How to scale your SaaS sales

How to scale your SaaS sales

Founded in 2005, LucidEra was a SaaS startup offering analysis of CRM and ERP data. The company went out of business in 2009, after running into problems with longer sales cycles and its go-to market strategy. The customer base they focused on was sales departments, and the company relied on Salesforce's CRM data, for the most part. However, they did not combine it with data from marketing and finance departments. Like LucidEra, several other SaaS companies have collapsed after inflows of VC funding and failed to scale as a result. Any SaaS startup needs to be confident of their services and pricing, and target the right audience. Once you have a killer product, all you need are a few clear cut sales strategies to aim high. 

​

 1. Sales and marketing go hand in hand. 

One common mistake most startups make is cold calling just about anybody on their lead list. This not only wastes a lot of time on the sales rep's part, but is also highly inefficient. Generating leads through marketing webinars, conferences, seminars, and social media can help drive sales drastically. Make sure to invest in your marketing strategy, as much as in sales and development.


 

 2. Choose your battles wisely. 

 

Not all deals necessarily generate a profit. Suppose a lead requires you to travel a lot or drags on for ages, taking up valuable time and resources of your sales representative, and it turns out it isn't really worth it. Don't just take any deal that comes your way. Define a set of guidelines for your organization's sales strategy, and stick to it.

 

  3. Customer retention is key.

 

While closing new deals is imperative to scale sales, it's second only to customer retention. Imagine you've closed a deal a couple of years ago worth 10 grand. You've been struggling to close a new deal with a similar amount for the past six months. But that customer from a couple of years back was not properly onboarded, doesn't really have in-depth knowledge of the product, and receives the same impersonal message from support every time. The customer is not satisfied and moves on to a new product. You on the other hand win your new deal, after having spent 6 months of resources. So how have you profited from this exchange?

Scale your support alongside your sales, and you might just hit that balance.

 

 

4. Scale up, don't shave off. 

 

What makes more sense: promoting a few of your experienced sales reps to sales managers, or sticking your rep in the same job for years and paying someone new a ton of money to do the same work? The former leads to greater employee satisfaction and more productivity because they are motivated to put forth their best effort. Instead of starting from scratch with a whole new team, fill the manager positions in-house with the most experienced sales reps.  Then hire one new rep to fill their shoes 

 


5. Give credit where credit is due. 

 

Now this happens in a lot of firms. The superstar of the sales team is the person who bagged a deal worth a hundred grand. Another rep who spends all week closing 10 deals of 10 grand each isn't given the same credit. Laud every employee to what they're due. 


 

6. Go freemium! 

 

Most companies boast stellar prices for their product first and hike it up after a while. Fix your product's price and stick to it. If you think your product is worth the price tag, don't worry that it's on the higher end. Offer a free subscription for the first 15-30 days, and, if it's worth it, your prospect will take the bait. Or you can offer a freemium model indefinitely, with basic features limiting the number of users. Once your user has gotten comfortable and hits their limit or sees the need for more features, they can pay for an upgraded version. A way to stave off users who unsubscribe after a few months is by offering a lower budgeted annual subscription, as opposed to the slightly pricier monthly subscription. 


 

7. Integrate with other products.

 

Let's face it. Your product might be great, but there's always a product out there that has a feature yours doesn't. Facilitating integrations and plugins can really boost your sales. Build a marketplace for your product before you pitch anything to your prospect. 


 

8. You can't do everything yourself. 

 

If you want to go international, you're going to need some help. If you're just starting your business, there's no way you'll be able to set up offices all over the globe. Instead, forge partnerships and get resellers for markets away from home. It's a win-win situation for both parties, and you'll be cutting costs phenomenally. 


 

9. Get listed and reviewed. 

You need a bit of publicity, if you want to climb up the ladder. Get yourself listed on sites such as producthunt.com and capterra.com for ratings and reviews of products, and leverage your product to customers. 

 

10. Network, network, network. 

 

Want valid prospects? Attend tradeshows, meetups, and seminars. Or even better, hold your own meetups, seminars, and workshops for your product, after due marketing research, of course, and gain prospects. This kind of networking allows you to give prosepcts a hands-on experience and interact with them one on one, improving your credibility and your chances of making a sale. 

 

Every Fortune 500 company out there will tell you that there's no simple shortcut to scale your sales. But perhaps with the right sales & marketing strategy, you could bypass roadblocks along the way and get there a few times bigger and stronger than you were before. Not because sales might be the backbone of SaaS businesses, but because it works hand in hand with every other aspect of your organization. 


    • Sticky Posts

    • As Sales Person, Here are my New Year Resolutions. What are Yours?

      Being a salesperson, I keep learning from my mistakes and have noted a few changes that I need to make in my approach. I take these resolutions going into 2021, hoping to keep it going for as long as possible :) 1. I will not say "Yes, our product has

    • Once Upon a Sales Meeting!

