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. 



      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • 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

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ








                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Zoho UAE SMS/WHATSAPP

                                    Hello everyone, so I have a question as regards DC and their impact on automation, integration and app usage. For example I am working with a UAE clientniw but each time I tried to connect their WhatsApp and sms then automate their process I tend to receive
                                  • Looking to Flag or Tag contacts/ accounts on Zoho Desk?

                                    I am looking for a way to flag certain accounts and make it obvious on the views pages. So for example if a has a certain package or needs extra attention it is clear before even clicking on the ticket. This could be via adding a tag or flag onto an account,
                                  • setting date-time field from string

                                    hello everyone, i hope someone could help me. i have a date-time field in a form that i want to fill in from two separate fields of date, and time. i need to combine the two fields to a one date-time field but can make it work. i tried to convert the
                                  • Calendars and CRM Contacts

                                    I'm finding having multiple calendars in Zoho One so confusing. I have a few questions so I can get this straight. We have a meeting room that we have set up as a resource in Calendar. Can this be set up in Bookings and the CRM Calendar? Using Zoho Calendar,
                                  • Announcing new features in Trident for Mac (v1.23.0)

                                    Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.23.0) is here with interesting features and thoughtful enhancements to elevate your workplace communication and productivity. Here's a quick look at what's new. Record your meetings. You can now record audio and
                                  • Applying a record template

                                    Hi all, I can't figure this out. I hope you can help. The scenario: We have learners who have to complete a 'digital' journal with tasks in order to qualify. Those tasks, once completed, need a final signature from their 'Mentor', which will trigger their
                                  • Quickbooks invoice with Zoho Creator

                                    Is it possible to push data from Zoho Creator directly to an invoice on QuickBooks? If so, where can I find information on how to do this?
                                  • Help: Capture full page URL in hidden field when same Zoho Form is embedded on multiple pages (iframe)

                                    Hi all, Goal Use one Zoho Form across multiple pages and record the exact page URL (incl. subdomain + path + hash) where the user submitted it. Example pages: https://www.example.com/cargo/ https://www.example.com/cargo/containers/#contact https://cargo.example.com/auto/
                                  • Automatically Populate fields - HELP!

                                    There have been many discussions on this but I still can't seem to get it to work for me. I am trying to create a lookup field and have other fields automatically populate. Based on the instructions in the Help Center, I should be using the "on user input". It's just not working, here is the layout...   Both forms are in the same application. Current form is called Add Note, form to fetch records from is called Add Client. Lookup field is called Select_Client_ID related field in fetch form is called
                                  • Push notifications to portal users

                                    Hi all, it is possible to send push notifications to portal users?
                                  • Rename the attachment from record template pdf in the sendmail deluge script

                                    Hello Zoho, I urgently need a feature to rename record templates that I send via the sendmail feature. The program I created sends emails to clients with an invoices that have been created in the invoice database. If the user selects 3 invoice numbers,
                                  • Alt Text On Multiple Images

                                    I'm using Zoho Social to post to a charity website. Often the posts have multiple images, but it seems there is only one field for Alt Text. Does that mean I can only include it for the first image? Or is there a way to add alt text for all the imag
                                  • [SOLVED] Getting 401 when trying to download ticket attachment via API

                                    I'm able to use the API just fine to access ticket content. But I cannot download ticket attachment, keep getting 401 Client Error. Example: https://desk.zoho.com.au/api/v1/tickets/{ticket_id}/attachments/{attachment_id}/content?orgId={org_id} For headers,
                                  • Zoho project – Workdrive integration.

                                    Hello everyone, I was wondering something, we did the Zoho projects integration with Zoho Workdrive but nowhere during this integration we could set the location of the folders that would be automatically created in Workdrive. As I understand it, it creates
                                  • Scriptを埋め込みたくてOn User Inputを探しているのですが・・・

                                    編集モードで、Scriptを埋め込みたい項目を選択し、「項目のプロパティ」パネルで、その下のほうに「フィールドアクション(Field Actions)」という見出しがあると聞いたのですが、そもそも、それが見つかりません。そのために、On User Inputなどのイベントが選べません。 画面の英語を日本語に訳しているためにわけわからん状態になっているのかも知れませんが、わかる方、いらっしゃいますか?
                                  • Problem with cloud query exceeded

                                    When making a call I get this error, It is associated with a function in node that calls external APIs This is the code //tokenConsultar = thisapp.ObtenerToken(); //input.token = tokenConsultar.get("output").toMap().get("token");
                                  • Showing Total of Funnel Chart Legend (With Values) Items

                                    Hi, We are using the funnel type chart for displaying our zCRM sales pipeline stages and associated sum of deals in each stage.  We have configured the legend to show the associated value (Deal Amount (Sum)) for each stage adjacent to the legend items (Stages). Is there a way to display the total of the values in the same chart?  For example, at the bottom of the legend or maybe as a #merge placeholder in the legend title?
                                  • How to Convert VCF Contacts to CSV using Excel

                                    Many users switch from traditional address books to digital formats like vCard and CSV. These formats allow users to easily manage their contacts. However, a difficulty comes when you need to transfer your contact information to another application or
                                  • Field authorization for Linking module in Zoho CRM portal

