SaaS products are not missing customers? What do you want to sell?

People generally have such a misunderstanding of SaaS, always feel that SaaS products are powerful and easy to use, and they are deployed quickly, so... the product is not obsessed with customers. Given the popularity of such software-as-a-service offerings before the purchase and the freemium-to-premium model, the appearance of this misunderstanding is also understandable (both models are generally effective in customer acquisition, the editors Note).



Even so, many start-ups were surprised when they discovered this misconception, because when they tried to acquire customers from large corporations or relevant departments of government agencies, they found that the facts were far more than that. Even companies in the early stages of rapid growth cannot afford to lose sales. Robust corporate sales teams can play a key role in gaining market share. And business-level sales are more like making it easier for Congress to pass a bill.


The decision-making process of large corporations or institutions is both long and arduous, and will be subject to the characteristics of traditional technology deployment, internal policies, solid local solutions, sunk costs brought about by integration, and current control of the accounts of suppliers, even simple The size and size of the company's organizational influence. In any case, enterprise-level sales are always aimed at helping customers complete their own internal buying process, because even the best and most popular products can hardly change the typical purchasing process of enterprise-level buyers.


In addition, SaaS becomes a service provider for Fortune 500 or Global 2000 companies. It does not mean that business will continue to flourish, and so-called upsell, cross sell, or multi-regional sales on extended sites will be out of the question. In order to do these things, it may also be necessary to establish a special in-territory salespeople on the ground as a supplement to the company’s internal sales organization, especially if the company does not look like it This is especially important when you do it. Once procrastination or laziness, companies are likely to be exposed to the danger of competition, and even more may be defeated in the process of competing for a leading position in the industry.


What is sales in the end?


Some people think that the job of selling is to let customers understand the value of the company's products. For them, what sales do is to buy a bunch of search advertising words or spread company information. This is definitely wrong.


The real purpose of sales is to create new value for customers, solve customers' pain points and help customers succeed. This is especially true for start-ups or developing companies that have emerged to occupy emerging markets or solve a complicated problem, so the general business or SaaS The company's sales require a mature work process and guidelines. The next proposal to share, although from me (the original author Mark Cranney, the same, editorial note) in the Opsware company's work experience (data center automation is not yet formed when we are in the sale of such services), but the general principle It will not be different because of changes in the field. In addition, whether the SaaS entrepreneurs agree or not, I think the new business customers and old business customers are still very much like.


It is true that doing such sales for the creation of new values ​​requires another working mentality. At the time of Opsware, some sales representatives would tell me, "The companies of XYZ haven't budgeted for data center automation yet." (I would like to say, why do we have to have, editor's note). "I would say so." Something is missing in the induction training. I'm going to give you another chance to correct it. The next time you meet, if you still say so, you may have to find something else.


"At that time, of course, the data center would not be able to automate this kind of technology for the budget - its market has not yet been established. Our job is to go out and show customers another better way of working.


After that, I saw a long list of job suggestions for sales representatives. They all suggested that they should be aware of other companies, especially those with potential competition, including whether or not the adversary has left data center automation. There is a budget for this. We will not compete with our own company's other products, but let our responsible products compete at the highest strategic level, both internally and externally. This is the real business sales that we have to do and take a look at the future. The direction of technological development is tantamount to mastering the market initiative. Naturally, the budget will not cause us trouble in the future.


Three things that every business customer wants to believe


Although each company's sales process is divided into many steps and stages, it does not circumscribe three issues: Why buy, Why do you buy, Why do you need to buy now?



(Sales Flow Chart: Process Flows at Each Stage of Corporate Sales)


First: Why should I (refer to the client) do something?


The easiest way to answer this question from potential customers is to help them understand what important job changes they should make.


Every big company has a tendency to make IT investments for itself. This is a common strategic business guide. These guidance proposals are often funded by the company. Once our sales or marketing team discovers that a company has such job recommendations (or finds that they lack the critical capabilities needed to execute a proposal), we can value the services that we can provide.


The key here is to take the initiative to understand and then seek the other's understanding. (Customers themselves need to think about what they need, editor's note) and before telling customers directly what you think they need will be a problem:


You are self-positioning by understanding the needs of many client companies, rather than positioning yourself from specific opportunities that are not yet known.


(If the customer does not understand his own needs, the editorial note) This will make you a commodity or a supplier, rather than a partner who can help change the way their business is performed.



Second: Why do I have to use your solution (not your competitor's)?


No one knows your own solution better than you, so the person who answers customer inquiries and describes the successful business path for the target customer should be you and not others.


As a result, you are more likely to win in the setting of service standards, because you are already looking for a suitable place in advance, so that your company or SaaS products stand out from the competition. This also creates obstacles for competitors, who need to go through the technical verification traps that you have successfully crossed.


Therefore, the sales team’s job here is to help potential customers define success from three levels:


(1) business standards; (2) structure/scale standards; (3) characteristics and functional standards.


The consideration of this issue is the best time to choose the delivery of information, job metrics and marketing plan to meet the needs of the following three types of audiences. These three types of audiences are at three different levels: (1) enterprise level (top management, senior vice president); (2) working group level (vice president, supervisor, manager); and (3) user level ( Individual user groups and their direct supervisors). Since most start-up companies or large companies with which they are related are involved in the transmission of information for the first and third-level audiences, we must try to keep the company constantly looking at potential customers and actual customers from three complete levels. This can have a big effect on your company's win/loss ratio.


The following chart shows the correlation between the three success criteria and the three types of customer audiences:



(Influence-determining criteria: Establishing success criteria and information transfer through three major audiences)


There will be a variety of sub-processes and activities at the sales cycle point of providing solutions, and they need the support of sales representatives, sales engineers and sales activity managers. The ability of a salesperson to work collaboratively, and to obtain appropriate resources at the right level, at the right time, and the ability to take appropriate actions and deliver appropriate information can have a holistic effect on the success of sales.


The key to this step is also because your biggest competitors are not just other start-up companies. There are many deployment plan providers who have legal licenses for life, customer company-made solutions or customer company current suppliers, etc. Competitors.


Third: Why do I have to use your solution now (rather than investing in other business areas of the company)?


Once you have defeated all competitors and stepped into the service technical verification step, the promotion of product value can be changed to the control of qualified business.


As a kind of sales method, the benefits of this type of "ROI diagnostics" lie in:


It can help in the realization of product features, operational advantages and financial valuation and the company's main strategic initiatives. In this way, your initiative at the enterprise-wide level can compete financially with all other company initiatives, projects, and projects.


It can demonstrate the customer's operational inefficiencies and difficult challenges to help increase understanding of the current operating environment. This approach not only allows client companies to know that you understand their needs, but also allows you to get rid of pricing pressures.


It can ensure that your solution can first solve the most important business in the execution plan, and at the same time, shorten the evaluation time.


In general, SaaS is a winner-take-all market. It contains a sales strategy of “sweeping and expanding”. However, occupying a site does not necessarily mean expanding and winning.


When a company grows, it must not be able to sell such customer-oriented companies as professional services and customer support. As an investment, they not only help you gain a foothold in your customers, but also help you build the strongest one. Sales Tools: Customer Recommendations. As long as you have a group of quality customers, the places where you have completed sales transactions may still be the easiest place to trade.


Therefore, turning early customers into reliable external recommenders and internal advocates is also a very important measure. Because it is becoming harder and harder to realize this measure, we gradually agree that even the best products have to rely on Sell ​​this view, and excellent sales can always be your best helper.


This content is compiled by Kuick

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