      It was an awkward silence in the meeting room "Uproar." John Kowalski, the new sales manager, was not happy with the team's performance. After scribbling something in the notepad, he decided to break the silence, John: I cannot believe you guys have been working like this. No reports, delusional forecasting, random targets, and no eye on the ball. Kevin: We followed Richard's orders. John: Well, Richard is not here anymore, is he? John walked up to the whiteboard, and wrote in big bold letters: "TARGET

    • Recent Topics

    • Creator Simplified #11: Create a custom button to download files

      Hey there! This time, let's see how to create custom buttons to download the files uploaded in the file upload field. Sample use-case A training app has a module that provides the materials for all the available courses. Students can click on the corresponding

    • Zoho vault uses only password to unlock not a TouchID

      TouchID works when normally openning app but when called from keyboard while browsing or trying to log to another app it shows only password option to unlock. This behaviour is only on iPad Mini witch latest 18.2OS

    • Batch Tracking Enhancements In Zoho Inventory

      Hello users, We’re excited to announce that we’ve taken batch tracking to a whole new level in Zoho Inventory! We’ve made it more accessible and easier to use than ever. Here’s a quick look at the improvements: 1) A New Way To Create or Modify Batches

    • Zoho Desk Mobile App Year-End Roundup - 2024

      Hello Everyone, Greetings! As you gear up for the festive season, we are excited to share a quick journey into all that is released in 2024! Availability of each feature in iOS and Android released in 2024 are as follows: For more information on the above

    • Task Completion vs Estimated Time

      I need to represent the Estimated Date vs Actual Completion Date for multiple Tasks. How Can I Do this in Zoho Analytics.

    • Upload Field - cannot be checked in rules configuration.

      We wanted to create a process to verify whether the upload fields are empty or not. If empty, then it should deny during submission. We don't want to use the mandatory field setting because in a 10 pager form, some upload field located in page 1 will

    • Is it possible to hide Developer Space for all user in Zoho Projects

      Hello! I am Zoho admin in a company and we want to use Zoho Project to manage projects, but after a few days of testing we are not able to "hide" the Developer Space from all kind of users except the admin. To sum up, I want to hide this for all users.

    • Chat function not working properly

      Ever since upgrading to plus, the chat is all messed up. it is coming up behind the web page so that I cannot see what I'm typing and cannot read replies. I can only see the bottom of the text box at the bottom of the page, and then it is blocked. I've

    • Wrong Time on Exported Records

      Hello, All records in my exported Notes .csv file have the incorrect time for Created Time. They are all 8 hours ahead. I've already verified that my time zone is correct in both Personal Settings and Company Settings. Is there any way to fix this?

    • Sync workspace - table

      I have connected two workspaces and I have imported two different query tables from one workspace to the other one, that was a succes. But now I want to import another query table from the same workspace to the other but I get an error. Why is that? (there

    • Subir o Preço Unitário já acrescido de um valor

      To com um desafio grande, e se alguém conseguir me ajudar, seria ótimo! O que eu preciso é que o na hora de adicionar um item no subformulário dos itens cotados do módulo Orçamentos, o preço de lista do item venha acrescido de 20% automaticamente e de

    • Ring in the New Year with Guided Conversations for Smooth Offline Support

      As we step into the new year, it’s time to refocus, re-energize, and gear up for fresh opportunities. But what about your customers as they begin the year with their own set of challenges or queries to resolve? With Zoho Desk’s Guided Conversations (GC),

    • Exploring SalesIQ's Top Features of 2024: An Insider's Look 🔍

      As we wrap up another year at Zoho SalesIQ, it's time to reflect on how far we've come. This year has been incredible for us in our journey to build a more powerful, flexible, and customer-centric engagement platform. We've introduced several features

    • updateTask Zoho Connect API

      When I do POST request by https://connect.zoho.com/pulse/api/updateTask with parameters scopeID, taskId, title, status and with header Zoho-oauthtoken, I got next response: {'updateTask': {'reason': 'You are not authorized to do this action.', 'result':

    • Alert for Back Navigation in Zoho Creator Widgets on Mobile Apps

      In Zoho Creator widgets, when a user navigates back on mobile devices, the data within the widget is reset. This leads to a loss of any unsaved changes or inputs, causing frustration for users. To enhance user experience, we need to implement a confirmation

    • Can Creator integrate with a CRM Sandbox

      zoho & Creator Noob -  I would like to build a Creator App and integrate it to the CRM Sandbox.  Then, when I have the bugs worked out integrate it to the production CRM account.  Can Creator do this ?  I built a test Creator App and integrated it to the CRM in a test zoho account fairly easily.  

    • Allow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support

      Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when scheduling

    • Zia Call Intelligence only up 10 License

      I have been trying to install Call Intelligence for two days now, but strangely, the button is missing at this point. The documentation could be better, but most importantly, someone should inform small businesses like us that they don’t even bother enabling

    • Accrue Leave by Hours Worked?

