing 81

Pricing Software Review Scale Customer Support 81

SaaStr

APRIL 30, 2022

Customer acquisition is basically how much do you spend in terms of sales people, sales team, and in terms of marketing to acquire a new customer. The key here is knowing what your sales model is. And there are basically two sales models out there. Kind of extreme sales models out there for SaaS businesses.

SaaS Payments 227

SaaS Payments Metrics Payment Methods Scale 227

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

Q: How do you structure a sales team when you’ve got zero experience doing sales? Well, first go get some experience with sales. A few thoughts: First, make sure your sales reps can “eat”, that they can make enough money if they close deals. It’s an investment in them. Don’t overcomplicate it. That helps a lot.

Sales Hiring 204

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Pricing 204

SaaStr

MARCH 29, 2019

Now being on the buying end of several products with “Contact Me” pricing, I’ve found many reps (especially more junior ones) very aggressive on the lack of transparency in non-transparent pricing. Second, it’s fair and OK to make adjustments for time and grandfathered pricing. I vote yes.

Pricing 178

Pricing Investment Sales 178

Buffer Resources

AUGUST 16, 2023

We’re also happy to share a more sustainable way of providing this information — our new transparent pricing dashboard. Another important detail to note is how Average Sales Price (ASP) and Expenses have changed over time. We also plan to continue to invest in paid marketing.

Merchant Services 82

Merchant Services Payment Services Payment Features Payments 82

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 19, 2023

Some of the changes we’ve seen in the last year or two include: CAC reduction Headcount optimization Price complexity Quality of revenue A different environment means a different strategy, and Notion Capital lays out four business model changes that could be helpful based on what peers are doing. Then, usage-based pricing took off.

Business Model 231

Business Model SaaS Payments Payments Headcount 231

OpenView Labs

APRIL 8, 2021

The response since the usage-based pricing playbook has far exceeded my expectations. My TechCrunch byline went semi-viral, Bessemer named usage-based pricing part of the “ new normal ” for SaaS go-to-market strategy, and Alex Wilhelm said it’s “ one theme that’s come up time and again ” in public company earnings calls.

Pricing 97

Pricing Scale Subscription Payment Features 97

FastSpring

AUGUST 3, 2022

Account-based sales companies are accustomed to defining sales regions. If you’re a more location-agnostic company, you likely put less energy into sales and marketing efforts based on where your customers or prospects are coming from. Train Your Sales Team to Handle New Prospect Priorities. Learn more here.

Scale 130

Scale Revenue Sales Compensation 130

ChurnZero

MARCH 31, 2023

In other words, the growth a company generates from loyal customers will vastly outweigh the value of the initial sale. Here are 11 statistics, quotes and quips that make the case for investing in Customer Success teams. Customer Success Managers (CSMs) pick up the baton after that “to deliver on the promises made by the sales team.”

Customer Success 98

Customer Success VP of Engineering Investment Benchmarks 98

SaaStr

MAY 4, 2020

Q: How do you structure a sales team when you’ve got zero experience doing sales? Well, first go get some experience with sales ??. A few thoughts: First, make sure your sales reps can “eat”, that they can make enough money if they close deals. It’s an investment in them. Don’t overcomplicate it. That helps a lot.

Sales Hiring 233

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Pricing 233

Baremetrics

SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

Gone are the days where you can throw a dart to pick your starting price and work towards the correct one (okay, maybe this was never the case). While price analysis and price experimentation are the basis of price optimization , you need to start with a sound pricing strategy. What is a pricing strategy?

Pricing 92

Pricing Strategy SaaS Leadership 92

SaaStr

MARCH 27, 2024

It sells sales, marketing, support and more tools. ACV Basically Flat at $11,365 This is likely a “macro” impact as well in part — as well as the fact that HubSpot continues to invest in its smaller starter customers. Despite raising prices and selling more products, HubSpot ACV is basically flat at $11,365.

Scale 226

Scale Cloud Scaling Pricing 226

Tom Tunguz

SEPTEMBER 11, 2019

Selling based on ROI (return-on-investment) sounds great. A salesperson lays out an iron-clad case for how the customer will make 5x or 6x or 10x their initial investment in a piece of software in three years or less. What is the return on investment of a Salesforce or a Workday deployment? Or so the thinking goes.

Sales 179

Sales Innovation Investment Pricing 179

SaaStr

MAY 17, 2021

Q: What are the most common mistakes founders make hiring their first real sales teams? Later, once you have a real sales leader on board, she may hire folks you personally wouldn’t buy from. But it won’t work out while you are Interim VP of Sales. A little more here: The 48 Types of VP Sales. Giving Reps Too Much Time.

Scale 217

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Sales 217

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 20, 2021

As a result, much of the evaluation, investment, and rollout of virtual training technology in 2020 was rushed, limited in scope, and poorly planned. Businesses must take a step back, evaluate their software investments, and rework their implementations. How to maximize customer training investment. Today, not much has changed.

Investment 94

Investment Technical Review Underperforming Technical Team Scale 94