                                    Hi guys! Currently building a customer portal for one of my clients, and I ran into a bit of a roadblock while using a multi-select lookup field. The issue is that there is no way to hide or define access in the linking module created by this multi-select
                                  • Kaizen #63 - Layout Rules in Zoho CRM

                                    Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen! This week, we will be discussing Layout Rules in Zoho CRM. If you need to modify the layout of a module based on user inputs, or to show or hide sections based on the value of a specific field, we have got
                                  • Zoho CRM Portals - allow access per account

                                    Hello all, I am trying to set up a portal for our customer but I seem to be hitting an obstacle and I am not sure if it is my problem or a limitation in the software. So basically the way I understand the portal Contact Email > Each Record or Related
                                  • Android - Writer não acentua em Português com teclado bluetooth

                                    Gosto muito do Zoho, tanto o Note quando o Writer. Infelizmente, o Writer sofre de um problema sério: ao usar um teclado bluetooth, forma mais cômoda de lidar com um processador de texto, os acentos (todos!) da Língua Portuguesa não são aceitos. Todos
                                  • Set File Upload fields as mandatory

                                    Currently the CRM for some reason lacks the ability to set a file upload field as mandatory So we have an issue We have a requirement that before a Deal stage is set as Deal is Won the member needs to upload a file Now for some weird reason in Zoho I
                                  • Editing HTML in Zoho CRM Email Template

                                    I am trying to create a template within the CRM email option, but need to be able to use custom HTML. There does not seem to be a way to do so.
                                  • Ability to CC on a mass email

                                    Ability to CC someone on a mass email.
                                  • How to make attachments mandatory

                                    I want the user to be unable to mark an opportunity as Closed – Won if it doesn’t have any attachments. I’ve already tried client scripts and functions, but nothing worked.
                                  • SLA Ticket Report

                                    From data to decisions: A deep dive into ticketing system reports Service level agreement (SLA) ticket reports in a help desk system are crucial for ensuring that services are delivered according to established commitments. They help maintain accountability
                                  • Zoho Backstage - PCI Compliance / Web Security

                                    I have a couple of questions related to Backstage and payment processing.... 1. my purchasing division is not giving approval to use Backstage yet because of some security issues. In order for us to take payments via a payment gateway like Authorize.net
                                  • Zoho Tables August 2025 Update: Faster and Smoother

                                    We’ve been working behind the scenes to make Zoho Tables faster, lighter, and more reliable. Here are the highlights: Faster Response Times Optimised the way responses are generated. Reduced memory consumption by 20–25%, leading to smoother performance
                                  • Video Upload from app says "unsupported aspect ratio" but is verified to be correct.

                                    I and my social media person are experiencing a problem where Social will not accept video uploads to Instagram. The error we receive is "unsupported aspect ratio" but looking directly at the file in question we see that the width and ratio both match
                                  • Disposable Email Addresses

                                    Dear zMail Team, Can you also bring out a few disposable email addresses for each accounts? That way occasional registrations and imminent spam from them can be largely solved right? ---- Deepak Vasudevan http://thamizhththendral.blogspot.com/
                                  • Zoho sheet - Zoho expense

                                    I want to schedule to create an expense using Zoho Sheet and flow. That is the EMI that I pay on a particular date to the bank and should be itemised, like principal and interest on the loan. Can someone help me in this regard??
                                  • Ability to configure a schedule/shift for each user and/or crew in Zoho FSM

                                    Hello, In our team of Field Agents, we have different shifts. Some field agent always work from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM while others work the evening shift like 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Sometime shift are on weekdays only or on weekend. It would be great to be
                                  • Free webinar: Streamlining customer service paperwork with the Zoho Sign extension for Zoho Desk

                                    Hello Everyone! Have you been wondering about bridging the gap between digitised customer service and business paperwork? Join our free webinar to learn how you can do this by connecting Zoho Sign, our digital signature app, with Zoho Desk, our online
                                  • Zoho Books | Product updates | July 2025

                                    Hello users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books. From plan-based trials to the option to mark PDF templates as inactive, explore the updates designed to enhance your bookkeeping experience. Introducing Plan Based Trials in Zoho
                                  • Mail Search should allow grouping by conversation like Gmail.

                                    Having switched from gmail I have found the search function hard to use. Mostly because mail is not grouped by conversation in search. If I search for a word when looking for a conversation had with someone then sometimes 10 emails will come up from the
                                  • Improve Zoho Learn updated article notifications

                                    I noticed today while updating an article, that the notification users get says "[User Name] has published article [Article Name]..." My feedback to the product team is that it would be really helpful for an end user, if the system notification differentiated
                                  • Safari Support

                                    Safari, the world's second largest browser, zoho desk does not officially or fully support. That needs to change.
                                  • Can I get images from an "Image Upload" field in a webhook?

                                    I want to send images from 2 "image upload" fields via a webhook. Is this possible?
                                  • Ticket closure notification - all contacts cc'd on email thread

                                    Hello, If a client sends an email to our service desk and cc's in other people that work at the same company - so that they are in the loop of the service request. When the we close the ticket, only the ticket owner (person who emailed us - which created
                                  • Next Page