      My locality (Michigan, US) has enacted a law that requires that 1 hour of sick leave be accrued for every 30 hours worked. I cannot see how to implement this policy in Zoho People. There does not appear to be a mechanism for accruing leave proportional

    • Fixed assets recording

      Hello there, I recorded a bill for a vendor contain (Computer) so the PC is a fixed assets, do I need to do a manual journal to include this PC under the fixed assets category (furniture & equipment)? If yes, please take me through the manual journal

    • error in importing customers

      get this error message while importing customers, there is no column for COUNTRY CODE in sample excel file

    • Workflow Based on Manual Journal

      Manual journal entries are one of the few areas that cannot kick off a workflow automation in Zoho Books currently. I would propose considering adding that. My use case is that the payroll provider I use (a flavor of SurePayroll) has a Zoho Books automation

    • Digest Décembre - Un résumé de ce qui s'est passé le mois dernier sur Community

      Bonjour chers utilisateurs, Toute l'équipe Zoho france vous souhaite une année remplie de joie, de réussite et de prospérité. Alors que nous débutons cette nouvelle année avec des projets innovants, des astuces, des produits et bien d'autres choses encore,

    • New Year Wishes to the Zoho Finance Developer Community!

      Hello developers, Happy New Year! As we step into 2025, we wish you a journey filled with growth, success, and exciting opportunities ahead. We’re thrilled to announce that we have something exciting in store for you. Welcome to the Zoho Finance Developer

    • Button Display Conditions

      Hi Guys, Is it at all possible to have extra button conditions? Context: We have data in our deals module which has a custom button which converts the deal into contacts + set up relationships between them. At the end of the conversion we set a field

    • Ayuda con zoho creator x zoho Crm

      Hola a todos, Estoy teniendo dificultades al sincronizar datos entre Zoho Creator y Zoho CRM. Mi objetivo es lo siguiente: Busque un registro en el módulo Contactsde Zoho CRM utilizando el correo electrónico del registro de Zoho Creator. Si se encuentra

    • How to Replace an Assessment in a Job Opening on Zoho Recruit

      Hi everyone, I’m currently using Zoho Recruit and would like to replace the assessment linked to a specific job opening. I want to remove the existing assessment and add a new one. What is the best way to do this without losing any important data or affecting

    • Fixed asset management

      I want to know if there is any individual module for fixed assets management

    • Input GST Reversal for damaged goods

      In our line of business, some items are damaged and we are doing inventory adjustments to remove them from stock. However, as per GST guidelines, there is a specific rule that we have to reverse Input GST availed for such items and needs to be reported

    • Introducing Record Summary: smarter insights at your fingertips

      Hello everyone, Building on the recent launch of Zoho's in-house Zia Large Language Model (Zia LLM)—a major milestone in Zoho CRM’s AI capabilities—we’re excited to introduce the Record Summary feature. This powerful addition makes use of Zia LLM to simplify

    • No longer get Cliq notifications on phone if app not started

      On Android, I used to get notifications on my phone whether I was in the app, or it was started. Then about a month ago, I stopped seeing notifications on my phone UNLESS I had already started the app. So if I reboot my phone, and never start the app,

    • Error AS101 when adding new email alias

      Hi, I am trying to add apple@(mydomain).com The error AS101 is shown while I try to add the alias.

    • Deluge script to add Mail Task

      Has anyone out there created a custom function to create a Zoho Mail task? I'd be interested in hearing how you accomplished it. Sample code is appreciated!

    • Tags with Zapier

      Maybe I'm missing something....I hope so... Using tags for triggers is a key need.  This prevents us from having a ton of different lists. I am trying to find out how to add a tag using zapier when someone makes a purchase....but it doesn't seem to be

    • Send Supervisor Rule Emails Within Ticket Context in Zoho Desk

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope this message finds you well. Currently, emails sent via Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk are sent outside of the ticket context. As a result, if a client replies to such emails, their response creates a new ticket instead of appending

    • How to apply blueprint on tickets that created from IM module

      Hello, I have an issue applying blueprint on tickets that created from WhatsApp conversation, the tickets matches with the blueprint criteria but still we are not able to put these tickets into the blueprint. I've tried with deferent type of tickets and

    • Function #4: Schedule Customer Statements

      Regularly sending statements to customers is an imperative part of many business processes as it helps foster strong customer relationships and provides timely guidance on payments. While you can generate the statement of accounts and have it sent over

    • Zoho Mail POP & IMAP Server Details

      Hello all! We have been receiving a number of requests regarding the errors while configuring or using Zoho Mail account in POP/ IMAP clients. The server details vary based on your account type and the Datacenter in which your account is setup. Ensure

    • Remove 30-Day Client Reply Restriction on Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk

      Dear Zoho Desk Team, I hope you're doing well. Currently, Supervisor Rules in Zoho Desk run once every hour but only apply to tickets that have received a customer response within the past 30 days. This restriction creates challenges for us, as we have

    • Paid Support Plans with Automated Billing

      We (like many others, I'm sure) are designing or have paid support plans. Our design involves a given number of support hours in each plan. Here are my questions: 1) Are there any plans to add time-based plans in the Zoho Desk Support Plans feature? The

    • Next Page